Psilocybe semilanceata, commonly known as the liberty cap, is a species of fungus which produces the psychoactive compounds psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystin. It is both one of the most widely distributed psilocybin mushrooms in nature, and one of the most potent. The mushrooms have a distinctive conical to bell-shaped cap, up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, with a small nipple-like protrusion on the top. They are yellow to brown, covered with radial grooves when moist, and fade to a lighter color as they mature. Their stipes tend to be slender and long, and the same color or slightly lighter than the cap. The gill attachment to the stipe is adnexed, and they are initially cream-colored before tinting purple to black as the spores mature. The spores are dark purplish-brown in mass, ellipsoid in shape, and measure 10.5–15 by 6.5–8.5 micrometres.
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and heathland, and sometimes on woodchips used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped cap up to 8 cm across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked gills on the underside of the cap run partway down the length of the otherwise smooth stipe. Reports on the mushroom's edibility vary – it is considered poisonous, but has historically been eaten in parts of Europe and the Americas.
The Hygrophoropsidaceae are a family of mushrooms that are gilled in appearance but lie within the Boletales. The family contains 18 species within two genera: Leucogyrophana and Hygrophoropsis, with the best-known member being the "false chanterelle", Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. Hygrophoropsidaceae was circumscribed by French mycologist Robert Kühner in 1980, with Hygrophoropsis as the type genus. Unlike most members of the Boletales, Hygrophoropsidaceae species are saprophytic wood-rotting fungi that cause brown rot in their hosts. The genera Austropaxillus and Tapinella, once placed in this family, are now classified in the Serpulaceae and Tapinellaceae, respectively.
Chroogomphus vinicolor, commonly known as the wine-cap Chroogomphus or the pine spike, is a species of mushroom in the family Gomphidiaceae. Found in North America and the Dominican Republic, mushrooms grow on the ground under pine trees. Fruit bodies have reddish-brown, shiny caps atop tapered stems. The gills are thick, initially pale orange before turning blackish, and extend a short way down the length of the stem. Although the mushroom is edible, and sold in local markets in Mexico, it is not highly rated. Distinguishing this species from some other similar Chroogomphus species is difficult, as their morphology is similar, and cap coloration is too variable to be a reliable characteristic. C. vinicolor is differentiated from the European C. rutilus and the North American C. ochraceus by the thickness of its cystidial walls.
Spathularia flavida, commonly known as the yellow earth tongue, the yellow fan, or the fairy fan, is an ascomycete fungus found in coniferous forests of Asia, Europe and North America. It produces a small, fan- or spoon-shaped fruit body with a flat, wavy or lobed cream to yellow colored "head" raised on a white to cream stalk. The height is usually approximately 2–5 cm, and up to 8 cm. The fungus fruits on the ground in mosses, forest duff or humus, and fruit bodies may occur singly, in large groups, or in fairy rings. The spores produced by the fungus are needle-like, and up to 95 micrometres long. Several varieties have been described that differ largely in their microscopic characteristics. S. flavida has been described by authorities variously as inedible, of unknown edibility, or edible but tough.
Bisporella citrina, commonly known as yellow fairy cups or lemon discos, is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. The fungus produces tiny yellow cups up to 3 mm in diameter, often without stalks, that fruit in groups or dense clusters on decaying deciduous wood that has lost its bark. The widely distributed species is found in North Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Central and South America. Found in late summer and autumn, the fungus is fairly common, but is easily overlooked owing to its small size. There are several similar species that can in most cases be distinguished by differences in color, morphology, or substrate. Microscopically, B. citrina can be distinguished from these lookalikes by its elliptical spores, which have a central partition, and an oil drop at each end.
Hydnellum aurantiacum is an inedible fungus, commonly known as the orange spine or orange Hydnellum for its reddish orange or rusty red colored fruit bodies. Like other tooth fungi, it bears a layer of spines rather than gills on the underside of the cap. Due to substantial declines in sightings, this species is listed as critically endangered in the United Kingdom.
Rhodotus is a genus in the fungus family Physalacriaceae. There are two species in the genus with the best known, Rhodotus palmatus, called the netted rhodotus, the rosy veincap, or the wrinkled peach. This uncommon species has a circumboreal distribution, and has been collected in eastern North America, northern Africa, Europe, and Asia; declining populations in Europe have led to its appearance in over half of the European fungal Red Lists of threatened species. Typically found growing on the stumps and logs of rotting hardwoods, mature specimens may usually be identified by the pinkish color and the distinctive ridged and veined surface of their rubbery caps; variations in the color and quantity of light received during development lead to variations in the size, shape, and cap color of fruit bodies.
Hygrophoropsis is a genus of gilled fungi in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It was circumscribed in 1888 to contain the type species, H. aurantiaca, a widespread fungus that, based on its appearance, has been affiliated with Cantharellus, Clitocybe, and Paxillus. Modern molecular phylogenetic analysis shows that the genus belongs to the suborder Coniophorineae of the order Boletales.
