Chapter IV: Introduction (3)

_General Information_: Easily recognised by the crowded, narrow, cream
coloured gills and the cap being entirely white when young, but which
rapidly becomes spotted red-brown as it develops. ‘Maculatus’ means
spotted and refers to the red-brown blotches which develop irregularly
on the cap, stem and gills as the fruit-body matures.

The genus _Collybia_ is characterised by the fruit-body being tough,
the cap-margin incurved at first and the spore-print white or whitish.
The common fungus _C. maculata_ has always been assumed to have a
white spore-print but if a cap is placed on a piece of white paper
gills-down and left for twelve hours there is a surprise in store for
the careful observer.

_Illustrations_: F 15a; Hvass 77; LH 101; NB 103⁴; WD 21².

The specialised substrates of certain species of _Marasmius_ and related genera

A whole series of very small fungi are found in woodland communities which appear to be closely related one to another because their caps are usually tough, although membranous, dry rapidly yet do not decay, and, moreover, revive on remoistening. Their gills are also rather tough and their spores always white in mass. They are placed in the genus _Marasmius_. _Collybia_ or _Marasmius peronatus_ (Fries) Fries the ‘wood woolly foot’ is one of our larger more familiar agarics related to this group, but whereas it grows on all kinds of leafy detritus, even wood, these small fungi appear to be very specific to the substrate on which they grow.

~M. androsaceus~ (Fries) Fries grows both on heather and on pine-needles (see p. 231).

Cap: whitish or pinkish buff.

Stem: black and hair-like.

Spores: pip-shaped and 7-9 × 3-4 µm.

~M. buxi~ Fries grows on box leaves.

~M. epiphylloides~ (Rea) Saccardo & Trotter grows on ivy leaves.

~M. graminum~ (Libert) Berkeley grows on grass stems.

Cap: red-brown.

Stem: dark brown.

Spores: pip-shaped, 8-12 × 4-6 µm.

~M. hudsonii~ (Fries) Fries grows on holly leaves.

~M. perforans~ (Fries) Fries grows on pine needles (now placed in the genus _Micromphale_).

~M. undatus~ (Berkeley) Fries grows on bracken stems.

Cap: reddish brown or greyish and wrinkled.

Spores: egg-shaped, 8-9 × 6-7 µm.

Except for their rather special requirements as to substrate preference, these species have in common small size, rather tough horny stems and cap composed of erect ornamented cells.

Several agarics which grow on cones have also been placed in _Marasmius_. They are frequent in spring and early summer the fruit-bodies being attached by a very long rooting stem and cord of fluffy hyphae to buried cones in conifers. The biology of these fungi is still unknown, but the cones to which they are attached are always closed yet buried often several inches beneath the surface of the soil. It is yet to be found whether the spores of the agaric infect the cones after they drop or whether the cones fall because they have become infected. How do the cones become so deeply buried? Are squirrels or rodents involved? All the species which grow on cones have brown or tawny caps and yellowish brown stems.

~Strobilurus stephanocystis~ (Hora) Singer has cystidia with rounded
heads and grows on pine-cones.

~S. tenacellus~ (Fries) Singer has pointed cystidia and grows on
pine-cones.

~S. esculentus~ (Fries) Singer has lance-shaped cystidia and grows on
spruce cones.

~Baeospora myosura~ (Fries) Singer is tough and pale-coloured and is
similar in general characters to species of _Strobilurus_, but has
amyloid spores and fruits on pine-cones in the autumn.

When discussing the specialised plant-substrates, such as cones, one must mention the small brown-spored, pale buff coloured agaric _Tubaria dispersa_ (Persoon) Singer, or _Tubaria autochthona_ (Berkeley & Broome) Saccardo, which grows on the ground under hawthorns, often in troops in summer and autumn, attached to old hardened hawthorn berries.

(ii) Agarics of Pastures and Meadows

(a) Agarics of rough and hill pastures

~Hygrocybe pratensis~ (Fries) Donk

Butter mushroom

_Cap_: width 20-80 mm. _Stem_: width 5-12 mm; length 30-70 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: convex then expanding to become plano-convex with a broad low
umbo, tan, pale russet or even yellowish buff throughout or slightly
darker at the centre.

Stem: gradually thickened upwards, similarly coloured to the cap or
paler if the cap is dark russet.

Gills: pale buff, deeply decurrent and often connected up at their
bases by veins.

Flesh: buff or pale tan, thick and soft in the cap, slightly fibrous
in the stem.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: medium-sized, ellipsoid to egg-shaped, hyaline under the
microscope, 7-8 × 5 µm in size and not becoming bluish grey in
solutions containing iodine.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common in pastures or on heaths from early
summer to late autumn.

_General Information_: A fungus easily recognised by the uniform
buff-colour of the stem, cap and gills. As one might expect from the
common name it is edible; it is held in high regard by many
mushroom-pickers.

Although ‘pratensis’ specifically means fields, reflecting the habitat
of the fungus, this and related species can also be found on heaths
and pastures often intermixed and forming a most interesting flora.
The following are perhaps the most commonly seen:

_H. lacma_ (Fries) Orton & Watling and _H. cinerea_ (Fries) Orton &
Watling are similar in stature, but metallic grey in colour except for
the persistently yellow stem-base in _H. lacma_.

_H. subradiata_ (Secretan) Orton & Watling is flesh-coloured or
brownish and _H. virginea_ (Fries) Orton & Watling is white.

_H. nivea_ (Fries) Orton & Watling and _H. russocoriacea_ (Berkeley &
Miller) Orton & Watling are much smaller, the former white and
odourless and the latter off-white with a very strong smell of
incense.

_Illustrations_: F 12^{b}; Hvass 95; LH 77; NB 33²; WD 33³.

~Hygrocybe psittacina~ (Fries) Wunsche

Parrot hygrophorus

_Cap_: width 12-25 mm. _Stem_: width 3-8 mm; length 30-60 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: very slimy with colourless sticky fluid, deep bluish green when
fresh, but becoming more and more ochraceous-orange with age or
completely fading out to a yellow ochre, bell-shaped at first then
expanded except for central umbo.

Stem: like the cap very slimy, apple-green or bluish green throughout
but becoming ochraceous like the cap except at the apex which is
persistently green.

Gills: adnate yellow or apricot-coloured, greenish towards their base,
broad, distant and rather tough.

Flesh: whitish, tinged green in the cap and yellow or apricot-colour
in the stem.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: medium-sized, hyaline, ellipsoid, not blue-grey in solutions
containing iodine and 8-9 × 4-5 µm in size.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common in grassland and hill-pastures, but
it also occurs in copses and woodlands.

_General Information_: This fungus is easily recognised by the
distinctive colours, but it is rather deceptive for the cap and the
stem soon become faded; however, the green colouration persists at the
apex of the stem and it is by this that in the faded state the fungus
can still be identified. _H. laeta_ (Fries) Kummer fades to similar
colours but the cap is flesh-colour at first or sordid brown and the
gills are flesh-coloured or greyish; it prefers upland pastures and
heathland: its spores are smaller, being 5-7 × 4 µm.

