Leratiomyces squamosus

General: Autumnal saprotroph fruiting on woodchips or decaying forest litter, formerly known as Stropharia squamosa, pileus ochraceous-brown, darker at the disc, adorned with concentric whitish scales, odor fungal, taste slightly bitter.

Pileipellis: Cutis composed of filamentous hyphae 3-7 µm wide, arranged more or less parallel to slightly interwoven, with pale yellow intracellular pigment and brownish encrustations, septate with clamp connections.

Caulocystidia: Present in fascicles, cylindrical, sinuous, with rounded to slightly pointed apices.

Cheilocystidia: Very abundant, rendering the lamellar edge virtually sterile, cylindrical, flexuous to sinuous, 60-110 x 6-10 µm, some bifurcate, hyaline or with faint yellowish pigment.

Pleurocystidia & Chrysocystidia: Absent.

Basidia: Cylindrical to clavate, 28-32 x 9-12 µm, with basal clamp connections, 4-spored.

Spores: Ellipsoid, smooth, thick-walled, pale greyish-brown under the microscope, 10-14 x 6-8 µm, with an eccentric apiculus and a distinct apical germ pore.