Plants and animals of Pointfield

Cap up to 4 cm in diameter; dark chesnut-brown in colour with a dull surface when fresh, drying to a paler fawn from the margin often with a slightly blotchy appearance; weakly domed to weakly concave in profile; margin slightly downturned; occasionally with traces of veil around the edge.  Gills adnexed; off white in colour when very fresh, turning brown with age ; dense arranged in three cycles and unbranched; edge slightly toothed and distinctly white fringed in outer part. Stem up to 4 cm in length and 4-5 mm in diameter; hollow; widening slightly towards base; with prominent descending ring; ring ribbed with the ribs coloured a reddish-brown tinge; ring situated relatively high up the stalk in small forms but progressively further down in fully mature specimens. Stalk rather silky above ring but strongly fibrous with abundant white flecks; expanding slightly at the base.

Spore print orange-brown. Spores rather small (6.3-8.5 x 3.8-4.2 um – mean 7.1 x 4.0 um n = 14) pale fawn in colour; not staining with Metzers and unaffected by KOH. Ellipsoidal with tiny pore offset at one end; no germ pore; unornamented and thin-walled. Cap with thin cellular cuticle layer. Gill surfaces with mostly 4-pronged basidia; cystidea rare on sides of gill but abundant at edge where they are tall, cylindrical and taper to a rounded end.

In soil of herbacious border beneath a rowan tree and in front walled border. In small groups. Moderately common in spring. Found under walnut tree in early October.