Laccaria proxima

Description

Laccaria proxima is a species of edible mushroom in the genus Laccaria from the conifer forest of California, as well as eastern and northern North America. This pine-dwelling species recognized by an orange-brown, finely fibrillose-squamulose cap that fades to lighter shades, pinkish gills, a longitudinally striate stipe that is concolorous or darker than the cap, and whitish mycelium at the stipe base. A distinctive feature is the striations on the stem. These stems are quite tough.

Common names: Scurfy Deceiver.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Mycorrhizal with pines (Pinus species), especially in young plantations; growing scattered or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.

2. Cap

   1.5-7 cm; convex, becoming flat and sometimes uplifted; the margin inrolled at first, later straight and not lined; at first finely roughened, later more prominently roughened or scaly; reddish-brown to orange-brown.

3. Gills

   Attached to the stem; distant or nearly so; pinkish flesh color.

4. Stem

   2.5-8 cm long; up to 1 cm thick; equal or with an enlarged base; finely or prominently hairy and fibrous-shaggy; colored like the cap (sometimes with a darker base); with white basal mycelium.

5. Flesh

   Thin; colored like the cap or paler.

6. Odor and Taste

   Not distinctive.

7. Chemical Reactions

   KOH negative on cap surface.

8. Spore Print

   White.

9. Microscopic Features

   Spores 8-11 x 7-9 µ; elliptical; spines mostly 0.5-1 µ long. Basidia 4-spored. Cheilocystidia filamentous to subclavate or subcapitate; to about 70 x 10 µ. Pileipellis a cutis of elements 5-10 µ wide, with occasional or frequent bundles of upright elements; terminal cells subclavate to capitate.

Look-Alikes

1. Laccaria laccata

   A slightly less robust species with on average a paler cap; however, to separate the two species with confidence requires microscopic examination of the spores.

2. Laccaria amethystina

   Is a violet-colored member of the same genus; once it has dried out it becomes pale buff and virtually indistinguishable from Laccaria laccata; however, its cap is less scurfy than that of Laccaria proxima and so the latter can be separated quite easily from L. amethystina even in dry weather.

3. Laccaria bicolor

   Distinguished by its stem, which has a lilac base and a tawny upper section.

4. Laccaria tortilis

   A tiny deceiver with a contorted cap. It has just two spores per basidium, whereas the other Laccaria species found in Britain and Ireland have four.

History

Described scientifically in 1881 by French mycologist Jean Louis Emile Boudier (1828 - 1920), the Scurfy Deceiver was placed in the genus Clitocybe and given the name Clitocybe proxima. Six years later another Frenchman, Narcisse Theophile Patouillard (1854 - 1926), transferred this species to its present genus, and so its accepted scientific name became Laccaria proxima.

Synonyms of Laccaria proxima include Clitocybe proxima Boud., Laccaria laccata var. proxima (Boud.) Maire, and Laccaria proximella Singer.

The specific epithet proxima means nearest or next to, and in appearance Laccaria proxima is the nearest thing to the type species of this genus, Laccaria laccata.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Jerzy Opioła (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Jerzy Opioła (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Ian Alexander (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 5 - Author: zaca (CC BY-SA 3.0)