Identification of the Larger Fungi

by Roy Watling

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Key to the major classes of Larger Fungi

• Spores borne externally on stalks on a clavate to cylindrical cell Basidiomycotina
• Spores produced within a clavate, cylindrical or subglobose cell Ascomycotina

Key to major groups based on character of basidium and fruit-body shape

• 1. Basidia either produced in a hymenium or in a mass, and until maturity contained within a closed fruit-body Gasteromycetes
• Basidia produced in a layer of cells (hymenium) and exposed to the air before the maturity of the spores (Hymenomycetes) [2]
• 2. Basidia simple, a single cell ([fig. 5]) (Homobasidiae) [3]
• Basidia usually septate, or if simple then fruit-body gelatinous and often collapsing to form a skin when dried (Heterobasidiae) [4]
• 3. Fruit-body usually fleshy, soft and easily decaying (putrescent), hymenium spread over the surface of gills, ridges or within tubes Agaricales ([p. 22])
• Fruit-body with hymenium smooth or spread-out on teeth, ridges or plates or if within tubes then fruit-body tough and leathery Aphyllophorales ([p. 135])
• 4. Basidia divided [5]
• Basidia simple and apex drawn out into two long necks [Plate 61] ([p. 185]) Dacrymycetales ([p. 180])
• 5. Basidia divided transversely by one to three horizontal septae [Plate 60] ([p. 183]) Auriculariales ([p. 182])
• Basidia divided into two or four cells by vertical septae [Plate 61] ([p. 185]) Tremellales ([p. 184])

