Inocybe hystrix
Description
Inocybe hystrix is a species of Fungi in the family Inocybaceae. It is characterized by the dense pyramidal scales over the disc of the pileus and the appressed scales toward the margin, and a similar decoration of scales on the stipe; the odor is spermatic. Microscopically the basidiospores are smooth and there are abundant, moderately thick-walled hyemnial cystidia. This Inocybe is associated with Quercus costaricensis at around 3000 m elevation in the Cordillera Talamanca.
Like many other Inocybe mushrooms, Inocybe hystrix contains dangerous amounts of muscarine and should not be consumed.
Common names: Scaly Fibrecap.
Mushroom Identification
Ecology
Mycorrhizal with hardwoods; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously; fall (and winter in California); widely distributed in North America.
Cap
1.5-4 cm; convex or very broadly bell-shaped; dry; densely covered with brown to dark brown scales that become more and more separated as the mushroom matures, exposing a paler surface beneath the scales.
Gills
Attached to the stem; close; white or pale yellowish at first, becoming yellowish-brown or grayish-brown with maturity (and then usually with whitish edges); at first sparsely covered by an ephemeral cortina.
Stem
3-8 cm long; up to nearly 1 cm thick; more or less equal; dry; densely covered with scales like those on the cap; at first, before the scales have separated, appearing sheathed--then, as the scales begin to separate, nearly reticulate, and eventually with clearly separated brownish scales over a pale background; sometimes with a ring zone resulting from the cortina.
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Flesh
Whitish.
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Odor
Mild or spermatic.
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Chemical Reactions
KOH on cap instantly purplish gray.
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Spore Print
Brown.
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Microscopic Features
Spores 9-13 x 5-6.5 µ; amygdaliform to more or less elliptical; smooth. Pleurocystidia 50-90 x 12-22 µ; broadly ventricose with capitate or subcapitate apex; walls 2-2.5 µ thick. Cheilocystidia and/or sterile cells on lamellar edge present; variable.
Habitat and Distribution
In North America and Europe, Inocybe hystrix grows in deciduous forests, especially beech. In Costa Rica, it is found in the Cordillera Talamanca, where it associates with Quercus costaricensis at elevations around 3,000 meters (9,800 ft).
History
The species was first described in 1838 by Elias Fries under the name Agaricus hystrix. Finnish mycologist Petter Karsten later (1879) transferred it to Inocybe.
Photo sources:
Photo 1 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (Alan Rockefeller) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 2 - Author: The original uploader was Michaelll at English Wikipedia.(Original text: Michael Mortensen) (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Photo 3 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (Alan Rockefeller) (CC BY-SA 3.0)