SMmushroomer Posted September 1, 2014 Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Hi, I have some nice big mushrooms that just started popping up in some(mostly oak) wood-bark mulch. These mushrooms are about 4 to 6 inchesaccross the cap and anywhere from 3 to 9 inches tall. I'll includeseveral photos, I hope someone can help me identify them. Thanks for any help! P.S. I don't have a spore print yet, but I'll get one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 I think these may be examples of Leucoagaricus americanus. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/leucoagaricus_americanus.html This mushroom used to be placed in the genus Lepiota. In older guides you will find it under this genus name. But I'm not completely confident in my ID here. A L. americanus mushroom has a ring on the stalk, a trait I don't see here. Sometimes a ring may erode away. But in this case, the missing trait makes ID iffy. There are some species of Lepiota which resemble this one, mostly small mushrooms... and some have rings on the stalks. Some of the small Lepiotas are dangerously poisonous. Another trait that helps one ID L. americanus is the reddening of the stalk. Also, if you cut into the lower portion of the stalk, the flesh will turn yellow/saffron and then slowly change to dark red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMmushroomer Posted September 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Hi Dave, thanks for replying! I was quite sure these were (what I saw called) Reddening Lepiotas, I was also confused by the lack of the ring on the stalk, some have that ring, but most of them have fallen off. These do turn deep red when you cook them (no I didn't eat any, I just cooked them for research purposes) and if you leave them out for an hour or so they turn a lighter red and the longer they sit the redder they get until they are dry. These are certainly not small! I found one today that was 8 inches accross the top. I was pretty sure they were Reddening Lepiotas, but I didn't want to start people thinking on those lines so I didn't say so at the start, everything I had found about Identifying them mentioned the ring on the stalk, so I was confused. Thanks again for your input, I'll still do some more research but you've been a great help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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