Lyophyllum decastes (Fries: Fries) Singer
Lilloa 22: 165. 1951.

Common Name: fried chicken mushroom

• Pileus

  Cap 4-14 cm broad, convex, becoming plane; margin incurved when young, lobed to irregular, sometimes upturned in age; surface smooth, grey to grey-brown, moist to lubricous; flesh thin, white, odor mild.

• Lamellae

  Gills adnate to subdecurrent, close, white.

• Stipe

  Stipe 5-10 cm long, 1-3 cm, thick, smooth, white to pallid, sometimes with brown discolorations below, equal to tapered at the base; veil absent.

• Spores

  Spores 5-7 x 5-6 µm, smooth, nearly round. Spore print white.

• Habitat

  Clustered on disturbed ground, e.g. lawns, trails, and dirt parking lots; from fall to spring.

• Edibility
  Edible and popular in some regions, but several forms of this species may occur in California, and little is known of the edibility of the local populations.

• Comments

  Lyophyllum decastes is a species complex. In the San Franciso Bay Area, the common form has grey-brown caps. It often fruits in large clumps which are sometimes mistaken for Armillaria mellea when the latter fruits in clusters from buried wood. The Honey Mushroom, however, differs by having a yellow-brown to reddish-brown cap with a slightly scaly disc and an annulus.

• References

  Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (1991). Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 3: Boletes and Agarics (1st Part). Strobilomycetaceae, Boletaceae, Paxillaceae, Gomphidiaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Tricholomataceae, Polyporaceae (lamellate). Verlag Mykologia: Luzern, Switzerland. 361 p.
  Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
  Moncalvo, J.-M. , Rehner, S.A. & Vilgalys, R. (1993). Systematics of Lyophyllum Section Difformia Based on Evidence from Culture Studies and Ribosomal DNA Sequences. Mycologia 85(5): 788-794.
  Siegel, N. & Schwarz, C. (2016). Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. 601 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  Main Photo
  • Michael Wood: Lyophyllum decastes (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Lyophyllum decastes (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Lyophyllum decastes (CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Lyophyllum decastes (CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Lyophyllum decastes (CP)
  • MushroomExpert.com: Lyophyllum decastes (D & CP)
  • Rogers Mushrooms: Lyophyllum decastes (D & CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 174 (D), p. 175 (P)
  • Arora (1991): p. 62 (D & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 161 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 768 (D), plate 266 (CP)
  • McKenny et al.: p. 84 (D), p. 85 (CP)
  • Miller: sp. 156 (D & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 48 (D). p. 49 (CP)
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 103 (D & CP)
  
  

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