Pluteus cervinus (Pluteus cervinus)

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The fruitbody is a mushroom with the cap held atop a central stem. The cap is dark grey-brown to brown, up to 15 centimetres in diameter and with some radial fibrils but in general more-or-less smooth. The cap is initially convex to hemispherical but flattens with age though often a central hump (or umbo) remains. The gills are initially whitish and become pinkish as the spores mature. Technically they are described as free, which means that none of them reach the stem, so you see a gill-free channel around the top of the stem. The whitish to pale brown stem may be up to 10 centimetres long and up to 2 centimetres wide at the broader base   There is neither a partial veil nor a universal veil.   Spore print: pinkish to brownish-pinkish   The mushrooms grow from soil, woodchips or rotten wood; in woodlands, forests or suburban gardens.  The species has been reported from nay countries.   Look-alikes   Species of Volvopluteus also have free gills and give a similar coloured spore print, but in that genus you find a universal veil which leaves a remnant as a cup-like volva around the base of the stem.   Other genera with similar spore prints are Entoloma, Clitopilus and Rhodocybe but in those genera the longer gills are attached to the stem (so there is no gill-free channel around the top of the stem).   In Agaricus the gills are free and are initially pinkish but become brown as the spores mature (and the spore print is a dark chocolate brown). Furthermore, in Agaricus you find a partial veil, which leaves a ring-like or skirt-like remnant around the upper half of the stem.        It is possible that there is more than one cervinus-type species in Australia, but for now it is simplest to label any such sightings as Pluteus cervinus.

Pluteus cervinus is listed in the following regions:

Canberra & Southern Tablelands | South Coast