Agrocybe praecox (Persoon : Fries) Fayod
Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Series 7, 9: 358. 1889.

Common Name: none

• Pileus

  Cap 3-6 cm broad, convex, broadly so to nearly plane in age, occasionally with a low umbo at the disc; surface smooth, but commonly cracked in dry weather; color tan-brown to "biscuit brown," the margin lighter, fading overall in age; context white to cream, soft; odor and taste mild to farinaceous.

• Lamellae

  Gills adnexed to adnate, close, moderately broad, pallid, becoming pale brown.

• Stipe

  Stipe 4-9 cm long, 4-7 mm thick, equal, round, straight to irregularly bent, the base often slightly bulbous; surface colored like the cap, faintly grooved to striate at the apex, less conspicuously so below, darkening in age or from handling, thickened mycelium (rhizomorphs) frequently adhering to the base; partial veil membranous, cream-buff, leaving fragments on the young cap or forming a thin, fragile ring, the latter often darkening from spores.

• Spores

  Spores 8-12 x 5.5-7 µm, smooth, elliptical, with a germ pore; spore print brown.

• Habitat

  Scattered, clustered, to in large troops in wood chips, iceplant and grass; fruiting during the spring.

• Edibility

  Edible but of little value.

• Comments

  This harbinger of spring is recognized by a cream-buff, smooth to cracked, sometimes appendiculate cap, membranous ring, and tendency to have pallid rhizomorphs at the base. It can be common along roadsides where it often fruits with Volvariella speciosa.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Michael Boom: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Nathan Wilson: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Agrocybe sororia? (CP) -- this is an Agrocybe praecox lookalike without a veil...it is locally common on woodchips
  • Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month: Agrocybe praecox (D & CP)
  • MushroomExpert.com: Agrocybe praecox (D & CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Agrocybe praecox (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 469 (D), plate 102
  • Jordan: p. 248 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 558 (D), plate 225 (CP)
  • McKenny et al.: p. 121 (D & CP)
  • Miller: sp. 224 (D & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 194 (D), p. 195 (CP)
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 217 (D & CP)

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)