It was nice to see again this tiny orange fungus - Pithya cupressina on fallen leaves of Cupressus sempervirens. (Malta, 10-12-22).

Thank you Harold - later I get grips on Flora Agaracina and dive into the keys. I keep you posted after I recover from mental trauma after my all-time fav. football team got eliminated from the world cup so dramatically - Brazil. I guess many Germans here have passed this already.

I am working on another new basidiomycete, this time a clear pluteus for its free gills (distant from the stipe), rose-light brown spore print and lack of veil, ring and volva. The light lemon-yellow colours of the stipe and the subspherical spores indicates a P. romelii, but the cream with a very faint hue of yellow colour of the pileus is quite off for the species (P. romelli is caramel to cinnamon brown). So here I am discussing this fungus with you.

Basidia oblongish-subclavate, sometimes flexuous, predominantly 2-spored, rarely 3-spored, up to 35um long

Cheilocystidia are large, lageniform to broad utriform (prone to correction!)

Pleurocystidia present, similar to the cheilocystidia, perhaps a bit smaller

Spores subspherical (some looks spherical) to globose-ovate, Me = 7.1 × 6.3 µm; Qe = 1.1; Ve = 152 µm3; 5.9) 6.2 - 8.1 (8.6) × (5.2) 5.7 - 7.1 (7.7) µm (n=33). In lugol's iodine they showed a dextrinoid reaction, while in Cotton Blue (with lactic acid), the spores collapsed inwards.

They were growing from leaf/twig litter of Eucalyptus plantation. I had in mind Pluteus romellii s.l. and Pluteus boudieri P.D. Orton 1960

I am aware by the work of : Holarctic Species in the Pluteus romellii Clade. Five New Species Described and Old Names Reassessed [ https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/8/8/773 ] but all their described species do not show this pale pileus. P. boudieri is my best match so far.

Spores in 3%KOH (aq) and glycerol (3:1) at x1000 oil immersion.

In my opinion, the single gap in the spore wall is derived from the apiculus. Saying that images of Ph. nemoralis on the web don't show a distinct germ pore, but often you can see 1 germ pore in ten spores. I have photographed some 200 spores, and I can't say I see any distinct examples. Nevertheless, I stick to the keys by Arnolds (2006) and assign this to Ph. vestita. Also, reading the description of Ph. vestita in Arnolds (2006), I see that it is a good match. Moreover, the notes for Ph. nemoralis mention the close relationship with Ph. velata

.

Zitat von Clavaria

... on your spore pictures I see something like a indistinct germ pore (callus) on some spores. The spore wall is thinner and/or lighter brown:

Some Pholiotina species have a very indistinct germ pore.

I was gonna write earlier that if my specimen had a germ pore, this would perhaps match Ph. nemoralis. What I can do is to mount the spores at x1000 but photography may not be a state of art ! Yet it seems that there is no germ pore (in these images I took).

Pholiotina nemoralis var. nemoralis - Pholiotina

Pholiotina nemoralis var. nemoralis - inviati in Pholiotina: Pholiotina nemoralis var. nemoralis (Harmaja) Bon, (1991) Basionimo: Conocybe nemoralis…

www.ambmuggia.it

I have found Ph. dasypusa a week or two ago (i think I posted on this forum) and it had a different 'feeling' namely the cheilocystidia were more capitate and less broad, the colours of the pileus not so dark (caramel-brown) with less evident margin veil, and more importantly, the stipe flesh was not reddish brown but pale beige. I think we are not 100% happy with vestita for the striations in the pileus right? --- and the colours are a bit too vivid here.

More cheilos with graphic enhancement - lageniform with long slender necks but variable too.

