Species details
Stump fairy helmet
Mycena stipata
Inedible
Photo: Jason Grant · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A darker grey-brown bonnet growing in dense clusters on conifer wood, with an unpleasant nitrogenous or alkaline smell.
Identification features
Cap about 1–3 cm, pointed to bell-shaped, brown to dark brown, translucent and striate. Gills are white to cream at first, later grey. Stem is slender, grey-brown, often dark at the base with coarse white fibres.
Identification checklist
Check the strongly clustered growth on conifer wood, dark grey-brown caps and unpleasant alkaline/nitrogenous odour.
How to separate similar species
Mycena inclinata can also grow in clusters on wood. Substrate, odour and, when needed, microscopic characters help separate them.
Habitat
Grows in dense clusters on conifer wood and bark, especially spruce and pine, in late summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
August, September, October, November