Dune Brittlestem

Psathyrella ammophila

Dunes, sandy areas, sandy forests. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies small. Cap 1-3 (4) cm across, raised-flattened, matt, dirty brown, yellowish-brown, fading to pale brown, brownish or even whitish. Gills brownish, later becoming brown, blackish-brown, edges whitish, adnate. Stem 3-7x0.2-0.3 cm, the colour of the cap, deeply embedded in sand. Flesh without any particular smell or taste. Characteristic features: yellowish-brown fungi, stem deeply sunk in sand. Grows singly or in small groups. Rare, saprotroph. In Lithuania 47 species of Psathyrella have been found so far; from a practical point of view they are important as wood and litter saprotrophs, only a few species are edible – and those of little value; there are no poisonous ones.