Conifer Roundhead

Stropharia hornemannii

Coniferous forests, especially spruce forests. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies large. Cap grows up to 15 cm across, fleshy, sticky in wet weather, yellowish-grey, greyish-brown, with a violet tinge. Young gills grey, old ones violet-blackish-brown, adnate. Stem 5-15x1-3 cm, cylindrical, white, with a broad, conspicuous ring, not thickened at the base, with white mycelial threads. Flesh whitish, thick, soft, with an unpleasant smell and taste. Characteristic features: the largest Stropharia, cap surface smooth, greyish-brown, with a violet tinge. Grows in small groups, favouring humus-rich soil; attractive-looking fungi, but mildly poisonous. Not rare.