Inocybe sororia Kauffman

Common Name: none

• Pileus

  Cap 2.5-6.5 cm broad, conic, becoming bell-shaped, finally nearly plane with a distinct umbo, margin sometimes uplifted in age; surface dry, radially fibrillose to cracked, pale yellowish-buff, shading to a slightly darker disc, flesh thin, pallid to buff; odor of green corn.

• Lamellae

  Gills close, narrow, adnate, sometimes seceding, pallid to drab buff, becoming dull brown at maturity, edges lighter than the faces.

• Stipe

  Stipe 4-10 cm tall, 0.3-0.8 cm thick, equal to slightly enlarged at the base, surface dry, fibrillose, pallid to concolorous with the cap; veil absent.

• Spores

  Spores 10-14 x 6-8 µm, elliptical, smooth. Spore print dull brown.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered under hardwoods and conifers; in our area it is common with Monterey pine; fruiting from late fall to mid-winter.

• Edibility

  Toxic. Contains a clinically significant concentration of muscarine.

• Comments

  In a genus known for small, drab, difficult to differentiate mushrooms, Inocybe sororia stands out because of its relatively large size and conic cap with a well developed umbo. Other important field characters are the radially fibrillose to cracked cap surface and the strong green corn odor obvious when the cap tissue is crushed.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Brother Alfred Brousseau: Inocybe sororia (CP)
  • Tom Duffy: Inocybe sororia (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Inocybe sororia (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Inocybe sororia (CP)
  • Ammirati et al.: p. 159 (D), fig. 66 (I), fig. 75 (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 457 (D), p. 458 (P)
  • Benjamin: chapt. 18 (Toxicity Info)
  • Lincoff: p. 632 (D), plate 14 (CP)

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