Dear friends, I was suspecting that it wasn't a germ pore but in some examples, there was a distinct gap and made me doubt what I am seeing apiculus or a g. pore. That doubt being cleared, the keys of Pholiota in N Europe as per 2006 leaves Ph. vestita as the only candidate. But one must consider what is found in the south, newer species or perhaps something new. I do some more research in this area and see what I find.

here is already something:

Pholiotina vestita - Pholiotina

Pholiotina vestita - inviati in Pholiotina: Pholiotina vestita (Fr.) Singer, Beih. bot. Zbl. 56: 170 (1936)Basionimo:Galera vestita Fr., in Quélet…

www.ambmuggia.it

Pholiotina vestita - Pholiotina

Pholiotina vestita - inviati in Pholiotina: Pholiotina vestita (Fr.) Singer, Beih. bot. Zbl. 56: 170 (1936)umbone leggermente più scuro

www.ambmuggia.it

Thank you so much!

So I am consulting the keys of Pholiotina in Flora Agaricina Neerlandica Vol. 6 (Arnolds, 2005: 180--203).

Our specimen would classify under subkey 2 for its veil present, leaving flocks adhering to the margin

The Cheilo not being capitate would exclude Ph. brunnea.

Now I am not so sure if my spores have a tiny germ pore or not, but if not, then this autumn-fruiting species would be ascribed to Ph. vestita from

the keys mentioned.

If we decide that the spores have a germ pore, P. utriformis is discarded for having utriform cheilocystida

With a spore mean of 8.0 um, the specimens would key to a branch leading to P. velata and P. exannulata. The later should have a pileus with a darker centre when moist , and which my specimens are.

Hmm not really convinced that it is Ph. exannulata though!

I am glad to have some support re my reasoning of this puzzle. Thank you so much !!!

Thanks for helping and having an interest in this fungus. I spend a few hours googling and flipping the pages of my microfungi book in vain as well. So maybe I post on ascofrance tmrw and I keep you posted.

A big thanks to all who contributed. Yes a Hymeniderm 100%. I am quite convinced it is a Pholiotina but I have to go deeper in some key to suggest some options.

Raphael, the shape of the cheilocystidia is shown/documented in my post (if it helps re id)

Pathyrella clivensis

Psathyrella clivensis Fungus Species

Psathyrella clivensis – Belobetna črnivka – Gobe na Bovškem

www.gobenabovskem.si

Psathyrella clivensis - A.M.B. PESARO

Genere Psathyrella Specie clivensis (Berk. & Broome) P.D. Orton Sinonimi: Foto   Exsic. n. 2815 Erbario Maletti. Determinatore: Maletti M. Foto. Maletti M.…

www.ambpesaro.it

Spores match incl. size, shape, no germ pore, thick-walled

White Stipe

Short cheilocystidia

No or scanty Veil

Habitat is not so different, also in alkaline soil

Overall colours and small size of cap quite similar

Hello everyone and thank you for your valuable tips. I think I agree that we are in the Psathyrella or something around Mythicomycetaceae genera (Psathyrella and Mythicomycetaceae are sister families). My problem with the latter family is that some characters obtained from the paper describing the family (Vizzini et al., 2019 - doi.org/10.3114/fuse.2019.03.05) do not match with my specimens, namely Mythicomycetaceae should have:

- Pileipellis a thin ixocutis with parietal pigment

- Cheilocystidia thick-walled, inocybe-like, often with hyaline crystals at apex

I see a hymeniderm pp. and the cc. without crystals. If my reasoning is correct, I focused on Psathyrella and apply Melzer Key

There aren't much species of Psathyrealla without a germpore and the key took me to section A (no seta in cap, veil absent, no yellow pigment in cc, plerocystidia absent) or section D (no seta, veil absent, no yellow pigment in cc, pleurocystidia present). I did not see pleaurocystidia but I took both sections of the key into consideration.

In Section A, the closest would be Coprinopsis submicrospora which i dont see it much similar

In Section D, the closest would be Psathyrella clivensii but there are other options but things get more tough down the key

OK HAROLD, seems there is a consensus about no Pluteus which I accept. Psathyrellaceae was suggested.... I check along that genus

Zitat von zuehli

I'm sure that's no Pluteus.

best regards

Harold

Zitat von Beorn

Hello / Good afternoon!

Maybe this belongs to Psathyrella? Or at least Psathyrellaceae?

LG; Pablo.

