Plants and animals of Pointfield

Large, dark fungus growing from well rotted stump. Cap low domal, 9 cm diameter; dark brown, almost black centrally where the surface is slightly flecked; smoother and chestnut-brown towards the rim; rim not inturned. Gills free, dense, off-shite in colour; gill edges translucent/glassy, gill sides white. Stalk long and sturdy 9 cm by 5.5 mm, widening towards the base; flesh white but covered in brown fibrils. Spore print orange-brown. Spores rounded oval with small off-centre apiculus; 6.5-8.1 x 5.0-6.3 um, mean = 7.2 x 5.4 um, N = 16; Q = 1.2-1.4, Qav. = 1.33. Gill edge sterile,composed of clavate cystidia; gill sides with equally-spaced lageniform pleurocystidia with 2-4 hooks at their ends. Cap surface of cylindrical hyphae with slightly expanded heads that are filled with brown pigment.

Growing from well-rotted old trunk cross-section in ground, probably from a holly tree (2023) and from another holly tree stump (2024).