Lycoperdon echinatum, commonly known as the spiny puffball or the spring puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. The saprobic species has been found in Africa, Europe, Central America, and North America, where it grows on soil in deciduous woods, glades, and pastures. It has been proposed that North American specimens be considered a separate species, Lycoperdon americanum, but this suggestion has not been followed by most authors. Molecular analysis indicates that L. echinatum is closely related to the puffball genus Handkea.
Tulosesus impatiens is a species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. First described in 1821, it has been classified variously in the genera Psathyrella, Pseudocoprinus, Coprinarius, and Coprinus, before molecular phylogenetics reaffirmed it as a Coprinellus species in 2001. The fungus is found in North America and Europe, where the mushrooms grow on the ground in deciduous forests. The fruit bodies have buff caps that are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, held by slender whitish stems that can be up to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall. Several other Coprinopsis species that resemble C. impatiens may be distinguished by differences in appearance, habit, or spore morphology.
Collybia cirrhata is a species of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae of the order Agaricales. The species was first described in the scientific literature in 1786, but was not validly named until 1803. Found in Europe, Northern Eurasia, and North America, it is known from temperate, boreal, and alpine or arctic habitats. It is a saprobic species that grows in clusters on the decaying or blackened remains of other mushrooms. The fruit bodies are small, with whitish convex to flattened caps up to 11 mm in diameter, narrow white gills, and slender whitish stems 8–25 mm long and up to 2 mm (0.08 in) thick. C. cirrhata can be distinguished from the other two members of Collybia by the absence of a sclerotium at the base of the stem. The mushroom is of unknown edibility.
Galiella rufa, commonly known as the rubber cup, the rufous rubber cup, or the hairy rubber cup, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcosomataceae. The fungus produces cup-shaped fruit bodies that typically grow in clusters on branches and exposed portions of buried wood throughout eastern and Midwest North America and in Malaysia. The fruit bodies have the texture of tough, gelatinous rubber, and have a rough, blackish-brown, felt-like outer surface and a smooth reddish-brown inner surface. Although generally considered inedible by North American mushroom field guides, it is commonly consumed in Malaysia. The fungus produces several interesting natural products.
Tylopilus alboater, called the black velvet bolete, by some, is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. The species is found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and in eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. A mycorrhizal species, it grows solitarily, scattered, or in groups on the ground usually under deciduous trees, particularly oak, although it has been recorded from deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests.
Mycena purpureofusca, commonly known as the purple edge bonnet, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Mycenaceae. First described by Charles Horton Peck in 1885, the species is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on the decaying wood and debris of conifers, including cones. Fruit bodies have conical to bell-shaped purple caps up to 2.5 cm (1 in) set atop slender stipes up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The mushroom is named for the characteristic dark greyish-purple color of its gill edges. In the field, M. purpureofusca mushrooms can usually be distinguished from similar species by characteristics such as the dark purple gill edges, the deep purple cap center, and its cartilagineous consistency. The fungus contains a laccase enzyme that has been investigated scientifically for its potential to detoxify recalcitrant industrial dyes used in textile dyeing and printing processes.
Sutorius eximius, commonly known as the lilac-brown bolete, is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae. This bolete produces fruit bodies that are dark purple to chocolate brown in color with a smooth cap, a finely scaly stipe, and a reddish-brown spore print. The tiny pores on the cap underside are chocolate to violet brown. It is widely distributed, having been recorded on North America, South America, and Asia, where it grows in a mycorrhizal relationship with both coniferous and deciduous trees.
Phellodon niger, commonly known as the black tooth, is a species of tooth fungus in the family Bankeraceae, and the type species of the genus Phellodon. It was originally described by Elias Magnus Fries in 1815 as a species of Hydnum. Petter Karsten included it as one of the original three species when he circumscribed Phellodon in 1881. The fungus is found in Europe and North America, although molecular studies suggest that the North American populations represent a similar but genetically distinct species.
Hygrophoropsis fuscosquamula is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. Found in Europe, it was described as new to science by English mycologist Peter Darbishire Orton in 1960. Fruit bodies of the fungus have whitish cream to pale yellowish caps with many small, olive-brown scales. Its spores measure 6.0–8.0 by 3.5–4.5 μm.
Hygrophoropsis rufa is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found in Europe, where it grows on woodchips or near conifer stumps.
Stropharia caerulea, commonly known as the blue roundhead, is a species of mushroom forming fungus in the family Strophariaceae. It is a somewhat common species found in Europe and North America, where it grows as a saprophyte in meadows, roadsides, hedgerows, gardens, and woodchip mulch. S. caerulea was officially described to science in 1979, although it was known to be a distinct species for about two centuries before that. The scientific name Stropharia cyanea, as defined by Tuomikoski in 1953, and used by several later authors, is a synonym of S. caerulea.
