Tubaria romagnesiana

Morphological Features:

Pileus small in size; collected specimens had a diameter ranging from 1 to 2.5 cm, with slightly larger specimens being feasible to locate. It has a convex shape that subsequently flattens considerably, maintaining a somewhat raised center or an obtuse umbo in some specimens. The surface exhibits a predominantly ochraceous color, although it contains abundant pruina giving young individuals a more creamy appearance; it may also retain whitish veil remnants and appear more floccose. The margin is crenulate and grooved in younger specimens and distinctly fissured in more mature ones.

Lamellae adnate to subdecurrent, not very crowded, with lamellulae; pale ochraceous when young and distinctly ochre in maturity, with a more pronounced ferruginous or cinnamon tinge than in other species of its genus.

Stipe slender and elongated, reaching up to 5 cm in length. It is cylindrical and fairly regular, uniformly ochre sometimes with a whitish base; it may exhibit, especially when young, irregularly distributed remnants of whitish fibrils. It is fistulose from an early stage, a feature otherwise common in its genus.

Flesh scant and fragile, ochraceous in color; no notable odor or taste could be recorded.

Habitat:

A gregariously growing species; a large number of specimens were located in a relatively small area. They grew at the edge of a Pinus radiata pine stand alongside a streamlet with ferns and mosses, and were found during autumn. It is a rather rare and not widely known species, poorly referenced in the literature.

Observations:

A small-sized Tubaria species with a rather frail appearance, easily confused with other species of its genus. Tubaria dispersa is also small, with a whitish stipe and conspicuously colored lamellae; it grows under shrubby species and is spring-fruiting. Tubaria conspersa may resemble it due to its floccose pileus, but lacks a crenulate or grooved margin. All these species require microscopic examination for accurate identification given their striking macroscopic similarity.