CA, Southern California, 20070926
Madison Heights, several mushrooms. 

This is the fourth day after the 1.2" of rain we got on Saturday.  I've never seen so many interesting mushrooms in Pasadena!

Nice one, side view. Nice one, top view. 

Scleroderma cepa [] 

Several are fruiting in the same general place.  See 20070828.

Shiny one, cap. Shiny one, gills and stem. Mature one, knocked over. Mature one. Several old ones. Two young ones. Several nice ones. Spores, at 400x.  Wet. Spores, at 1000x. Spores, at 1000x. Spores, at 400x.  Dry. Side view of gnarly cluster. 

Nolanea stricta [] 

Scattered all over under E-most oak, on N side of Fillmore just W of Los Robles, in leaf-litter. 
 GEN small to med mushroom, under oak
 ST 40x5-10mm, v irreg x-sect, v fibrous, fragile, hollow, silky-striate, brownish but lter than cap
 CAP to 50mm, convex to dunce-cap, irreg, shiny, smooth, brown to buff-brown to grey-brown gen fairly dk, v thin edge sl curled under
 FLESH pale brownish to v sl pinkish, thin, to 2mm thick, soft and flexible and somewhat fragile
 GILL adnate to notched, pallid pinkish brownish, distant, 4mm deep, dusting of pinkish spores visible at 30x
 SPORE print pinkish, angular, 7-8um round
Gotta be close, due to distinctive pinkish angular spores, but there are (apparently) similar related species.

Spores, at 1000x. Spores, at 1000x. Pair of old and young, knocked over. Top view of nice one. Side view of nice one. 

Boletus subtomentosus [] 

Over on Oak Knoll south of California, on east side of street.  Several at base of oak, in lawn. 
 GEN med bolete, in lawn under oak
 ST 50x15-20mm, tough, snaps, irreg, deep yell to red esp near top, smooth, somewhat shiny
 CAP 60mm wide, convex to plane, dry dull brown cap, smooth to v min tom, somewhat rimose w pale yellish showing through cracks, not acrid or bitter
 FLESH to 15mm thick, spongy soft, pale yell, v faint and slow bluish stain
 PORE to 10mm deep, ochre-yell, fairly coarse (1mm or so wide), only v sl if at all decur
 SPORE print yellowish brown, smooth, oblong, 10.3-12.9x4.1-4.7um
Same deal as last time  Arora keys it to B. chrysenteron, but I wonder if it is actually the similar B. dryophilus due to its (apparently exclusive) affinity for oaks (and it is supposed to be the most common bolete in SoCal).  The cap shows no red tints either on the cuticle or in the cracks, so it really doesn't match either description perfectly.  Feedback via mushroomobserver.org has convinced me this is B. subtomentosus, not B. chrysenteron.

Side view, showing movable ring nicely. Close-up of button. Side view of young one. 

Lepiota lutea [] 

On Arden, E of El Molino, N side of street, about halfway to Hudson.  Scattered in lawn and next to sidewalk. 
 GEN med mushroom, loosely v clustered, in lawn
 ST 60x5mm w conspic bulb at base to 20mm wide, pale yell, min shaggy-scurfy, detachable ring
 CAP to 70mm wide, conic then opening up to plane to sl umbo, pale yell, striate, scattering of buff particles/scales esp in center
 FLESH pale yell, v thin (2 2mm at v center but mostly less than 1mm), v flexible
 GILL close, pale yell, completely free, 5mm deep
 SPORE print whitish? (v weak), 7-9x4-5um, clear, smooth, ellip
Clear ID via Arora.

Spores, at 1000x. Side view of tattered half-eaten one. Top view of tattered half-eaten one. 

