Psilocybe crobula (Fr.) Singer, Sydowia 15: 69. 1961.

macroscopy:

Pileus 3.5-25(-45) mm, hemispherical to convex then applanate with subinvolute, deflexed finally straight margin, hygrophanous, when moist translucently striate at margin up to half the radius, yellow- to red-brown (Mu. 2.5 YR 3/4, 5 YR 3-5/3, 7.5 YR 7-5/6-8, 4/3, 4.5/6, 10 YR 5-6/6, 3/4), slightly paler towards margin (10 YR 4-5/4), pallescent on drying (10 YR 6-7/4), strongly viscid with separable pellicle, with fine, white fibrillose patches of veil, especially at margin of young specimens, connecting the margin of the young pileus with the stipe, in mature specimens forming small flocks near margin, occasionally glabrescent with age. Lamellae , L = 18-28, l = 1-5, moderately crowded to fairly distant, adnate with decurrent tooth or emarginate with decurrent tooth, segmentiform to ventricose, pale yellowish brown at first then dark ochre-grey or clay-colour finally reddish yellow to reddish brown (7.5 YR 6-5/4, later 5 YR 5-3/6-8, 7.5 YR 4/6, 10 YR 3/3) with slightly paler, fimbriate edge.Stipe 15-35 x 1.0-1.5 mm, cylindrical, straight or flexuous, pale brown at apex (7.5 YR 8-7/2-6, dark brown to red-brown below (7.5 YR 6-5/6, 3/4, at base 5 YR 4-3/2), entirely innately to loosely fibrillose with whitish-ochraceous velar remnants, when young sometimes with small fibrillose annuliform zone, base sometimes densely white tomentose, glabrescent with age. Context very thin, membranaceous. Smell indistinct; taste mild or slightly farinaceous. Spore print red-brown to dark red-brown (5 YR 4-3/3-4, 10 R 3/2)

microscopy:

Spores 5.5-8.0 x 4.0-6.0 x 3.5-6.0 µm, distinctly flattened, F/I > 50%, Qf = 1.2-1.8, Qfav = 1.3-1.6, ovoid, submitriform, sometimes slightly hexangular to rhomboid in frontal view, Qs = 1.5-2.0, Qsav = 1.6-1.7, ellipsoid to oblong or slightly amygdaliform in side-view, thin-walled, brown in ammonia, with large apical germpore. Basidia 17-39 x 4.5-8.0 µm, Q - 2.9-3.1 3.2-3.4 3.9-4.2, 4-, rarely also 2-spored. Lamella edge sterile. Cheilocystidia 27-50(-66) x 2.0-8.5 µm, Q = 3.7-4.1-5.4, narrowly lageniform to lageniform with long, 1.0-2.5 µm wide, rounded to subacute neck, thin-walled. Hymenophoral trama regular, made up of short, inflated elements, some of which are finely incrusted, 10-70 x 3.0-9.0 µm. Pileipellis an 100-350 µm thick ixocutis of narrow, 1.0-2.5(-5.0) µm wide cylindrical, smooth or finely incrusted hyphae, embedded in a colourless matrix, subpellis made up of compact radially arranged hyphae, elements slightly to distinctly inflated, 15-35(70) x 3.5-9.0 µm, gradually passing into trama. Pigment parietal-incrusting, most pronounced in subpellis. Pileitrama regular, made up of inflated elements. Stipitipellis a cutis of cylindrical, 1.5-5.0 µm wide, brown-incrusted hyphae, in upper part loosely arranged tufts of cylindrical hyphae occur, probably veil remnants. Caulocystidia scattered, mainly at apex, 15-70 x 3.0-8.0 µm, cylindrical to lageniform. Clamp-connections abundant, visible on many septa in all tissues studied.

ecology:

solitary or in small groups, on small sticks and branches, wood-chips of deciduous and coniferous wood, also on cones of Picea or Pinus, on saw-dust mixed with dung, also on stems of tall herbs (Aruncus dioicus; A. sylvestris) in deciduous, mixed or coniferous forest on various soil-types; also encountered on grass remnants in ruderal place among Urtica and Rubus.

distribution:

Widespread an common all over Europe.

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