Pluteus cervinus (Schaeff.) Kumm.
Der Führer in die Pilz. 99. 1871.

Common Name: Deer Mushroom

• Pileus

  Cap 5-13 cm broad, convex, nearly plane in age, umbonate; dark brown to grey-brown, lighter in age; smooth to faintly fibrillose, moist; flesh soft, white; odor of radish.

• Lamellae

  Gills free, close, white, becoming pinkish to flesh-colored at maturity.

• Stipe

  Stipe 5-12 cm tall, 0.7-1.7 cm thick, equal to enlarged at base; white to pallid, sometimes with dark fibrils; veil absent.

• Spores

  Spores 5.0-7.5 x 4-6 µm, smooth, elliptical. Spore print salmon-pink.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered on hardwood and conifer logs, occasionally from buried wood, in sawdust piles or wood chips; fruiting from after the first fall rains through mid-winter.

• Edibility

  Edible, but taste and texture are mediocre.

• Comments

  Pluteus cervinus gets its common name, Deer Mushroom, from its dull brown color which blends well with the logs on which it typically fruits. It is recognized by a brown, smooth to faintly fibrillose, moist cap, free, white gills that turn pinkish at maturity, the lack of a ring, and a lignicolous habit. Other Pluteus species that could be confused with the Deer Mushroom include P. magnus and P. atromarginatus. Pluteus magnus is a more compact, stout mushroom with a nearly black, wrinkled cap while P. atromarginatus, as its latin name suggests, can be recognized by its dark gill edges. Some Entoloma species resemble Pluteus cervinus in size and spore color, but all have attached gills and are terrestrial, not lignicolous. A related genus, Volvariella is distinguished by a volva.

• References

  Banerjee, P. & Sundberg, W.J. (1995). The Genus Pluteus Section Pluteus (Pluteaceae, Agaricales) in the Midwestern United States. Mycotaxon 53: 189-246.
  Bas, C., Kyper, T.W., Noordeloos, M.E. & Vellinga, E.C. (1990). Flora Agaricina Neerlandica -- Critical monographs on the families of agarics and boleti occuring in the Netherlands. Volume 2. Pluteaceae, Tricholomataceae. A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, Netherlands. 137 p.
  Orton, P.D. (1986). British Fungus Flora: Agarics and Boleti. Vol 4. Pluteaceae: Pluteus & Volvariella. Royal Botanic Garden: Edinburgh, Scotland. 99 p.
  Singer, R. (1956). Contributions Towards a Monograph of the Genus Pluteus. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 39(2): 145-232.
  Smith, A.H. (1949). Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats. Sawyer's Inc: Portland, OR. 626 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Michael Boom: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Brother Alfred Brousseau: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Tom Duffy: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Tom Duffy: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month: Pluteus cervinus (D & CP)
  • Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Na Grzyby: Pluteus cervinus (D & CP) [as Pluteus atricapillus]
  • Pilzgalerie.de: Pluteus cervinus (D & CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Pluteus cervinus (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 255 (D), p. 256 (P)
  • Arora (1991): p. 38 (D & CP)
  • Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol.4): sp. 104 (D, I, & CP)
  • Fischer & Bessette: p. 77 (D & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 201 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 675 (D), plates 231, 232 (CP)
  • McKenny et al.: p. 119 (D & CP)
  • Miller: sp. 165 (D & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 138 (CP), p. 139 (D)
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 167 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)