_Illustrations_: F 12a; Hvass 92; LH 79; NB 33⁶; WD 34⁵.

General notes on Hygrophori

_Hygrophori_ are some of our most colourful groups of agarics, many are brightly coloured with caps in reds, greens, yellows, oranges, etc., the colour often accentuated by the usually slimy aspect. Traditionally the genus _Hygrophorus_ has been split into three groups as follows:--

_Limacium_ with slimy cap, adnate to decurrent gills and slimy or
tacky stem which may also often be ornamented with dots, especially
towards the top.

_Camarophyllus_ with dry cap, smooth and fibrous stem and decurrent
gills.

_Hygrocybe_ with thin, fragile, sticky or moist cap, smooth fibrillose
stem and gills varying from free to decurrent.

The last two sections have been joined together into the single genus _Hygrocybe_ and all the members seem to be saprophytic or intimately associated with grassland communities. The first section _Limacium_ now makes up the genus _Hygrophorus_ and its members are thought to be mycorrhizal with trees, e.g. _H. hypothejus_ (Fries) Fries with pine, the ‘Herald of the winter’ because it occurs at the end of the fungus season and _H. chrysaspis_ Métrod, a whitish, sickly-smelling fungus under beech. Results from examining the anatomy of the gills appears to confirm these divisions. All the Hygrophori have a homogeneous flesh, white spores, central, fleshy stem and thick, waxy gills; microscopically this group of fungi can be recognised by the very long basidia.

The following are common examples of the genus Hygrocybe:--

~H. calyptraeformis~ (Berkeley & Broome) Fayod has a rose-pink,
conical cap which expands to become upturned at the edge with age.

~H. coccinea~ (Fries) Kummer has a bright scarlet cap which becomes
yellow-ochre on drying and a yellow base to a scarlet stem.

~H. conica~ (Fries) Kummer has an orange to red stem and sharply
conical cap which turns blackish with age and whose gills when cut
exude a clear watery liquid.

~H. flavescens~ (Kauffman) Singer has a slimy, golden yellow cap and
similarly coloured stem.

~H. chlorophana~ is similar, but has a lemon-yellow cap and stem.

~H. punicea~ (Fries) Kummer is a large and robust species, similar in
colour to _H. coccinea_ but with a white base to the stem.

~H. unguinosa~ (Fries) Karsten has a smoky grey, very slimy cap and
stem.

~H. nitrata~ (Persoon) Wunsche is as dull coloured as _H. unguinosa_,
but is not slimy, and in addition strongly smells of cleaning fluid or
bleaching-powder. It is one of three dull coloured, strong
bleaching-powder-smelling species found in Britain. _H. ovina_ is
another, but is darker than _H. nitrata_ and becomes red when bruised
or cut.

~H. metapodia~ (Fries) Moser has a sooty brown fibrillose-streaky cap
and stem. The gills are distant and grey, and the fruit-body may reach
up to 100 mm across. It is probably the biggest of our native species
of _Hygrocybe_.

For completion examples of _Hygrophorus_ include:

~H. bresadolae~ Quélet has a slimy orange-yellow cap, yellow gills and
yellow, slimy, smooth stem. It is found under larch trees.

~H. chrysaspis~ Métrod has ivory white cap, stem and gills which soon
become flushed with rust-brown and finally the whole fruit-body
becomes red-brown. The stem is slimy and white dotted at the apex. It
grows in beech woods.

~H. hedrychii~ Velenovsky has a slimy cream-coloured cap flushed with
pale peach colour. The gills and stem are cream and the latter slimy
and dotted at the top. It is found in pine woods.

~H. hypothejus~ (Fries) Fries has an olive-brown slimy cap, yellow
stem and gills; the stem is slimy and smooth. It is found in pine
woods and under pines on heaths.

~H. pustulatus~ (Persoon) Fries has an ash-grey cap brownish towards
its centre, viscid white stem with dark grey dots at the apex and
white gills. _H. agathosmus_ (Secretan) Fries is similar, but smells
strongly of bitter almonds. Both species are found in plantations.

Species of the genus _Hygrophorus_ are infrequently encountered in
Britain, although twenty species are recorded for the British Isles.
They are ecologically distinct from members of the genus _Hygrocybe_
in preferring woodland communities to grassland areas; they are
probably mycorrhizal. The anatomy of the fruit-body is also rather
different to that found in _Hygrocybe_; the gill-trama is bilateral as
in _Leccinum_ (p. 27), _Suillus_ (p. 28), _Boletus_ (p. 31),
_Chroogomphus_ (p. 36), _Paxillus_ (p. 38) and _Amanita_ (p. 54).
Members of the genus _Hygrocybe_ have regular to irregular
gill-tramas. In fact, although both genera are united into a single
family, the Hygrophoraceae is based on one character common to both,
i.e. the long basidium; there is every indication that the genus
_Hygrocybe_ has greater affinity to _Omphalina_ in the
Tricholomataceae (p. 232).

Surprisingly enough in North America many of our familiar grassland
species including _H. pratensis_ are to be found in deep shaded
woodland!

Angular, pink-spored agarics--Rhodophyllaceae

The name of the family refers to the pink gills and it unites all those fungi with a salmon-pinkish buff spore-print and whose spores are angular in all optical sections. There are a few agarics, e.g. _Clitopilus prunulus_ (Fries) Kummer with ridged spores which appear angular in end-on view, but which are ellipsoid in both side and face views and so are considered less related.

The family _Rhodophyllaceae_ by some authorities contains one genus _Rhodophyllus_, more correctly called _Entoloma_; in the British Isles five constituent genera are recognised, but they will have to be more critically defined to make a more meaningful classification. At the moment, many of the species are poorly documented and it would appear that anatomical studies will assist in the future in the recognition of species-groups.

If one selects the eight most distinctive shaped spore-types exhibited in members of this family, then when their spores are examined side-on a feature is available for correlation with the traditional field characters, such as cap scaliness and gill-attachment. The most distinctive spore-shape is Type G, found in _Nolanea staurospora_ Bresadola, which is probably the most common and widespread species of the family. It grows in woodlands, grassland and on lawns and will be dealt with later (p. 122). The other spore types are illustrated and range from irregularly rhomboid to elongate angular.

The majority of the members of this group grow in grassland, hill-pastures and meadows and distinct communities containing members of this family and of the _Hygrophoraceae_ can be recognised. It is not proposed to deal in detail with any individual members because they can be so easily confused with each other by the specialist let alone by the amateur.

However, the genera as at present accepted are as follows:--

1. ~Entoloma~ in its original sense contains agarics with fleshy caps,
fibrous stems and sinuate or adnexed gills, e.g. _Ent. clypeatum_
(Fries) Kummer with grey to yellow-brown cap, found growing with
members of the apple and rose-family in the summer and early autumn.
This genus corresponds to _Calocybe_ in the white-spored agarics (p.
110).

