Inocybe hystrix

Species with a pileus rarely exceeding 5 cm across, densely covered with prominent dark brown or ochraceous-brown recurved squamules or fibrils that give it an unmistakable spiky appearance.

An uncommon but field-identifiable Inocybe inhabiting broadleaf woodlands from summer to late autumn. Personally, I have only encountered it during summer months in damp montane beech forests.

The microscopic study is based on a single specimen collected in late July at over 1,100 m a.s.l. under beech in Soba (Cantabria).

An additional photograph is included, also taken under Fagus sylvatica in August in Gorbeia Natural Park, Zeanuri (Bizkaia).