Wondering if anyone can give me a push in the right direction. I've had this image as an LBM for a while now and don't really have an idea. I don't have any clues except the picture as it's a few years old, so no spore print, sniff test or view of the gills. With my lack of ID skills, all little brown mushrooms look like Mycenas to me. Thanks for any ideas. Best wishes for the holidays.
Yes and kind of. There is a water source nearby, but probably at least a hundred feet away and downhill from the site. Also, lots of pines and hemlocks around. It's a managed watershed, so some fallen wood, mostly conifers, as well nearby.
Kind of looks like it could be a Galerina, but the white margin with the pointy cap points to another genus, which is escaping me at the moment.
Almost certian this is a Psathyrella species...just not postitive WHICH. Ones I know you can mark off are: P. berolinensis P. piluliformis P. candoleana Sorry I couldn't help more here..... On another note? lol Found great info on an aquatic Psathyrella found in Oregon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psathyrella_aquatica is only a small reference but still interesting.
good call on the psatharella. did you get a pic of your aquatic one? i wouldn't mind a picture of it for the 2011 club mushroom calendar.
If you google image Psathyrella aquatica there are only about 2 different images. Fascinating creature! Another thing that was great with this search...got a species name for a fungi I'd found the last 2 years and didn't know the name to. lol 'Psathyrella candolleana'
I think without a spore print or more information...this is an almost 'hopeless' challenge. For me however, Inocybes tend to have a more 'fiberous' cap then what this one looks like? (just a personal observation.....) Good luck!
Well. There you have it. It is Inocybe...definately NOT a Psathyrella or Galerina! :o) Aren't you glad you asked! Now...WHICH Inocybe???
Oh jeez, there are so many that look like that... To narrow it down to species we would need more photos, and to know what trees and bushes were growing nearby, seeing as Inocybe are ectomycorrhizal, EcM. Revisiting the photo, I can't rule out Cortinarius either. But again, without more photos and info, it's going to be impossible to know. Steve, if you just want a name for the image, I would just call it "Inocybe sp.".
Thanks to all for your thoughts. Obviously I'm going to have to visit this spot next year and try to find these again. I'm learning that some are fairly easy to eyeball, while all too many require spore prints at the least and more "dire" testing as well. Sounds pretty natural to all those who pick 'shrooms for food, but I've always treated them as wildflowers, even though they're not, and don't pick wild stuff. Time to amend my ways I suppose if I want fairly accurate names. Happy New Year to all. Thanks again.
Precisely, it is really a matter of priorities. I do not like struggling with people on the point of actually picking the mushroom if they are strongly averse. I simply explain (as you have realized) that they don't have to pick the mushroom... But then they must not expect a certain or accurate identification all of the time. Occasionally when I pick something that I don't take with me, I feel a little regret for having disturbed the organism... In which case i try and replace it back into the hole I plucked it from. At least then it can continue to sporulate with gravity on its side, as opposed to if it was set down on its side.