2. ~Leptonia~ contains those agarics with rather thin caps whose
margin is incurved, cartilaginous stems and adnate to adnexed, rarely
decurrent, gills and whose cap flesh is indistinct from that of the
stem, e.g. _Lept. serrulata_ (Fries) Kummer with dark blue to
violet-blue cap and dark blue edge to the gills. This genus approaches
the tough-shanks (_Collybia_) in the white-spored genera (p. 90).

3. ~Nolanea~ is characterised by agarics with delicate caps, whose
flesh is distinct from that of the stem and whose edge is straight and
pressed against the fragile stem when young, and the adnexed or
adnate, rarely decurrent, gills, e.g. _N. staurospora_ (see p. 122).
_N. cetrata_ (Fries) Kummer with yellow-brown to tan-coloured cap is
found from spring to autumn in conifer woodland, especially
plantations. The genus corresponds to _Mycena_ in the white-spored
agaric genera (p. 68).

4. ~Eccilia~ is a small genus containing agarics with thin, membranous
caps and distinctly decurrent gills, e.g. _E. sericeonitida_ P. D.
Orton with convex, then umbilicate, silky greyish brown cap. This
genus corresponds to _Omphalina_ in the white-spored agarics (p. 232).

5. ~Claudopus~ has three British representatives, all of which have a
very small stem which may even be absent, e.g. _C. depluens_ (Fries)
Gillet grows on soil and _C. parasiticus_ (Quélet) Ricken grows on old
decaying fruit-bodies of woody fungi. This genus corresponds to
_Pleurotellus_ in the white-spored genera and to _Crepidotus_ in the
brown-spored genera (p. 77).

~Cystoderma amianthinum~ (Fries) Fayod

_Cap_: width 15-35 mm. _Stem_: width 4-8 mm; length 15-30 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: pale ochraceous yellow to sand-colour, convex then expanded, with
central umbo and often radially wrinkled-reticulate, covered
completely in powdery granules when fresh but these gradually
disappear with age or on excessive handling.

Stem: slender, white above a narrow, easily lost ring which is
composed of floccose, ochraceous yellow granules which also clothe the
lower part of the stem.

Gills: adnate, cream-coloured and crowded.

Flesh: yellowish with a strong smell of new-mown hay.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: small to medium sized, hyaline under the microscope, smooth,
ellipsoid, 5-7 × 3-4 µm and becoming blue-grey when mounted in
solutions containing iodine.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Frequently found amongst grass on heaths,
in hill-pastures and in woodlands from summer to autumn.

_General Information_: This fungus is recognised by the
gill-attachment and the powdery-scurfy cap formed by the breaking up
of an enveloping veil composed of thick-walled, rounded cells, similar
to those on the surface of the stem.

This fungus was formerly placed in the genus _Lepiota_ because of the
ring but the veil in _Cystoderma amianthinum_ is formed in quite a
different way to the ring in the true parasol mushrooms. The gills are
also adnate and not free as in the true species of _Lepiota_ (see p.
112). _C. carcharias_ (Secretan) Fayod is found under similar
conditions, but is white or flesh-coloured. _C. cinnabarinum_
(Secretan) Fayod is also found in short grass and moss, but has a
cinnabar-red, floccose cap and _C. granulosum_ (Fries) Fayod is
yellowish brown with non-amyloid spores and adnexed gills.

Many authorities prefer to connect this small group of closely related
species more to members of the _Tricholomataceae_ (i.e. the family
which contains the Wood Blewits (p. 131), _Mycena_ (p. 68, etc.) than
to the parasol mushrooms--_Lepiota_ (p. 112).

_Illustrations_: Hvass 23; LH 129; NB 103⁷; WD 8⁴.

~Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca~ (Fries) Maire

False chanterelle

_Cap_: width 25-70 mm. _Stem_: width 4-7 mm; length 25-50 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: bright orange-yellow or apricot, fleshy, soft, depressed at
centre and with wavy, incurved, slightly downy margin.

Stem: yellow at apex, rich red-brown or orange about the middle and
sometimes dark brown at the very base.

Gills: decurrent, deep orange, thin, crowded, repeatedly forked and
easily separable from the cap-tissue.

Flesh: yellowish, pale in the cap, darker in the stem.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: medium sized, hyaline under the microscope, ellipsoid or
pip-shaped, smooth, 7-8 × 4 µm and red-brown when mounted in solutions
of iodine.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common in woodlands, particularly with
pines, and on heaths or in rough hill-pastures.

_General Information_: This fungus is recognisable by the orange or
yellow cap and stem and the decurrent gills. It was formerly placed in
_Cantharellus_ because of the colours, white spores and the decurrent
gills, but it really differs in many other respects. It is true,
however, that it is frequently confused with the true Chanterelle
(_Cantharellus cibarius_ Fries, p. 162) by those who do not inspect
their specimens carefully. The gills are thin, plate-like as in other
agarics and not fold-like as in _Cantharellus_ (see p. 162). The
Chanterelle is edible and sought after as a delicacy, but there are
varying reports as to the edibility of _Hygrophoropsis_. Certainly it
is not of the best quality and there is evidence for it causing
upsets: therefore it is best to take the name ‘False Chanterelle’ at
face value and treat this fungus as truely false; ‘aurantiaca’ means
orange-coloured and refers to the colour of the fungus.

A pale form is frequently collected, particularly in hill-pastures,
and is probably worthy of specific recognition. The cap is ochraceous
yellow to cream and the stem distinctly dark in the lower half.

There is some confusion as to the true position in classification of
this fungus. The anatomical details of the fruit-body parallel those
of _Paxillus involutus_ (Fries) Fries (see p. 38) although the
spore-print is white. There is little doubt that future research will
answer this problem.

_Illustrations_: Hvass 183; LH 185; NB 103¹; WD 16³.

(b) Agarics of chalk-grassland and rich uplands

~Agaricus campestris~ Fries

Field mushroom

_Cap_: width 40-100 mm. _Stem_: width 12-20 mm; length 40-80 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: rounded then expanding to become plano-convex, fleshy with the
margin incurved at first, initially pure white, but soon becoming
cream-colour and at maturity streaked brownish particularly at the
centre.

Stem: white with a simple, very thin, white ring which becomes
brownish on rubbing and is easily lost with age or by handling.

Gills: free, pink but finally umber-brown at maturity.

Flesh: white, flushed reddish when cut especially in the stem.

Spore-print: cigar-brown, with hint of purple.

Spores: medium sized, ellipsoid or egg-shaped, smooth, small, 7-8 ×
4-5 µm and dark brown under the microscope.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent. Basidia 4-spored.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: The field-mushroom grows amongst grass in
pastures, etc., and also on old lawns where it may form fairy-rings.

