Agaricus devoniensis

Description

Agaricus devoniensis is a mushroom of sandy places. It is a rather small, whitish mushroom with first pink, then dark red-brown, free lamellae. Grows distinctly near the coast, often in the sand in dunes. It occurs in many parts of mainland Europe.

Common names: Sandy Mushroom, Klit-champignon (Danish).

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   Initially convex, then flattened and sometimes slightly concave, the silky-smooth white cap is 4 to 7 cm in diameter at maturity, first white and then dark reddish-brown.

2. Gills

   Pale pink at first, the free dense gills turn dark brown and eventually become almost black as the fruiting bodies mature.

3. Stem

   3 to 4 cm tall and 1 to 2 cm in diameter. The white stems are smooth above the narrow ring remnants of the partial veil. The stem is more or less cylindrical, but is sometimes slightly swollen at the base and becomes slightly reddish when cut or scraped. Fragile rings are usually short-lived, and when the fruiting bodies are fully developed, there are few signs of remaining rings.

4. Spores

   Ovoid or subglobose, 6-7 x 4.5-5.5µm.

5. Spore Print

   Deep chocolate brown.

6. Odor and Taste

   The taste is mild and the smell is not a distinctive.

7. Habitat

   Saprobic, on bare or lightly vegetated areas of coastal dunes.

8. Season

   July to October.

Look-Alikes

1. Agaricus bitorquis

   Very similar, but with a thin double ring; it likes dry, compacted places near trails.

2. Agaricus littoralis

   Also occurs in sand dunes. It has an ochre-brown cap and more elongated spores, typically 7 x 4.5 µm in size, while Agaricus devoniensis spores average about 6.5 x 5 µm.

History

British mycologist Peter Darbishire Orton (1916 - 2005) first described it in 1960 under the scientific name Agaricus devoniensis, and the species still retains its original name.

The fungus was given a specific epithet by British mycologist Peter Darbishire Orton in 1960 in reference to Devon, England, where it was first recorded .

Synonyms

1. Agaricus arenophilus Huijsman 1960

2. Agaricus arenicola Wakef. & A. Pearson Pilát 1951

3. Psalliota arenicola Wakef. & A. Pearson 1946

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: rudolphous (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International)

Photo 2 - Author: bittor (CC BY-NC 4.0)