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Psathyrella longipes

by Michael Kuo, 14 March 2024

Psathyrella longipes is a California species found in wet woodland areas in fall and winter, tentatively recognized by its broadly conical cap, which often features white veil tatters, and its proportionally long stem. The mushroom is extremely fragile, and it falls apart easily when collected. Microscopic features include large spores that are ellipsoid but slightly angular, the absence of pleurocystidia, and the presence of cheilocystidia.

Hypholoma longipes is a synonym.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing gregariously on the ground in forest litter; fall and winter; originally described from Pasadena, California (Peck 1895); distributed along the California coast. The illustrated and described collection is from San Mateo County.

Cap: 2–4.5 cm; egg-shaped to conical when young, becoming broadly conical to bell-shaped; smooth; with whitish veil flecks and tatters, especially toward the margin, when young and fresh; dull medium brown; hygrophanous; moist to dry; the margin becoming slightly lined.

Gills: Broadly attached to the stem; close; short-gills frequent; whitish at first, becoming dull gray and eventually blackish; with contrasting whitish edges.

Stem: 6–11 cm long; up to 1 cm thick; equal; fragile; bald or very finely flecked; whitish to pale brownish; without a ring.

Flesh: Thin; fragile; whitish.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Microscopic Features: Spores 10–14 x 6–8 µm; ellipsoid, but a little angular; smooth; thick-walled; dark brown in KOH, with a large hyaline pore. Lamellar trama parallel. Basidia 23 x 10 µm; clavate; 4-sterigmate. Pleurocystidia not found. Cheilocystidia 25–35 x 7.5–12.5 µm; widely lageniform to saccate; smooth; thin-walled; hyaline in KOH. Pileipellis not clearly differentiated; cap surface of swollen cells that are smooth, hyaline, and thin-walled.

REFERENCES: (C. H. Peck, 1895) A. H. Smith, 1941. (Murrill, 1912; Smith, 1941; Smith, 1972; Arora, 1986; Desjardin, Wood & Stevens, 2015; Siegel & Schwarz, 2016.) Herb. Kuo 01142402.

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Spores

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Kuo, M. (2024, March). Psathyrella longipes. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/psathyrella_longipes.html