_General Information_: This is the common wild, edible mushroom for
which many people have in the past unwisely substituted many quite
unrelated species. Deaths have often been caused by lack of careful
observation when selecting wild fungi for the table; this only
emphasises why white mushrooms found in fields should not be casually
eaten.

~A. arvensis~ Secretan the Horse-mushroom is also edible, but is much
bigger (up to 180 mm), creamy white and bruises slightly yellowish on
handling; it also has larger spores (7-10 × 5 µm), club-shaped cells
on the gill-edge, gills commencing white and not pink, and the
presence of a complex ring.

~A. xanthodermus~ Genevier the ‘Yellow-staining mushroom’ has even
smaller spores than the field mushroom, i.e. 5-6 × 4 µm and a rather
strong, unpleasant smell; if eaten many people subsequently suffer
from stomach-pains and this shows that even amongst those fungi which
the scientist would call true mushrooms, i.e. those fungi in the genus
_Agaricus_, there are some poisonous members. Thus it is always
necessary to have wide experience before one collects fungi for eating
and until this is achieved all specimens should be discarded.

_Illustrations_: Field mushroom--Hvass 163; LH 133; NB 31⁶; WD 71².
Horse mushroom--Hvass 160; LH 135; WD 72¹. Yellow-staining
mushroom--Hvass 159; WD 71³.

~Calocybe gambosum~ (Fries) Singer.

St George’s mushroom

_Cap_: width 70-100 mm. _Stem_: width 15-25 mm; length 50-70 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: creamy white, ivory or light buff, slightly darker at the centre
with age, fleshy, rounded and with wavy margin, finally expanding to
become plane-convex; the margin is incurved and slightly downy at
first.

Stem: firm, rather thick, white at the top, creamy or buff below and
slightly downy when fresh.

Gills: sinuate to adnexed with a slight decurrent tooth, white to pale
buff.

Flesh: with a very strong smell of meal, white and thick.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: small, ellipsoid, smooth, hyaline under the microscope, 5-6 ×
3-4 µm and not becoming blue-grey with solutions containing iodine.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Found amongst grass in base rich pastures,
often in fairly large rings from April to June and on golf-courses
particularly those near the sea.

_General Information_: The common name refers to the early appearance
of this agaric; St George’s Day is April 23rd, and this mushroom is
found about this time in favourable years, its fruiting often
extending into early June, particularly if the fruiting is retarded by
a cold and wet spring. It is easily recognised by the pale colour of
the cap, strong mealy smell, but particularly by its appearance in
spring. In each new year it is probably the first of the larger
agarics to appear. This species will be found in most books under the
genus _Tricholoma_, but differs from typical members of this group in
the anatomy and chemistry of the gill-tissues.

The Latin name ‘gambosum’ is derived from ‘gamba’ meaning a hoof and
this reflects the shape of the fleshy cap as it pushes up through the
grass. Another much older name is _Tricholoma georgii_ (Fries) Quélet
which was used by Clusius and is derived from the legend of St George.

_Illustrations_: Hvass 28; LH 83; WD 9².

~Lepiota procera~ (Fries) S. F. Gray

Parasol mushroom

_Cap_: width 70-200 mm. _Stem_: width 12-20 mm; length 100-250 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: dull brown or greyish brown, oval or rounded at first, but later
becoming bell-shaped, finally expanding but for the central umbo and
the surface breaking up into shaggy scales.

Stem: straight, tapering upwards from a slightly bulbous base, felty
at first but then the surface breaking up into small patches which
finally resemble the pattern of a snake-skin; there is also a large,
thick, white ring which is brown below and becomes loose on the stem.

Gills: remote, white, crowded and fairly broad.

Flesh: white, thin, soft.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: very long, ellipsoid with a germ-pore, hyaline under the
microscope about 16 × 10 µm (14-17 × 9-12 µm), and becoming reddish
brown in solutions containing iodine.

Marginal cystidia: variable, elongate balloon-shaped and hyaline.

Facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Found from summer until mid-autumn, on the
outskirts of copses, in fields, at edges of woodland or in woodland
clearings; it is sometimes found in very large rings.

_General Information_: When this fungus first appears through the soil
it resembles a drum-stick with the margin of the unexpanded cap
tightly hugging the stem. It is an easily recognised fungus because of
its straight and graceful stature with large cap and tall stem. It is
one of our best edible fungi and cannot be confused with any other
agaric. _L. rhacodes_ (Vittadini) Quélet is not as elegant and has
much smaller spores.

_Illustrations_: F 26a; Hvass 15; LH 125; NB 31¹; WD 5¹.

(c) Agarics of meadows and valley-bottom grasslands

~Psilocybe semilanceata~ (Secretan) Kummer

Liberty caps

_Cap_: width 8-14 mm; height up to 18 mm. _Stem_: width 4-6 mm; length
50-70 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: sharply conical, in fact often with a very distinct apical point,
never or very rarely becoming expanded, often fluted and puckered at
the incurved margin, smooth, viscid, pale buff or clay colour, but
soon flushed with greyish green at maturity and becoming free of the
fibrils of veil which ornament the margin when young.

Stem: slender, tough and smooth, similarly coloured to the cap and
sometimes blueing at the base when picked.

Gills: adnate to adnexed, crowded, purplish black except for white
edge.

Flesh: white or pallid.

Spore-print: purple-brown.

Spores: long, ellipsoid, slightly lemon-shaped, smooth and with a
distinct germ-pore at one end and 12-14 × 7 µm in size.

Marginal cystidia: bottle-shaped with an elongate tapering neck, with
thin walls which at most become pale honey in solutions containing
ammonia, unlike the cystidia of _Hypholoma_ (p. 64).

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Commonly growing amongst grass in fields
near farm-yards, on heaths and by roadsides; often it occurs in small
troops.

_General Information_: _Psilocybe semilanceata_ is recognised by the
uniquely shaped cap; ‘semilanceata’ means half spear-shaped, from the
papilla at the top of the cap, giving it a pointed aspect. However,
the common name is more descriptive and comes from the fact that these
caps resemble the helmets worn by French soldiers in the early part of
the century.

This fungus was once very isolated amongst British agarics, but now it
has been united with a group of small purplish brown-spored fungi
formerly placed in the genus _Deconica_. What is of more interest is
the fact that unlike many British agarics the cap often does not
expand fully in order to release the spores. In this way it allows
mycologists to hypothesise on how certain of the enclosed, stalked
Gastromycetes evolved in some of the desert regions of the world.

_Illustrations_: LH 149; NB 33¹¹; WD 78⁷.

~Conocybe tenera~ (Fries) Fayod

Brown cone-cap

_Cap_: width 10-20 mm. _Stem_: width 3-6 mm; length 70-100 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: very hygrophanous, sand colour, orange-yellow or ochraceous brown
tinted cinnamon when fresh but drying uniformly yellow-ochre, thin,
fragile, striate when moist, but soon non-striate as water is lost
from the cap.

