Earthy Powdercap

Description

Earthy Powdercap is a common and widespread, small to medium-sized, gilled mushroom. It occurs in Europe, Asia, North America, and southern Australia. It occurs throughout most of the northern United States and southern Canada, but it is absent from the Great Plains and the Great Basin. It is found in late summer and fall; alone, scattered, or in groups but not clustered (gregarious); in coniferous and mixed woodlands. It grows on the ground, usually on moss but also on fallen leaves in mixed woodlands and on needle carpets in coniferous woodlands. It obtains its nutrients from decayed organic matter (saprobic).

When it first appears, the cap is convex, broadly cone-shaped, or bell-shaped. The color is variable, and different forms have been described on the basis of young cap color. The typical form is yellow to yellowish brown or orangish brown, one form is olive colored, and one form is white. The mature cap is broadly convex, broadly bell-shaped, or nearly flat. The surface is covered with dry, mealy granules, which are often washed off by rain, and it may be conspicuously radially wrinkled, slightly wrinkled, or smooth. The margin is often hung with remnants of the partial veil.

The gills are closely spaced or crowded, and they may be narrowly or broadly attached to the stalk. They are white or cream-colored at first, becoming yellowish or yellowish orange with age.

The stalk is 1″ to 2¾″ (2.5 to 7.0 cm) long and ⅛″ to 5⁄16″ (3 to 8 mm) thick. It may be the same size from top to bottom or slightly enlarged toward the base. There is a flimsy ring at first, a remnant of the partial veil, but this often fragments or completely disappears with age. Above the ring the stalk is pale or whitish and smooth. Below the ring the stalk is colored like the cap and is sheathed with mealy granules. Shielded by the cap above, the granules are not washed off by rain.

The flesh is thin and whitish. It is not poisonous, but eating is not recommended because it can easily be confused with the deadly poisonous Lepiota castanae.

The spore print is white.

Similar Species

Habitat and Hosts

Coniferous and mixed woodlands

Ecology

Season

Late summer and fall