Marasmius haematocephalus

Description

Marasmius haematocephalus is a species of Fungi in the family Marasmiaceae. It has a thin, dark pink, conical or bell-shaped cap, and margins ribbed. Gills widely spaced. Stem thin, wiry, dark brown, shiny to 4 cm long. It is a commonly reported pan-tropical and subtropical species. These mushrooms are often found in the litter layer of the forest and are known for their ability to shrivel up during dry conditions and wait for rainy weather during which they will rehydrate and spring back to life.

The name of the fungus, Marasmius, comes from the Greek word “marasmos”, which means drying out.

The genus Marasmus contains about 500 species of agarics. Only a select few are edible, and Marasmius Haematocephalus is not. Most members of this family are small and unimpressive.

Common names: Pink Bonnet, Mauve Parachute.

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   Up to 10 mm diameter; conical or bell-shaped cap; minutely velutinate; maroon, deep red to purple or sometimes bright pink; with a sulcate-striate margin.

2. Stem

   Cylindrical, wiry; 20 – 60 × 0.5 - 1 mm, darker than the cap in color - black at the base and deep red towards the apex; there is a basal disc of mycelial threads at its insertion to the substrate.

3. Gills

   Free to adnexed and distant; up to 14 complete gills and some partial gills; white with a reddish margin.

4. Flesh

   Very thin, tough.

5. Spores

   Subfusoid; 10.5 - 20 × 3 - 5 µm; thin-walled, inamyloid.

6. Spore Print

   White.

7. Habitat

   Grows scattered or gregarious on dead fallen leaves and dead twigs in the leaf litter layer of the forest floor. Type locality: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Distribution: Throughout tropical regions.

Synonyms

• Agaricus haematocephalus Mont.

• Androsaceus haematocephalus (Montagne) Patouillard (1889), Journal de botanique, Paris, 3(20), p. 336

• Androsaceus rhodocephalus (Fries) Patouillard & Gaillard (1888), Bulletin de la Société mycologique de France, 4(2), p. 20

• Chamaeceras haematocephalus (Montagne) Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 456

• Chamaeceras rhodocephalus (Fries) Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 457

• Chamaeceras sanguineus (Cooke & Massee) Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 457

• Chamaeceras semipellucidus (Berkeley & Broome) Kuntze (1898), Revisio generum plantarum, 3, p. 457

• Marasmius atropurpureus Murrill (1915), North American flora, 9(4), p. 262

• Marasmius haematocephalus (Montagne) Fries (1838) [1836-38], Epicrisis systematis mycologici, p. 382

• Marasmius rhodocephalus Fries (1851), Nova acta regiae Societatis scientiarum Upsaliensis, series 3, 1, p. 31

• Marasmius sanguineus Cooke & Massee (1889), Grevillea, 17(83), p. 59

• Marasmius semipellucidus Berkeley & Broome (1873) [1875], The journal of the linnean Society, botany, 14(73), p. 36

• Marasmius vinosus Beeli (1928), Bulletin de la Société royale de botanique de Belgique, 60(2), p. 158

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Steve Axford (steveaxford) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Denis Zabin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Wynand Uys (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Denis Zabin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 5 - Author: Geoff Gallice from Gainesville, FL, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0)