Stem: tall, slender and similarly coloured to the cap, straight,
fragile, minutely striate from the top to bottom with what appears to
be minute powdery granules.

Gills: adnate then becoming free, crowded, ochraceous and finally
cinnamon-rust in colour.

Flesh: russet when moist but rapidly becoming yellowish as the
fruit-body dries.

Spore-print: rust-brown.

Spores: long, ellipsoid, with thick, bright yellow-brown walls and
distinct germ-pores at their ends when seen under the microscope, and
over 10 µm in length (11-12 × 6 µm.)

Marginal cystidia: pinheaded or skittle-shaped.

Facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: This fungus grows in ones and twos, more
rarely in troops amongst grass.

_General Information_: This is one member of a whole complex group of
ochraceous, brown, tawny or cinnamon-brown capped agarics which
superficially appear to be the same, but on closer examination the
expert can split them into several distinct species. The use of
microscopic characters is essential and outside the scope of this book
or the ordinary mushroom-picker’s manual. However, the closely related
_C. lactea_ (J. Lange) Métrod can be more easily distinguished for it
has a white or cream-coloured cap and stem. It also has larger broadly
ellipsoid spores, measuring 12-14 × 6-9 µm, but the same shaped cells
on the gill-edge.

_Illustrations_: LH 153; NB 35⁴; WD 68².

(d) Fairy-ring formers

Many agarics grow in circles, but not all of them produce zones in the vegetation. It is the distinct zonation caused by the ‘fairy-ring champignon’ _Marasmius oreades_ (Fries) Fries and related fungi which have given rise to the name of Fairy-ring and which resulted in the foundation of many folk tales.

A fairy-ring can be divided into four distinct zones, a central zone of fairly normally developed vegetation on the outside of which is a green, actively growing zone of grass; outside this is a zone composed of brown or dead vegetation. The outermost zone again appears to be far more lush than the normal grass in the vicinity and it is in this last zone that the fruit-bodies of the fungus causing the pattern appear.

A generalised explanation of the zoning appears to be as follows:--

In the outermost zone the actively growing mycelium decomposes soil constituents and liberates nitrogenous material which is in turn taken up by the plant roots nearby and utilised for their growth. In the penultimate zone the grass is dead, probably not caused by a direct parasitic attack but by the mycelial threads filling the air-spaces in the soil and so inhibiting water flow. This destruction of the delicate balance of water and air found in any soil induces drying out and gradual death of the plants whose roots permeate the soil. Behind the dead-zone is vegetation which shows increased vigour apparently due to plant-nutrients being released by the decaying mycelium and plant-material, whose death has been caused by the presence of the fungus. The innermost zone is not so stimulated.

With nothing more than graph and tracing paper, a tape-measure, note-book and pencil, pieces of cane about four inches long, and coloured dye or indian ink, it is exciting to assess the annual radial growth of fairy-rings and to correlate these with environmental conditions. This can be carried out on a school lawn or on a home lawn; the method and further experiments are given in Appendix iii.

~Marasmius oreades~ (Fries) Fries

Fairy-ring champignon

_Cap_: width 25-60 mm. _Stem_: width 5-9 mm; length 30-80 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: pinkish tan with slight flush of brown at centre, hygrophanous
and drying out buff-coloured or clay-coloured, convex at first then
expanding to become plane, but for an obtuse umbo which is retained at
the centre.

Stem: pale buff, tough, flexible and smooth.

Gills: adnexed, pale cream colour or pinkish buff and fairly distant.

Flesh: whitish or pinkish tan, smelling of cherry laurel (cyanic).

Spore-print: white.

Spores: medium sized, hyaline, pip-shaped, smooth, not staining bluish
grey when mounted in solutions containing iodine and about 10 × 6 µm
in size (9-11 × 5-6 µm).

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: This agaric is very common from May to
October on lawns and grass-verges.

_General Information_: _M. oreades_ forms well developed fairy-rings,
and is easily recognised by its tough nature, pale colours and ability
to revive after having been dried. This ability to revive in moist
weather even after the fruit-body has been dried by the sun or wind is
a character which was used to distinguish members of the genus
_Marasmius_. However, this is a very subjective character and since
microscopic techniques were introduced and used widely in the study of
agarics the genus has been delimited rather more critically.
_Marasmius_ is close to _Collybia_ (p. 90), in fact many species
appear in one book in one genus and in another book in the second
genus; _M. oreades_ itself is not a typical member of the genus.
_Marasmius_ seems to be a much more important genus in the tropical
and subtropical regions of the world; we have already mentioned how
some of the small species of _Marasmius_ in Europe grow only on leaves
of a particular plant (see p. 92). _M. androsaceus_ (Fries) Fries (see
p. 231) is the horse-hair fungus.

_Illustrations_: F 19a; Hvass 81; LH 115; NB 35¹; WD 24¹⁰ (not very
good).

(e) Agarics of urban areas--lawn and parkland agarics

~Nolanea staurospora~ Bresadola

_Cap_: width 20-40 mm. _Stem_: width 3-5 mm; length 45-70 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: bell-shaped at first then expanded, hygrophanous, date-brown,
striate when moist but pale fawn or tan and non-striate when dry, and
usually becoming quite silky-shiny.

Stem: slender, fragile, greyish brown, silky fibrillose-striate and
shiny.

Gills: almost free, crowded and pale greyish brown when young, but
finally flesh coloured.

Flesh: brownish and smelling very strongly of meal when cut or broken
between the fingers.

Spore-print: salmon-pink with flush of cinnamon.

Spores: medium sized, fawn under the microscope, star-shaped with 4-6
prominent angles, 9-10 × 7-9 µm, smooth and with no germ-pore.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

~Nolanea sericea~ (Mérat) P. D. Orton

Silky nolanea

_Cap_: width 25-40 mm. _Stem_: width 5-9 mm; length 25-50 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: convex then flattened or with slight umbo, umber-brown with a
greyish cast which becomes accentuated as the cap dries out and
finally becoming silky-shiny; the margin is incurved and striate at
first but on expanding it becomes non-striate with time.

Stem: short, fibrillose, greyish brown, shining and white at the base,
very fragile and often snaps just above the soil-level when collected.

Gills: crowded, adnate and pale greyish brown then pinkish brown.

Flesh: with a strong smell of new meal, brownish becoming paler as it
dries out.

Spore-print: salmon-pink.

Spores: medium sized, smooth, pale fawn under the microscope, angular
almost cubic and 10-13 × 8-9 µm in size.

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_General Information_: _Nolanea staurospora_ is very common amongst
grass, in many habitats such as on heaths, and in woodlands and
copses, but it is particularly common in pastures and on lawns. It is
difficult to separate from close relatives on field-characters,
except for the strong mealy smell; however, it is recognised
immediately by the spore-shape, in fact stauro--means a cross and
spora--spore!

