How to identify Reddish-brown Stropharia

To correctly identify Reddish-brown Stropharia (Hypholoma sublateritium), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   The cap is 3-10 cm (1.2-4 in) in diameter, convex to broadly convex or nearly flat with age, brick-red to reddish-brown, often paler yellowish-orange at the margin, and may have whitish veil remnants when young.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   The gills are adnate to adnexed, close, and narrow. They are whitish to pale yellowish when young, becoming olive-gray, then purplish-brown to fuscous as spores mature.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   The stem is 5-15 cm (2-6 in) long and 0.5-1.5 cm (0.2-0.6 in) thick, slender but firm, often curved, yellowish above and rusty brown to reddish-brown below. It usually has a prominent but thin, ephemeral ring or ring zone, sometimes tinted purplish by falling spores.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   The flesh is yellowish to pale brownish, soft in the cap, and fibrous in the stem. It has a mild to slightly bitter taste and a non-distinctive odor.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   The fruiting body is a mushroom, growing in dense clusters.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing in dense clusters on dead hardwood logs, stumps, and buried wood. Rarely found on conifers. It is common in disturbed woodlands and managed forests.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth to slightly scaly, often sticky when moist

Growth Form

Cespitose (in dense clusters)

Spore Print

Purplish-brown

Body color

Cap: brick-red to reddish-brown; Gills: yellowish (young) to brownish-purple (mature); Stem: yellowish to rusty brown

Odor

Mild, not distinctive

Flesh bruises

No bruising reaction

Height

5-15 cm (2-6 in)

Cap Diameter

3-10 cm (1.2-4 in)

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to adnexed
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, sometimes slightly tapered towards base
• Stem surface: Smooth to finely fibrous, often with whitish veil remnants when young
• Ring: Ephemeral, often present as a faint ring zone or remnants on the stem
• Stem cross-section: Solid to fistulose (hollow in older specimens)

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