A. AGARICS AND THEIR RELATIVES

Key to major genera

• 1. Spores distinctly coloured in mass and coloured individually under the microscope [2]
• Spores not, or faintly, coloured in mass and hyaline under the microscope [25]
• 2. Spores blackish or some shade of brown [8]
• Spores pinkish [3]
• 3. Stem laterally attached to the cap or absent Claudopus (and some species of Clitopilus)
• Stem centrally attached to the cap [4]
• 4. Stem with a cup-like structure enveloping the base Volvariella
• Stem lacking any special structure at its base [5]
• 5. Gills not attached to the stem (free), or with part attached to and descending down the stem (decurrent) [6]
• Gills attached to the stem but not descending down the stem [7]
• 6. Gills remote to free from the stem Pluteus
• Gills distinctly attached and descending down the stem Clitopilus (see also Eccilia [p. 102])
• 7. Gills broadly attached to the stem (adnate) Entoloma
• Gills narrowly attached to the stem (adnexed) Leptonia & Nolanea
• 8. Stem laterally attached to the cap Crepidotus
• Stem centrally attached to the cap [9]
• 9. Spore-print some shade of brown [10]
• Spore-print blackish to purplish black [18]
• 10. Spore-print bright rust-brown [11]
• Spore-print dull clay-brown or ochraceous [16]
• 11. Stem with the veil girdling the stem (ring), or cobweb-like (cortina) [12]
• Stem without the veil girdling the stem or when present then easily lost [13]
• 12. Stem with distinct ring or ring-zone Pholiota & related genera
• Stem with cobweb-like veil or faint filamentous ring-zone Cortinarius & Gymnopilus
• 13. Gills attached to the stem but not descending down the stem (adnexed to adnate) [14]
• Gills free of the stem, or distinctly attached to and running down the stem (decurrent), and then often joined together at the apex of the stem or at their base [15]
• 14. Cap-surface composed of rounded cells Conocybe
• Cap-surface composed of filamentous cells Galerina
• 15. Gills free of the stem and the whole fruit-body very fragile Bolbitius
• Gills attached to and running down the stem (decurrent), easily separable from the cap-tissue and frequently veined at apex of stem Paxillus
• 16. Cap scaly, fibrillose and roughened Inocybe
• Cap smooth, greasy or viscid [17]
• 17. Cap-surface composed of rounded cells Agrocybe
• Cap-surface composed of filamentous cells Naucoria & Hebeloma
• 18. Gills or complete fruit-body becoming liquefied Coprinus
• Neither the gills nor fruit-body collapsing into a slurry of cells [19]
• 19. Gills free to remote from the stem or attached and descending down the stem (decurrent) [20]
• Gills attached in some way to the stem but not descending down the stem (adnate to adnexed) [21]
• 20. Gills decurrent; stem possessing a cobweb-like veil Gomphidius and Chroogomphus
• Gills remote or free; stem possessing a usually persistent ring Agaricus
• 21. Gills distinctly spotted or distinctly mottled; stem stiff but breaking with a snap when bent; growing on dung or in richly manured areas Panaeolus
• Gills not spotted or distinctly mottled; stem cartilaginous or not, and fruit-body growing on dung or not [22]
• 22. Gills broadly attached to the stem (adnate) and with a veil girdling the stem Stropharia
• Gills narrowly attached to the stem (adnexed) or with concave dentation near the stem (sinuate), or if adnate then lacking a ring [23]
• 23. Gills with concave indentation near the stem (sinuate) and cap and stem with a cobweb-like veil Hypholoma
• Gills attached to the stem but lacking a distinct concave indentation near the stem [24]
• 24. Stem stiff but breaking with a snap when bent; edge of cap incurved at first and cap-surface composed of filamentous cells Psilocybe
• Stem fragile; edge of cap straight even when young and cap-surface composed of rounded cells Psathyrella
• 25. Fruit-body fleshy and readily decaying, often firm but never tough [26]
• Fruit-body tough and not easily decaying [47]
• 26. Parasitic on other agarics Nyctalis
• Not parasitic on other agarics [27]
• 27. Spore-bearing layer on fold-like often forked gills or simply on irregularities [28]
• Spore-bearing layer (hymenium), on distinct well-formed gills [29]
• 28. Spore-bearing layer on fold-like gills Cantharellus
• Spore-bearing layer on surface of irregularities Craterellus
• 29. Cap easily separable from the stem [30]
• Cap not easily separable from the stem [31]
• 30. Stem with girdling veil (ring) and/or with a persistent cup-like structure at the base (volva); cap usually with warts or scales distributed on its surface Amanita
• Stem with a ring but lacking a volva; cap surface powdery, hairy or scaly Lepiota & related genera
• 31. Cap, stem and gills brittle; stem never stiff and either exuding a milk-like juice or not; spores with spines or warts which stain blue-black in solutions containing iodine [32]
• Cap, stem and gills soft or if stem stiff then snapping when bent; gills never brittle [33]
• 32. Fruit-body exuding a milk-like fluid Lactarius
• Fruit-body not exuding milk-like fluid Russula
• 33. Gills thick, watery and lustrous (waxy) or with a bloom as if powdered with talc; often brightly coloured [34]
• Gills not waxy and rarely over 1·5 mm thick [36]
• 34. Gills rather watery and lustrous (waxy); spores smooth [35]
• Gills rigid not watery, with powdery bloom; spores with distinct spines Laccaria
• 35. Fruit-body with a distinct veil and growing in woods; cap often viscid or pale coloured Hygrophorus
• Fruit-body lacking a veil and usually growing in fields; cap usually brightly coloured and sometimes viscid Hygrocybe
• 36. Stem with girdling veil (ring) and/or stem not attached to the centre of the cap (eccentric) [37]
• Stem central and lacking a ring [38]
• 37. Stem central and possessing a ring Armillaria
• Stem not centrally attached to the cap members of the ‘Pleurotaceae’ ([p. 74])
• 38. Stem fibrous [39]
• Stem stiff only in the outer layers [42]
• 39. Gills with a concave indentation near the stem (sinuate) [40]
• Gills attached to and descending down the stem (decurrent) [41]
• 40. Spores with warts which darken in solutions containing iodine Melanoleuca
• Spores not so colouring in solutions containing iodine Tricholoma & related genera
• 41. Spores with warts which darken in solutions containing iodine Leucopaxillus
• Spores not so colouring in solutions containing iodine Tricholoma & related genera
• 42. Gills thick and with rather blunt edges Cantharellula & Hygrophoropsis
• Gills thin and with distinct and sharp edges [43]
• 43. Gills attached to and descending down the stem (decurrent); cap often depressed at the centre and sterile cells absent from the gills and the surface of the cap Clitocybe & Omphalina
• Gills attached to the stem but not descending down the stem (adnate to adnexed) or if descending then distinct sterile cells on the gills, cap and stem [44]
• 44. Cap-edge straight and usually striate when young; cap thin and somewhat conical and gills descending down the stem or not Mycena & related genera
• Cap-edge incurved, non-striate and cap rather fleshy; gills not descending down the stem [45]
• 45. Stem dark and woolly at least in the lower half and the cap viscid; fruit-bodies growing in clusters on tree-trunks Flammulina
• Stem not dark and woolly [46]
• 46. Cap viscid and stem usually rooting; fruit-body growing directly on wood or attached to wood by long strands or cords of mycelium (rhizomorphs) Oudemansiella
• If cap viscid then fruit-body neither attached to wood by cords of mycelium nor stem with a rooting base Collybia & related genera
• 47. Stem central and gills often interconnected by veins; cap can be dried and later revived, purely by moistening Marasmius & related genera
• Stem not attached to the centre of the cap and fruit-body although persistent not easily revived to natural shape after once being dried [48]
• 48. Spore-print blue-black with solutions containing iodine [49]
• Spore-print yellowish in solutions containing iodine [50]
• 49. Gills toothed or notched along the edges Lentinellus
• Gills even along their edges and not toothed Panellus
• 50. Gills appearing as if split down their middles Schizophyllum
• Gills not splitting [51]
• 51. Gills notched or toothed along their edges Lentinus
• Gills even along their edges and not toothed Panus
• 52. Spore print yellowish, purplish, black or pink [53]
• Spore-print some shade of brown, but without purplish flush [56]
• 53. Spore-print yellowish or pinkish [54]
• Spore-print purplish brown or blackish [55]
• 54. Spore-print yellowish Gyroporus
• Spore-print pinkish Tylopilus
• 55. Spore-print purplish brown Porphyrellus
• Spore-print blackish and spores ornamented Strobilomyces
• 56. Cap glutinous and stem with or without girdling veil (ring); within the tubes the sterile cells (cystidia) cluster together Suillus
• Cap at most viscid and then only in wet weather and sterile cells within the tubes individually placed [57]
• 57. Stem-surface covered with distinct black or dark brown or white then darkening scales; spore-print clay-brown with or without a flush of cinnamon-pinkish brown Leccinum
• Stem-surface covered completely or in part with a network or pattern of faint lines or pale yellow or red-rust but never black dots; spore-print olivaceous buff Boletus & related genera

(i) Agarics of woodlands and copses

(a) Mycorrhizal formers