11th November 2019, Petts Wood and Hawkwood

November is here and the mushroom legions are  beginning to falter and wither. But still quite a lot to find…

The only new species for me on this foray was Mycena metata, although the identification on it is a bit shaky. Clouded Funnel is so common that I usually ignore it but they’re so big, beautiful and numerous that sometimes I can’t resist. The theory is that these snaking lines of mushrooms follow the biggest tree roots. Wood Woollyfoot (great name!) is said to be one of the most common in Britain but not so much as Clouded Funnel in my experience. My identification of Lepista sordida is far from certain – it looks similar to one of the previous times I’ve found it but not so much the other. Yellow Stainer is apparently declining in Britain although I see it quite regularly, fairly poisonous. However, the best find today was The Blusher  – dozens of these growing in a huge troop! It’s edible when cooked and the water discarded, according to the book. Not sure I’m ever going to eat one, partly because the idea of consuming any Amanita fills me with terror: some are edible and many are deadly.


1. Mycena metata.
Growing in pine needles. Small group. Cap 1-2.2cm, stem 5-9cm. Slight musty smell. Rather shaky identification based on small spore size, but could easily be another Mycena. ID is wild guess. Sporeprint White. Spores 5-7.5µ x 4-5µ.

2. Clouded Funnel (Clitocybe nebularis).
Growing near pine tree in mixed wood. Troop of a dozen. Cap 8-18cm, stem up to 10cm. Sweet smell. Sporeprint White. Spores 5.5-7.5µ x 3.5-4.5µ.

3. Wood Woollyfoot (Collybia peronata).
Growing in pine needles. Three. Cap 3.5-5cm, stem 7cm. Slight unpleasant smell. Tough stem. Sporeprint White. Spores 7-9.5µ x 4-5µ.

4. Lepista sordida.
Growing in pine needles. Small group of four. Cap 4-8cm, stem up to 6cm. Little smell, perhaps earthy. Look like small lumps of dough! Stems flattened and hollow. Tricky to identify this. It's common but I've not noticed it before and the book says it's very variable in appearance. The small round spores make it likely. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint White. Spores 3.5-5.5µ x 3-4.5µ.

5. Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus).
Growing in deciduous wood through leaf litter. Several scattered around. Cap 9-14cm, stem 10-14cm. No smell. Foolishly I didn't cut the stem. If it turns yellow at the base then it's a Yellow Stainer, although I have before found old ones that didn't go yellow. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Dark chocolate brown. Spores 4.5-6.5µ x 3.5-5µ.

6. Unidentified.
Growing in leaf litter. Small group. Cap up to 3.5cm, stem up to 3cm. Slight sweet smell, perhaps putty like. Frustrated that I can't identify this! Sporeprint Pinkish pale tan. Spores 6.5-7.5µ x 4-5.5µ.

7. The Blusher (Amanita rubescens).
Growing in grassy field near beech, oak, hawthorn. Lots trooping. Cap 6-11cm, stem up to 9cm. No smell. Flimsy ring soon disappears. Bulb at stem base. Sporeprint White. Spores 6.5-9µ x 3.5-6.5µ.