Psilocybe flocculosa Bas & Noordeloos, Persoonia 16: 243. 1996.

Psilocybe flocculosa photo M. Péres-De-Gregorio i Capella

microscopy (photo M. Péres-De-Gregorio i Capella)

macroscopy:

Pileus 5-9 mm, obtusely conical with involute margin, expanding to plano-convex or applanate, usually with slight depression around low, rounded umbo, hygrophanous, when moist dark red-brown at centre (Mu. 5 YR 3/2-4), with rather narrow, much paler ochraceous red to dark isabella marginal zone (5 YR 4/6, 7.5 YR 5/4, 10 YR 5/3), translucently striate at margin, dry, entirely subgranulose, pallescent on drying, becoming minutely fibrillose-flocculose. Lamellae , L = 15-30, l = 1-3, crowded, broadly adnate to subdecurrent, often secedent in expanded pilei, rather broad, triangular, up to 1.5 mm wide, pale clay-coloured when young (10 YR 6/3) then darker grey-brown with slight violaceous tinge (10 YR 5/3 - 7.5 YR 5/4), with white, granular edge. Stipe 9-17 x 0.3-1.5 mm, tapering towards base, reddish ochraceous brown with dark red-brown base, finally almost black in basal part, at first entirely with pale reddish-ochraceous flocculose-squamulose covering, later on more fibrillose, glabrescent. Context rather dark brown in pileus, concolorous with surface in stipe. Smell spontaneously weak, strongly subaromatical when crushed. Taste unpleasant, slightly bitter. Spore print dark purple-grey brown (5 YR 3/3)

microscopy:

Spores 5.5-)6.0-7.0 x 4.5-6.0 x 3.5-4.0(-4.5) µm, Qf = 1.0-1.2-1.3, mitriform to distinctly rhomboid in frontal view,Qs = 1.4-1.6-1.8, ellipsoid to oblong in side-view;, thin-walled to slightly thick-walled, with prominent germ-pore, brown in water. Basidia 16-24 x 4-7 µm, 2- and 4-spored, clamped. Lamella edge sterile. Cheilocystidia 20-30 x 6.0-8.0 µm, narrowly lageniform with 2.0-3.0 µm wide neck. Pleurocystidia abundant, 20-30 x 8.0-11 µm, ventricose-rostrate to lageniform with 3.0-4.0 µm wide neck. Pileipellis a dry cutis with transitions to a trichoderm, made up of cylindrical, often branched, 3.0-7.0 µm wide hyphae. Pigment minutely incrusting and membranal in upper layer of pileus. Stipitipellis a cutis with trichodermal tufts of cylindrical, often strongly branched, up to 5.0 µm wide hyphae with incrusted walls. Clamp-connections abundant.

Ecology:

Saprotrophic, in large group in sandy soil mixed with compost and wood debris in orchard; also found on very old dung of cow.

Distribution

far known from the type locality in the Netherlands and an additional locality in Spain (Pyrenees).

Comments

P. flocculosa is similar to P. phyllogena (P. rhombispora) from which it differs by its flocculose pileus and stipe, and presence of pleurocystidia. It has recently been found in the Pyrenees, Spain. Thanks to the kindness of Miquel Pérez-De-Gregorio i Capella I am able to show the first coloured photograph of this species.