Because of the flattened cap and gill-shape _N. sericea_ (Mérat) P. D.
Orton was first placed in _Entoloma_, but for a long time it was one
of the smallest members of that genus. The European species of
_Nolanea_ have recently been critically analysed, and now that closely
related species to the silky _Nolanea_ have been found, it appears
better placed in _Nolanea_ although it is still found under _Entoloma_
in many books. The Latin word ‘sericeum’ means silky and refers to the
silky cap and stem of this fungus which is a very noticeable feature
when the fungus is collected in the dry state. The common name which
has been given to this fungus also refers to the silky nature of the
fruit-body.

_Illustrations_: _N. staurospora_--LH 181; ND 31²; WD 52². _N.
sericea_--LH 181; WD 52⁵.

~Panaeolus foenisecii~ (Fries) Schroeter

Brown hay-cap

_Cap_: width 12-28 mm. _Stem_: width 3-6 mm; length 40-60 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: semiglobate to convex and hardly expanding even with age, smooth,
expallent, dull cinnamon-brown or dark tan-colour, becoming
clay-colour or pale cinnamon-colour from centre outwards on drying and
so sometimes appearing as if it is zoned.

Stem: slender, fragile, smooth and pale cinnamon-brown, except at apex
where it is dotted with white; it is usually more brownish below.

Gills: adnate, crowded, pale brown and mottled, but becoming more
uniformly umber-brown except for whitish margin.

Flesh: whitish or pale cinnamon colour.

Spore-print: purple-brown.

Spores: long, lemon-shaped under the microscope, dull brown, warted
all over but for the distinct germ-pore; 12-15 × 7-8 µm in size.

Marginal cystidia: variable spindle-shaped with flexuous neck and
subcapitate apex, about 5-6 µm wide.

Facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common amongst short grass on lawns, in
pastures, on grass-verges, etc., from May until October.

_General Information_: _P. foenisecii_ is recognised under the
microscope by the ornamented spores; this character was used to
separate this fungus in the new genus _Panaeolina_. However, although
the spore-print is not exactly black the stature, mottled gills and
anatomy conform closely with _Panaeolus sphinctrinus_ (Fries) Quélet
and _P. rickenii_ Hora (see p. 210 and below respectively). The same
fungus has been placed in _Psilocybe_ (see p. 114), but it has little
in common with members of that genus. The word ‘foenisecii’ means
hay-harvest, reflecting the habitat of growing in fields. This fungus
is variable in colour depending on its state of turgidity; it can be
easily confused with other species of _Panaeolus_ when moist and with
certain species of _Conocybe_ when dry. _P. rickenii_ is an equally
common agaric growing on similar or slightly less base-rich
soil-types. It has a distinctly bell-shaped reddish brown cap with a
pale incurved margin which in wet weather is, like the entire stem,
beaded with droplets of liquid. This gives the fungus a glistening
appearance when seen fresh and as it dries these droplets are lost and
the cap becomes slightly zoned. The stem is pale reddish-brown with a
strong frosted appearance because of the minute hairs which cover it.
I have no doubt that the classification of these fungi will be
assisted by careful analysis of the shapes of the hairs found in the
different species.

_Illustrations_: _Panaeolina foenisecii_--LH 145; WD 78⁴. _Panaeolus
rickenii_--LH 145.

(f) Agarics of wasteland and hedgerows

~Coprinus comatus~ (Fries) S. F. Gray

Lawyer’s wig

_Cap_: width 30-60 mm; height 80-200 mm. _Stem_: width 10-20 mm;
length 80-250 mm.

_Description_: Plate 40.

Cap: at first cylindrical or oval then bell-shaped, fleshy, fragile,
white and covered with woolly, whitish, shaggy scales which have brown
tips; the centre of the cap is smooth and yellow to ochraceous whilst
the margin becomes striate and lilaceous and finally black as the
tissue liquefies (autodigests) and the margin rolls up to expose new
areas of spore-bearing tissue.

Stem: tall, white, smooth and tapered towards the apex, with a white
ring which can easily move up and down the stem with handling, and
which soon disappears with age.

Gills: free at first, white then pink and finally black, becoming
gradually dissolved into a black fluid from the base of the cap
upwards.

Flesh: white, thin, except immediately in the central area of the cap.

Spore-print: blackish-purple.

Spores: long, elongate-ellipsoid, large and about 13 × 5-8 µm in size,
(12-15 × 7-9 µm).

Marginal cystidia: elongate club-shaped to balloon-shaped, hyaline and
thin-walled.

Facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Grows in clusters on rich ground, in
gardens, on sides of newly prepared roads and central reservations of
motor-ways, on path-sides, in cultivated fields and on rubbish dumps;
it grows from spring to autumn and sometimes occurs in huge troops.

_General Information_: Easily recognised by its size, the shape of the
cap with its scaly surface and from its resemblance to a ‘judge’s
wig’; it is frequently called the ‘lawyer’s wig’ and whereas some
common names are not very descriptive and one has to use a lot of
imagination to conjure up what the common name implies, in this case
it is not so. It is also known as the ‘shaggy cap’ or ‘shaggy
ink-cap’. Ink or inky cap is, however, a common name for many species
of the genus _Coprinus_ (see p. 211-4).

The unrelated _Lyophyllum decastes_ (Fries) Singer and _L. connatum_
(Fries) Singer are also common fungi growing on roadsides, on soil and
compost-heaps. They too break through embankments, soil, paths, etc.,
producing large craters and mounds of debris.

_Illustrations_: _Coprinus comatus_--F 34^{b}; Hvass 172; LH 137; NB
35⁵; WD 82². _Lyophyllum decastes_--LH 81; WD 14².

~Lacrymaria velutina~ (Fries) Konrad & Maublanc

Weeping widow

_Cap_: width 45-90 mm. _Stem_: width 8-14 mm; length 50-125 mm.

_Description_: Plate 41.

Cap: convex then expanded with obtuse central umbo, dull clay-brown or
date-brown and at first covered with flattened, woolly fibrils which
are gradually lost with age; the margin is incurved and fringed with
remnants of the veil.

Stem: fragile, pale dingy-coloured or clay-coloured at apex, dull
brown below the ring-zone which consists of white fibrils; later in
development these fibrils catch the spores and the stem becomes black
and fibrillose-scaly, particularly below the ring-zone.

Gills: sinuate, crowded and very dark brown or almost black with
distinct white margin which is covered in tiny beads of liquid in
moist weather.

Flesh: pale buff.

Spore-print: almost black.

Spores: long, dark brown, lemon-shaped and warted with distinct and
prominent germ-pore and 10-12 × 6-7 µm in size.

Marginal cystidia: club-shaped or with a distinctly rounded head.

Facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Common on the ground near newly built
houses, on roadsides, tips and paths in woods, either solitary or in
groups; it is also found in pastures.

