ID request

[Xdarkn3ss]

Found growing in decaying weeds and wood chips in Southern California.

convex cap brown/gold (wavy when mature), adnate gills grey/tan (dark brown when dried out/mature), 3-4mm white stem (hollow)

[Dave W]

One possibility for at least some of these may be Agrocybe putaminum. But one feature that's a bit off for this species in the very dark mature gills. Another possibility is Leratiomyces riparius. Spore print color may be useful here. You would need a thick print in order to distinguish between Agrocybe (dark cigar-brown) and Leratiomyces (purple brown). Also, an immature Leratiomyces mushroom will feature a partial veil covering the gills. Some species of Agrocybe also have partial veils; except A. putaminum does not. California Fungi says Leratiomyces riparius has a hollow stem when mature  http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Leratiomyces_riparius.html  . 

There are other possibilities. In particular --although I don't think these mushrooms really fit the profile-- Hebeloma mushrooms are quite poisonous. Also, there may be more than one species represented in these photos. 

[Xdarkn3ss]

Thanks for your input. Here is the spore print.

[Dave W]

The print color should be darker for genus Leratiomyces. Also seems kinda on the light side for Agrocybe. Which mushroom pictured was used to obtain the spore print? Also, it looks like the print in the photo is on glass, and a beam of light is directed onto it. I believe I see a shadow being cast onto a surface by the print... beneath what I think is the piece of glass.  

[Xdarkn3ss]

8 minutes ago, Dave W said:

The print color should be darker for genus Leratiomyces. Also seems kinda on the light side for Agrocybe. Which mushroom pictured was used to obtain the spore print? Also, it looks like the print in the photo is on glass, and a beam of light is directed onto it. I believe I see a shadow being cast onto a surface by the print... beneath what I think is the piece of glass.  

Thanks Dave,

 

So the print came from one of the smaller caps in the second picture on the original post. The print was done on a glass desktop. Since I have yellow lighting in the room which made the picture almost impossible to see, I used a bright white flashlight to get the photo to turn out. The texture underneath is just the texture of the glass. The picture does it the best "justice" possible in terms of translating the actual color seen into a photograph with the limitations of my "equipment". 

I'd be happy to go collect another sample and do another print on paper. The tree is in my back yard.

[Dave W]

Photos taken outdoors --but not in direct sunlight-- tend to convey colors most accurately. Photos taken using indoor lighting tend to inaccurately portray color. I usually look for a spot outside that's shaded but very close to an open sunny area. The shade reduces glare and the nearby well-lit area provides ambienit light. If it's cloudy, an area in the open may work well. It's often useful to experiment with different outdoor lighting scenarios, as well as a variety of different perspectives. 

I suspect the spore print seen in the photos is reflecting some light which makes it appear to be less dark than in reality. But, this may be incorrect. There appears to be a slight purplish tinge to the print. 

The first photo (top) looks like Hebeloma. But, the gills seen in subsequent photos look to be too dark for Hebeloma. Also, a few of the caps appear to feature small scales on the surface. This is also something I would not expect for Hebeloma.  Another thought that comes to mind is genus Psathyrella. Most mushrooms in this genus have very dark spore print, with a few exceptions that feature pinkish spore prints similar to the one seen here. The mushrooms seen in the 4th photo down do look some what like Psathyrella. Psathyrella mushrooms are fairly fragile; they break apart easily. Assuming the spore print is actually darker than what appears in the photos, my guess is Leratiomyces; but I don't have much confidence in this proposal.

Use of a microscope may be necessary here. 

[Xdarkn3ss]

1 hour ago, Dave W said:

Photos taken outdoors --but not in direct sunlight-- tend to convey colors most accurately. Photos taken using indoor lighting tend to inaccurately portray color. I usually look for a spot outside that's shaded but very close to an open sunny area. The shade reduces glare and the nearby well-lit area provides ambienit light. If it's cloudy, an area in the open may work well. It's often useful to experiment with different outdoor lighting scenarios, as well as a variety of different perspectives. 

I suspect the spore print seen in the photos is reflecting some light which makes it appear to be less dark than in reality. But, this may be incorrect. There appears to be a slight purplish tinge to the print. 

The first photo (top) looks like Hebeloma. But, the gills seen in subsequent photos look to be too dark for Hebeloma. Also, a few of the caps appear to feature small scales on the surface. This is also something I would not expect for Hebeloma.  Another thought that comes to mind is genus Psathyrella. Most mushrooms in this genus have very dark spore print, with a few exceptions that feature pinkish spore prints similar to the one seen here. The mushrooms seen in the 4th photo down do look some what like Psathyrella. Psathyrella mushrooms are fairly fragile; they break apart easily. Assuming the spore print is actually darker than what appears in the photos, my guess is Leratiomyces; but I don't have much confidence in this proposal.

Use of a microscope may be necessary here. 

I did another spore print. This time I am using natural lighting, and have included the actual cap from which the print was taken in the picture. In the "before" picture you can clearly see the yellow hue my interior lighting created. The print definitely has a slight purple to it.

I would be highly interested in finding someone with a microscope - how fancy of a microscope would I need? or will one from a high school chemistry class be sufficient?

[Dave W]

This latest spore print looks more like what I'd expect from a species of Leratiomyces. The previous photos of the lighter spore print likely represent a species of either Hebeloma or Psathyrella. Looks like you've got at least two different species growing in those wood chips. 

You can get a lot of good info from a scope that magnifies to 400x.