Lepiota barssii [] 

On Fillmore, S side, just E of Oakland, in lawn above sidewalk.  Just the one, and fairly old at that. 
 GEN med mushroom, solit, in lawn
 ST stout and curved, 40x10-15mm, thickening to base, whitish, min cottony covering?, conspic stubby ring sticking out at 90deg (not skirt or sheath like), somewhat watery texture (causing brownish stain), thick, solid, fibrous
 CAP ~50mm wide, convex, d covered with flat fibrillose brownish scales (but not what I'd call shaggy), not at all striate
 FLESH thick, pale off-white to sl brownish, 8mm, spongy soft
 GILL completely free, close, white, ~7mm deep, min white dusting of spores visible at 30x
 SPORE white, 6.0-7.0x4.1-4.8um
Not completely confident of ID, but it is by far the best match I can find in Arora.

Spores, at 1000x. Close-up of K+y/o reaction on cap, at 10x. Section of button, at 10x.  Note thick partial veil, and yellow stains. Button, knocked over. Yellow staining of bruised base. Older one, knocked over. Young and old, side view, no flash. Young and old, side view, with flash. Older one, top view. 

Agaricus xanthodermus [] 

Under E-most oak on S side of Fillmore just to W of Los Robles.  In leaf litter.  Quite a lot of them, mostly young still.  Didn't get a sample  will have to check them tomorrow. 
 GEN large mushroom, in leaf litter and ivy under oak
 ST 80x15, smooth, whitish, sl thicker bel, not perfectly straight, collar/sheath thick ring, bruise yell esp at base
 CAP 90mm, plane, whitish to brownish tinted esp in age, smooth to sparingly thin broad scaly, K+y/o strong, bruising yell then brown
 FLESH to 10-12mm thick, whitish, bruising yell esp near cuticle and gills, mild earthy odor
 GILL completely free, white to pale brown in age
 SPORE print brown, ellip, smooth, small, 5.3-5.9x3.6-4.2um
The fact that it bruises yell then turns brown apparently is a very useful diagnostic characteristic distinguisihing it from several other large whitish species that also bruise yellow (but stay yell), such as A. arvensis, A. osecanus, and A. silvicola.  Also the fact that the base of the stalk bruises quite distinctly more strongly deep yellow is another key characteristic.  I called the odor "earthy", and the flavor is strongly earthy as well but quite unpleasant, leaving a lingering nasty musty aftertaste.  I guess this must be what is called "phenolic".

Spore print.  This color looks rather accurate on my laptop. Cool horned cystidia, at 1000x. Cool horned cystidia, at 1000x. Cool horned cystidia, at 1000x. Cool horned cystidia, at 1000x. Section of gill, at 100x.  Shows lots of nice horned cystidia. Cool horned cystidia, at 400x. Spores, at 1000x. Close-up of free gills. Nice one, knocked over. Nice one, quarter view. 

Pluteus cervinus [] 

Solit in grass (on mound at or near where there used to be a dead oak tree that was removed earlier this year), S side of Fillmore, halfway between Madison and El Molino, between sidewalk and street.
 GEN large mushroom, in grass, essentially no odor at all
 ST 90x10mm, straight, clean, smooth, whitish, somewhat tough, somewhat fibrous, solid, even, no ring
 CAP 70x50mm, conical, smooth and shiny, tacky, whitish darkening to brown in center, maybe sl broadly umbo, cuticle remains intact when peeled
 FLESH white, 8mm thick in center, somewhat firm, heavy
 GILL white, clean, close, 10mm deep, free or nearly so, sl off-white, long-necked cystidia with 2 (occ 3) little horns
 SPORE print pinkish, ellip, smooth, lots of "stuff" inside, normal-sized, 5.6-6.2x3.6-4.2um
Wow, I blew this one because I assumed the spores would be white.  Imagine my surprise to find a pink spore print a few hours later!  Not a Tricholoma resplendens, after all.  Note also, this mushroom looks as fresh as ever, now several hours after I picked it.  Remarkable.

Button, side view. 

Lepiota barssii [] 

Sev in loose cluster in lawn, S side of Fillmore between Oakland and Madison (toward E end), between sidewalk and street.  Need to wait a day or two for at least one to mature.  See 20070928 for a description and discussion.

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Last changed on October 1, 2007