Spring Brittlestem

Description:

Cap: 2-8 cm; convex, broadly conical, broadly bell-shaped, or nearly flat at maturity; bald; the margin finely lined; medium brown to yellow-brown, fading markedly as it dries out to brownish buff; when young with wisps of veil tissue, especially along the margin. Gills: Attached to the stem; close or nearly distant; pale brownish to whitish at first, becoming dark brown. Stem: 4-12 cm long; up to 1 cm thick; equal; fragile; whitish; bald or finely silky; sometimes grooved near the apex; without a ring. Flesh: Thin; fragile; brownish. Odor and Taste: Not distinctive. Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative. Spore Print: Very dark brown with a hint of purple ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/psathyrell... )

Habitat:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing scattered to gregariously or in small clusters in hardwood or conifer forests, often near woody debris; spring and early summer; apparently widely distributed in North America

Notes:

Psathyrella spadiceogrisea is a large, springtime Psathyrella, appearing in both hardwood and conifer forests. Aside from its larger size, it is virtually indistinguishable from Psathyrella pseudovernalis in macroscopic features; both species feature brown caps, wisps of veil material along the cap margin, dark brown spore prints, and snap-able white stems. Under the microscope, however, Psathyrella spadiceogrisea features utriform (rather than fusoid-ventricose) hymenial cystidia--and its gill edges bear inconspicuous (rather than conspicuous) sphaeropedunculate elements-- ( http://www.mycobank.org/BioloMICS.aspx?L... ), ( http://www.google.nl/search?hl=nl&q=... )