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Bolbitius ?


bobby b

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This mushroom goes thru a dramatic color change as it dries. When fresh it is looks smooth and is an even brown color but it dries with irregular white ridges maintaining a brown center. The spore print is distinctly orange. It grows in small groups or scattered singles in grass. The grass is growing on a newly reconstructed limestone roadbed.  Theres a lot of debris within the roadbed. Couldn't find anything that resembles it. 

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Possibly Bolbitius reticulatus, although the cap colors don't seem to match this species very well. Also, the smaller mushroom (photo of undersides) appears to feature attached gills. I don't know the species B. reticulatus very well. But from what I can find online, it appears to produce mushrooms with variable appearance. 

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Interesting suggestion Conocybe. Although I don't know of a species in Conocybe that produces mushrooms that look like this.

A thought that I had was Psathyrella. There's a species of Psathyrella --P. conissans-- that has a pink spore print. A relatively thick print of pink spores may take on a cinnamon appearance. Also, I believe there are a few Psathyrella species related to P. conissans. But, to my knowledge P. conissans does not develop the radially wrinkled cap surface as seen in some of these. 

I looked up my records for Bolbitius collections but there are no records of spore color. Still, I *think* I recall observing Bolbitius prints that were more along the lines of cinnamon than rusty. 

If you scrape some spores onto a piece of wax paper and mail them to me I could scope them. Not sure if this will resolve things. Bolbitius spores and Conocybe spores are fairly similar in size, shape, and color when viewed in a KOH mount. 

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Dude, I don't know the answer to that question. But I'm guessing that Psathyrella mushrooms --at least most of the many different species-- lack this trait. Does Bolbitius have a separable pellicle? Sounds like this may be a trait one can check without resorting to microscopy... at least perhaps when fresh material is available. (I'm guessing that dried material may be more difficult to assess.) 

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I received the mailed spores. Mounted in 3% KOH and scoped using two scopes (one for measurements one for color). Spores are more-or-less elliptic to somewhat inequilateral in profile. Color is tinged vinaceous. Dimensions approximately 7-8.5 x 4-5. Photos seen below.

I think these are a species of Psathyrella placed in subgenus Homophron. (Some mycologists have elevated Homophron to genus level.) These types of mushrooms have pinkish to reddish spore prints. I did a quick check in North American Species of Psathyrella by Alexander Smith. A species that seems to fit is Psathyrella sublateritia. The caps of this species are hygrophanous, unbonate, occasinanlly rugulose (wrinkled) or sometimes reticulate near the margin. Spores are 7.5-9(10) x 4.5-5.5 and in KOH "pallid vinaceous cinnamon to merely weakly ochraceous, depending upon the light intensity." Smith says the spores lack an apical pore. A few of the ones in my photos appear to be slightly truncate, which may indicate an apical pore... not sure. In my photos the spores (in KOH) are yellowish in the one photo and vinaceous in the other photo. This is not a bad fit for P. sublateritia. I think we're at least on the right track here. The cinnamon to dark red spore print fits in with Psathyrella subgenus Homophron.      172879634_Psathyrella7-8.5x4-5.thumb.JPG.f6f2c412efe3fe3e6cab403c99605c6f.JPGPsathyrella.thumb.JPG.a9ed4b503e30178ce2a9276c19bf43a7.JPG

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