Lepiota rubrotinctoides
Mycologia 4(5): 236. 1912.
Common Name: none
Misapplied name: Lepiota rubrotincta Peck
Cap 2-6 cm broad, rounded to ovoid, becoming convex, in age nearly plane with an umbonate disc; surface at first smooth, the disc various shades of brown shading to a lighter margin, cuticle soon splitting, becoming radially fibrillose, revealing zones of underlying white tissue; flesh thin, white, unchanging; odor and taste mild.
Gills free, close, white, moderately broad.
Stipe 4-10 cm tall, 0.4-0.7 cm thick, hollow, fragile, equal to slightly enlarged at the base; surface white, smooth or with a scattering of fibrils; veil membranous forming a persistent, superior ring.
Spores 7.5-9 x 5-6 µm, elliptical, smooth; spore print white.
Solitary to scattered in duff in hardwood/conifer woods; fruiting soon after first fall rains.
Edibility unknown; too small and unsubstantial to have culinary value; some Lepiotas (s.l.) are known to contain the same toxins as in the death cap (Amanita phalloides).
Lepiota rubrotinctoides is one of the first mushrooms to appear in our woodlands after the start of the fall rains. An attractive, slender mushroom, it is distinguished by a cap which has a reddish-brown disc which shades to a pale margin, a surface that soon becomes radially fibrillose due to splitting of the cuticle, free white gills, and a persistent superior ring. Unlike several other small lepiotaceous fungi in our area, this species does not bruise reddish to reddish-brown when handled. Lepiota castaneidisca is similar but has concentrically arranged cap scales, and has a pungent odor. A microscope is required to differentiate Leucoagaricus from Lepiota.
This taxa belongs in the genus Leucoagarius, but the transfer has not been made.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Siegel, N. & Schwarz, C. (2016). Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 601 p.
Murrill, W.A. (1912). The Agaricaceae of the Pacific coast—II. Mycologia 4(5): 231-262. (Protologue)
— A member of the L. rubrotinctoides 'group'
