brown spore prints , whitish to yellowish brown caps, and partial veils that often leave fragments hanging from the cap margins and fragile rings on the stems. themushrooms range from small to medium in size, and are often found in urban settings--though some species occur in woods, as well. research...
the shape ofthe cap, the fuzziness or baldness ofthe undersurface ofthe cap, and (especially) the stem, which may be dramatically ribbed and/or pocketed. microscopic analysis comes into play in a few ofthe more difficult identification areas ofthegenus--most notably, in separating helvella macropus...
("little brown mushrooms"), and most require microscopic examination for accurate identification. themushrooms are saprobes that decompose grass litter, dung, or forest litter, and the physical features that define thegenus include: a dark brown to purple-brown or black spore print . small size. grayish...
to brownish species and a few (well, two) that are more interesting. the rare crepidotus cinnabarinus is bright red, and crepidotus crocophyllus usually features yellow to orange gills . . . but pretty much everything else is brown or white, and requires extensive microscopic study for accurate identification...
copious, and it almost seems to pour out ofthe mushroom when you slice it or damage the gills. in other species the milk can be scanty to almost nonexistent--especially in older specimens that have grown in dry weather. a few mushrooms in other genera exude a juice (for example, mycena haematopus )...
ago, there were two north american honey mushrooms: armillaria mellea and armillaria tabsescens —and thegenus armillaria held many mushrooms. this state of affairs was too easy for mycologists, however. someone had to go and point out that armillaria contained many mushrooms that differed widely in...
reminiscent of carbon or charcoal. themushrooms are "pyrenomycetes," which means they produce spores in asci that are embedded in tiny pockets called "perithecia"; the asci take turns growing into the narrow opening ofthe pocket so that they can shoot spores away from the fungus and into the air currents...
day it was discovered. at issue is its placement relative to other groups of fungi. it has funky, interesting basidia (the prong-like structures on which spores are borne) that seem to be a combination of two well-established types. jelly fungi develop divided basidia, while othermushrooms that bear...
from the stem. it grows on or near the deadwood of hardwoods, and it is fairly easily distinguished from other species in thegenus on the basis of its somewhat velvety yellowish cap, which usually features a brownish center, at least when young. it has a rather long stem, for a pluteus, and it tends...
glue them together. suspend all the tubes from a board, so they hang downward--then wait for the seeds fall out. somewhere along the long line of natural history, the boletes decided that this would be the most successful way to survive. their caps look like the caps ofthe gilled mushrooms (a group...