Hypholoma marginatum

Description

Hypholoma marginatum is an inedible small mushroom with a usually tan cap whose color is very variable and, therefore, cannot be used effectively as an identification feature. That is however hardly a problem because the snakeskin patterning on the stem is so distinctive. It grows in small trooping groups on needles or rotting wood with coniferous trees.

Common names: Snakeskin Brownie.

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   4 to 9 cm across, convex, flattening out at maturity but retaining a shallow umbo; inrolled margin of young caps is covered with silky remnants of the partial veil; color rather variable but most often brick red in the center and paler towards the margin.

2. Gills

   Adnate; crowded; cream turning olive then purplish brown as spores mature.

3. Stem

   5 to 10 cm long and 0.6 to 1.5cm diameter; fibrous; light ochre at apex, darkening progressively to a reddish-brown base; a faint ring zone is usually discernable.

4. Spores

   Ellipsoidal, smooth, 7-9 x 4-5µm; with a small germ pore.

5. Spore Print

   Purple-brown.

6. Odor and Taste

   No significant odor; the taste can be mild or bitter. Considered inedible by most authorities.

7. Habitat & Ecological Role

   Saprobic, usually in trooping groups and often tufted, on soil laden with conifer needles in woods and forests; sometimes seen growing on well-rotted softwood stumps or fallen trunks.

8. Similar Species

   Hypholoma capnoides, commonly referred to as Conifer Tuft, are paler and grows in groups or small tufts on conifer stumps.

History

When in 1796 Christiaan Hendrik Persoon described this mushroom scientifically, he gave it the name Agaricus marginatus. It was German mycologist Joseph Schröter (1837 - 1894) who, in 1889, established the currently accepted scientific name of this species as Hypholoma marginatum when he transferred it to the genus Hypholoma.

Synonyms of Hypholoma marginatum include Agaricus marginatus Pers., Agaricus dispersus Fr., and Hypholoma dispersum (Fr.) Quél.

Hypholoma, the genus name, means 'mushrooms with threads'. It may be a reference to the thread-like partial veil that connects the cap rim to the stem of young fruitbodies, although some authorities suggest that it is a reference to the thread-like rhizomorphs (root-like bundles of mycelial hyphae) that radiate from the stem base.

The specific epithet marginatum means 'with an edge or border'; it is a reference to the silky-white remnants of the partial veil that usually adhere to the cap margins.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Ryane Snow (snowman) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: James Lindsey (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Photo 3 - Author: James Lindsey (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Photo 4 - Author: James Lindsey (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Photo 5 - Author: Thomas Pruß (CC BY-SA 3.0)