Brick Cap

Description:

--Scientific name: Hypholoma sublateritium (Fries) Quelet --Derivation of name: Sub- means "somewhat" or "almost" and laterit- means "brick-colored." So, this mushroom was judged to be nearly brick-colored by the name's author. --Synonyms: Naematoloma sublateritium (Fr.) P. Karst. --Common name(s): Brick cap; Brick tops. --Phylum: Basidiomycota --Order: Agaricales --Family: Strophariaceae --Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; in clusters on decaying deciduous stumps, logs, or standing dead trees; August through November. --Dimensions: Caps 4-10 cm wide; stipes 4-10 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm thick. --Cap: Moist; brick-red but paler toward margin. --Gills: Attached; Whitish to pale greenish-yellow, becoming purplish and finally purple-brown as the spores mature. --Spore print: Purple-brown. --Stipe: Whitish or pale yellow above, grayish to brownish to reddish brown toward the base --Veil: Partial veil leaves a fibrous zone near the stalk apex which may become purple-brown following deposition of spores. --Edibility: Field guides give mixed reviews as to the edibility of this mushroom. --Comments: Lincoff states the species is only tasty when very young. Miller indicates the species is bitter and inedible ( http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wo... )

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Poisonous/Suspect fungus colour: Red or redish or pink, Brown normal size: 5-15cm cap type: Convex to shield shaped spore colour: Purplish to black habitat: Grows on wood Hypholoma sublateritium (Fr.) Quél. Syn. Naemateloma sublateritium (Fr.) Kar. Ziegelroter Schwefelkopf Hypholome presque brique Bricks Caps. Cap 3–10cm across, convex, brick red to reddish-brown at centre on ochraceous ground often with fibrillose remnants of veil towards margin. Stem 50–180 x 5–12mm, pale yellow near the apex becoming ochre brown towards the base, and with a cortinal zone near the apex. Flesh pale yellowish, reddish-brown towards stem base. Taste bitter, smell mushroomy. Gills pale yellowish becoming olive-brown. Cheilocystidia thin-walled, hair-like. Pleurocystidia clavate with beak-like apex. Spore print purplish-brown. Spores elliptic with an indistinct pore, 6–7 x 3–4.5um. Habitat stumps of deciduous trees. Season autumn. Occasional. Not edible. Distribution, America and Europe ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing in clusters on decaying hardwood logs and stumps; fall; widely distributed in North America but more common east of the Rocky Mountains. Cap: 4-10 cm; convex to broadly convex, occasionally nearly flat or irregular in age; with an incurved margin when young; smooth; dry or moist; brick red, paler on the margin. Gills: Attached to the stem; pale to pale gray at first, becoming purple-gray; close or crowded. Stem: 5-10 cm long; .5-1.5 cm thick; more or less equal, but often twisted due to clustered growth pattern; more or less smooth or somewhat shaggy; sometimes with a faint ring zone near the top; whitish above, reddish below; sometimes bruising and staining yellow. Flesh: Firm; cream colored. Odor and Taste: Odor not distinctive; taste mild to bitter. Spore Print: Purple brown. Microscopic Features: Spores 6-7.5 x 3.5-4.5 µ; eliptical; smooth; with an obscure pore. Pleurocystidia fusoid-ventricose to mucronate; with refractive contents; up to 36 x 15 µ. Cheilocystidia fusoid-ventricose or irregular, with subcapitate apices; to 35 x 9 µ. ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hypholoma_... ) ----This cluster was found unusually on the ground, possibly burried fence wood or a root from a dead tree. I reviewed and compared several species, but the brick caps are the most similiar. Nice big cluster,overlooked it by going to the forest but luckily spotted it still, while going back home. I had allready packed the camera away!! The nicest/intresting spotting make i always, when i not expect/searched for it!