_General Information_: The fibrillose scaly cap and stem and the
almost black gills which frequently have liquid droplets at their edge
separate this species from all other agarics and microscopically it
can be easily recognised by the warted spores. ‘Velutina’ means
velvety and refers to the texture of the cap-surface, of the young
fruit-body. The genus name _Lacrymaria_ refers to this peculiar, but
certainly not unique, phenomenon, of exuding liquid from cells on the
gill-edge. This has been compared with weeping and ‘lacrymans’ means
weeping; the common name reflects this also--weeping widow (cf. p.
154).

This fungus has had a chequered history, for it is also known in some
books as _Hypholoma lacrymabunda_ (again meaning weeping) or _H.
velutina_; the anatomy of the fungus, however, is quite different to
_Hypholoma_ (e.g. _H. fasciculare_ p. 64). More recently it has found
a place in _Psathyrella_, but it seems unsatisfactorily placed there
because of the warty spores, black spore-print and fibrillose
cap-surface; it warrants a separate genus, i.e., _Lacrymaria_. _L.
pyrotricha_ (Fries) Konrad & Maublanc is the only other British
species of this genus but it has a bright orange cap colour; it is
rare.

_Illustrations_: Hvass 180; LH 141; WD 86³.

~Lepista nuda~ (Fries) Cooke

Wood blewits

_Cap_: width 70-100 mm. _Stem_: width 10-15 mm; length 70-100 mm.

_Description_: Plate 42.

Cap: rounded then flattened or slightly depressed in the centre,
smooth, bluish lilac, or violaceous when young but gradually with age
becoming reddish-brown, with or without a flush of wine colour.

Stem: similarly coloured to the cap, equal, fleshy, elastic,
fibrillose and streaky.

Gills: adnate with or without a decurrent tooth, crowded, lilac and
easily separable from the cap-tissue by the fingers.

Flesh: bluish violaceous, but drying out dirty buff in the base of the
stem.

Spore-print: flesh-coloured.

Spores: medium-sized, ellipsoid appearing smooth but very minutely
roughened under the microscope, although it is very difficult to see
except with a good instrument (6-8 × 4-5 µm in size).

Marginal and facial cystidia: absent.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Widespread in troops or small groups in
copses and under hedgerows and not uncommon in flower-beds in gardens
in late autumn and early winter especially on compost heaps and in
rhubarb patches which have been mulched with piles of moribund leaves.

_General Information_: This fungus was originally placed in
_Tricholoma_, but due to differences in anatomy and the distinctly
coloured and ornamented spores it has been placed along with ‘common
blewits’ _T. personatum_ (Fries) Kummer (or better _L. saeva_ (Fries)
P. D. Orton), in the genus _Lepista_. This genus which is also called
_Rhodopaxillus_, again referring to the pinkish spore-print, is not
found in many of the easily obtainable books. One should look for the
fungus under _Tricholoma_, from which it can be separated easily by
the beautiful colour.

Both the ‘wood blewits’ and ‘common blewits’ have been regularly sold
in markets in England within the last fifty years. They are edible and
considered of high quality. In their fresh state they are easily
recognised, but as they age they become browned and so resemble many
other less desirable fungi.

_Illustrations_: F 17^{d}; Hvass 49; LH 91; NB 125²; WD 12³ (a bit too
pastel).

~Agaricus bisporus~ (J. Lange) Pilát

Common mushroom

_Cap_: width 40-100 mm. _Stem_: width 15-25 mm; length 50-75 mm.

_Description_: Plate 43.

Cap: rounded gradually expanding to become plane, whitish with
numerous brown radiating fibrils and with the margin irregular because
of fragments from the ring which are left there after expansion of the
cap.

Stem: short, cylindrical, smooth, bruising reddish-brown when handled
and with a narrow ring which soon collapses and disappears.

Gills: free, pink at first then purple-brown, narrow and crowded.

Flesh: solid, thick, firm and slowly flushing brownish on cutting.

Spore-print: purple-brown.

Spores: medium-sized, broadly ellipsoid, purple-brown under the
microscope, less than 10 µm long, (6-8 × 5-6 µm).

Marginal cystidia: club-shaped, 10-12 µm at apex.

Facial cystidia: absent.

Basidia: 2-spored.

_Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Frequent on manure heaps, straw heaps, on
road scrapings and around garden plants.

_General Information_: This fungus is recognised by the dark fibrils
on the cap, the 2-spored basidia easily seen with the low power of a
microscope, and the pink gills when young. Much confusion has existed
over this fungus and its nearest relatives. It is similar to the
‘Cultivated mushroom’, _A. hortensis_ (Cooke) Pilát, which is offered
for sale in shops. However, it differs in several minor details and it
may be that _A. bisporus_ is the fungus from which the cultivated
mushroom developed, very probably unconsciously by man, but the
history of the cultivated mushroom is very obscure. The cultivated
mushroom when bought in British shops is white but in the United
States two varieties are sold, one with the brownish fibrils
predominating and a snow-white one where the fibrils do not darken;
the former is frequently found in Europe. The white form is sometimes
found in gardens where spent-mushroom spawn is used as mulching around
fruit-trees but it has a rounder cap than _A. bisporus_. The
cultivated mushroom accounts for an annual income of £14 million in
the British Isles.

_Illustrations_: _A. hortensis_--LH 133 (as the forma _albida_); NB
31⁷; WD 71¹. _A. bisporus_--Hvass 161; LH 133.

B. BRACKET-FUNGI AND THEIR RELATIVES

_Key to major genera_

A group of fungi which includes the bracket fungi, hedgehog fungi, fairy-clubs and their relatives; in the majority of species the margin continues to grow through the favourable part of the season and so often envelopes leaves, grass, etc.

1. Spore-bearing layer (hymenium) quite smooth, spread over veins or
shallow pores; fruit-body top-shaped, fan-shaped or club-shaped,
or spread over the substrate (resupinate) 2

Spore-bearing layer lining the inner surface of tubes or borne on
warts or spines 17

2. Fruit-body club-shaped, coral-shaped or distinctly funnel-shaped,
fan-like or resembling an agaric 3

Fruit-body resupinate or with poorly developed cap 11

3. Fruit-body coral-like or club-shaped with clubs grouped or
branched 4

Fruit-body resembling an agaric or funnel-shaped to fan-shaped 9

4. Fruit-body large, branched with flattened and curled lobes and so
resembling a cauliflower _Sparassis_

Fruit-body of single or grouped clubs or if branched then not
resembling a cauliflower, the lobes being cylindrical or only
slightly flattened and hardly bent 5

5. Fruit-body small arising from a seed-like structure or growing
attached to dead herbaceous plant remains 6

Fruit-body medium to large, simple or branched and usually growing
on the ground; one large species grows on wood 7

6. Fruit-body arising from a seed-like body embedded in the
plant-tissue or found loose in the soil _Typhula_

Fruit-body on dead plant-remains but seed-like structure absent
_Pistillaria_

7. Fruit-body much branched; spores ornamented (see also _Thelephora_
below) _Ramaria_

Fruit-body simple or if with well-developed branches then spores
smooth 8

8. Fruit-body branched irregularly with many to few branches, grey,
white or drab-coloured; spores large, subglobose and smooth
_Clavulina_