OK, I try to check and key under this genus s.l. Many thanks

I have another Little Brown Mushroom with interesting colours , namely the stipe which is whitish outside with a yellowish flesh in the upper half and brownish at the bottom (when fresh). No ring, stipe glabrous except few scanty fibrils. I think the gills are in majority free (some maybe slightly touching at the uppermost part). Spore-print darkish rusty brown. The pileipellis is an hymenoderm of either spherical or spheropendiculate cells. Basidia frequent, 4-sporous oblong-clavate. Cheilocystidia appears to be numerous from the whitish edge, but when mounted, they were rather scarce. Their shape is lageniform-conical with gradual tapering towards the tip, 25-35um long. Spores ovate with a slight almond-shape, tiny germ pore at the base, wall seems thick, size:

(6.5) 7.5 - 8.6 (9.1) × (3.9) 4.2 - 4.9 (5.2) err

Q = (1.5) 1.6 - 1.9 (2.1) ; N=19

V = (61) 69 - 109 (130) err3

Me = 8.1 × 4.5 err ; Qe = 1.8 ; Ve = 87 err3

There are sporeprints of pluteus in the brown hues, and maybe my image got a bit darker after the White balance adjustment. Saying that, I do not commit myself it is a Pluteus 100% . The gills are free (or just a bit adnexed)

Hi. I have found a nice cluster of caramel-cinnamon brown mushrooms with a paler border measuring 1-3 cm wide (pileus diameter) and about 5cm long. The stipe is cream, smooth except for some pruinosity at the apex and not attached to the gills. Spore print medium brown. Spores elliptic with obtuse ends, not ornamented measuring 8.2 × 5.1 µm [ 6.8) 7.4 - 9.1 (10.4) × (4.4) 4.7 - 5.6 (5.9) µm // Q = (1.3) 1.5 - 1.8 (2) ; N=27 // Me = 8.2 × 5.1 µm ; Qe = 1.6 ; Ve = 113 µm3]. Pileipellis a hymeniderm of angular cells. Margin of gills completely lined with dense tufts of short (19-24um long) cheilocystidia, clavate-utriform, hyaline. I think we are dealing with a small Pluteus. But which one thomsonii ?

Magnified images of the

fruiting cluster (c. 1mm across)

Dear Thorben and microfungi lovers. I woke at 1:30am and went straight to investigate this fungus. Well, it is a large microfungus looking a bit like a medusa head but I studied the structure and it consists of (at least) the following features

1. Large amounts of conidiospores measuring (6)7-8(9) x 2-3 um, cylindrical and slightly curved with rounded ends

2. Numerous snake-like (curved) paraphyses, 2-3 septate, clavate with very rough (densely verrucose) walls

3. Dense and x2 (or more) branched penicillate conidiophores that are much shorter from the paraphyses

4. Structural cells with deep yellow pigment, more or less subsphericall

These fruiting bodies are erupting from the fruit's pulp (not superficial)

Spores' size:

(6.1) 6.8 - 8.5 (9.1) × (2.2) 2.3 - 2.8 (2.9) µm

Q = (2.2) 2.5 - 3.5 (3.9) ; N=27

V = (18) 21 - 33 (38) µm3

Me = 7.7 × 2.5 µm ; Qe = 3 ; Ve = 26 µm3

dear Ulla, thank you for the time replying to me. I need to train myself more on how to distinguish these capillitium/lime nodes between Badhamia and Physarum, so if u can suggest some website/doc/image for this purpose, I would appreciate. I understand that in Badhamia, the lime nodes are bulkier but my eyes need more training.I will check Yr kind suggestion of B. macrocarpa

Hopefully tmrw morning! I am also so curios

Some not-good photos from stereomicroscope (x40) seems to show they are embedded within the gills or even have a tiny stipe?!

I have no indication they are living things (these are 0.2mm) but they are attached to the gills and they will not come loose even if touched or tried to apply force with dissecting needle. It could be soft faeces which solidified on the gills if that can happen.

Do you confirm Clitopilus hobsonii or should I provide some micro-examination to be sure on the species ?

P.s. those brown blobs are not dust or artefacts but something growing from the fungsu, like fungus galls!?