Fruit-body club-shaped or if branched then brightly coloured and
spores not large and subglobose
_Clavaria_, _Clavulinopsis_ & _Clavariadelphus_

9. Fruit-body resembling an agaric with spores borne on fold-like,
often forked and shallow ridges and veins, and often brightly
coloured
_Cantharellus_ (compare carefully with _Craterellus_ below)

Fruit-body funnel-shaped or fan-shaped 10

10. Fruit-body often drab colour or greyed with smooth or slightly
veined outer surface _Craterellus_

Fruit-body wrinkled, irregular or smooth and powdery, lilaceous to
chocolate-brown in colour _Thelephora_

11. Fruit-body sessile or resupinate and fleshy; spores borne on veins
united to form shallow pores 12

Fruit-body resupinate or bracket-like, and spore-surface veined or
rugulose but lacking distinct pores 13

12. Spores colourless _Merulius_

Spores brown _Serpula_

13. Spore-bearing layer containing long, brown spines _Hymenochaete_

Fruit-body lacking spines although often having encrusted sterile
cells 14

14. Surface of fruit-body more or less radiately veined _Phlebia_

Surface of fruit-body not radiately veined 15

15. Spores brown _Coniophora_

Spores colourless 16

16. Flesh distinctly formed and fruit-body with or without a well
formed cap _Stereum_ & related genera

Flesh poorly differentiated and fruit-body lacking a cap
members of the Corticiaceae (including _Peniophora_ &
_Hyphodontia_ p. 176)

17. Spores borne on teeth or spines 18

Spore-bearing layer lining tubes or elongate pores 22

18. Fruit-body with central stem; agaric-like but not attached to
cones 19

Fruit-body encrusting or bracket-like, or with lateral stem if
resembling an agaric 20

19. Fruit-body fleshy _Hydnum_ and related genera

Fruit-body rubbery or tough _Hydnellum_ and related genera

20. Fruit-body growing attached to cones and cap with lateral stem
_Auriscalpium_

Fruit-body not on cones and distinct stem lacking 21

21. Spores borne on a series of radially arranged knotches resembling
gills _Lentinellus_

Spores borne on a resupinate layer of spines
_Mycoacia_ and related genera

22. Tubes free one from another _Fistulina_

Tubes united to form a distinct tissue 23

23. Fruit-body perennial and exhibiting more than one layer of tubes
24

Fruit-body annual although the fruit-body can persist in a dried
depauperate form for several months 27

24. Spores brown 25

Spores colourless 26

25. Large, brown, sterile cells present in the tubes; spores simple
_Phellinus_ & _Cryptoderma_

Brown, sterile cells absent from tubes; spores complex _Ganoderma_

26. Large woody fruit-body with crust-like top _Fomes_

Medium sized to small, fleshy-tough fruit-body with downy or
crust-like top _Oxyporus_, _Fomitopsis_ & _Heterobasidion_

27. Spores borne in labyrinth-like or elongate pores, or cap either
poorly developed or absent, and only resupinate pore-surface
present 28

Spores borne in distinct pores on well-developed woody
fruit-bodies 31

28. Spores borne in labyrinth-like pores _Daedalea_ & _Daedaleopsis_

Spores borne in elongate pores like very thick gills, or
fruit-body completely resupinate 29

29. Spore-layer lining elongate pores
_Lenzites_ (white) & _Gloeophyllum_ (brown)

Spore-layer consisting of a resupinate pore-layer 30

30. Pore-layer totally resupinate; flesh very poorly developed
_Fibuloporia_ and related genera

Fruit-body resupinate or developing ill-formed caps at the margin;
flesh well-developed and quite tough
_Datronia_, _Gloeoporus_ & _Bjerkandera_

31. Fruit-body with a distinct stem 32

Fruit-body sessile or with a poorly developed stem, or if merely
with a basal swelling then pores bruising 33

32. Pores dark-coloured but spores pale-coloured in mass
_Coltricia_ (also see _Phaeolus_ below)

Pores white or creamy, foot often darkened or black, and spores
hyaline _Polyporus_

33. Pores brightly coloured, red, lilaceous or orange to
apricot-colour 34

Pores never as brightly coloured, cream, white, grey or in some
shade of brown 35

34. Pores red to orange-red _Pycnoporus_

Pores lilac to violaceous, or lilaceous orange to apricot colour
_Hapalopilus_ (orange-apricot) & _Hirschioporus_ (lilaceous)

35. Pore-surface brown or dark grey and spores often colourless 36

Pore-surface white or creamy, or yellow; spores hyaline 38

36. Pore-surface firm and grey _Bjerkandera_

Pore-surface greenish yellow, bruising brown or yellow-brown and
darkening with age 37

37. Fruit-body lacking a stem, rust-brown, breaking easily, cheesy and
with silky sheen _Inonotus_

Fruit-body with a broad basal hump, fibrillose spongy with yellow
margin to cap _Phaeolus_

38. Tubes forming a layer quite distinct from the flesh; fruit-body
fleshy and tough 39

Tubes not forming a layer distinct from the flesh; fruit-body
woody or corky 43

39. Pore-surface bright yellow; upper surface yellow or orange
_Laetiporus_

Pore-surface white 40

40. Fruit-body medium to large, shell-shaped, whitish brown or silvery
grey on top; on birch _Piptoporus_

Fruit-body often frond-like, infrequently shell-shaped and if on
birch then small 41

41. Fruit-body fan- or frond-shaped, composed of innumerable more or
less complete caps joined together at their base or to half-way
_Grifola_ & _Meripilus_

Fruit-body neither fan-shaped nor frond-shaped and compound 42

42. Fruit-body wholly pale-coloured white, cream, ivory, etc.
_Tyromyces_

Fruit-body except pores usually some shade of brown _Polyporus_

43. Cap thick, corky or woody and pores medium or large
_Trametes_ & _Pseudotrametes_

Cap thin but leathery and pores small _Coriolus_

(i) Pored and toothed fungi

(a) Colonisers of tree trunks, stumps and branches

~Polyporus squamosus~ Fries

Scaly polypore

_Cap_: 100-300 mm. _Stem_: width 25-50 mm; length 25-75 mm.

_Description_:

Cap: fan-shaped or semicircular, spreading horizontally with age,
ochre-yellow or straw-coloured with dark brown, flattened scales in
concentric zones which are much more dense at the centre.

Stem: short, stout, white at apex and netted with pale creamy buff
about middle, but dark brown or black towards the base and attached to
the side of the cap.

Tubes: whitish to yellowish and decurrent with large, angular,
irregularly fringed, whitish or cream-coloured pores.

Flesh: with strong, not very pleasant smell, cream-coloured or white.

Spore-print: white.

Spores: long, oblong or elongate ellipsoid, hyaline under the
microscope (10-15 × 4-5 µm) and not blueing in solutions containing
iodine.