Pluteus Fries 1835

[Pluteus is a Latin military term for (1) a shed covered with rawhide, used to protect besiegers

(2) a permanent parapet, as on towers.]

Gills free, stem cleanly separable from cap, no volva or ring. Context is usually soft and fleshy to deliquescing.  Often found growing on wood or on soil containing much woody debris.  Spores smooth, their color is described as "pink", but it usually is closer to a pinkish-tinged brown.  There are sometimes prominent cystidea, both facial and marginal, but books that use this in their description of the genus are seriously wrong; that is only true for one section of the genus.

A good botanical jargon word used to describe the gills of most Pluteus species:

ventricose: swollen in the middle, tapering at the ends; a typical gill profile.

Here are photos of a species with the typical ventricose gill profile.

 

Pluteus dark grey tiny-scaly on light background cap.  9/27/97, Natural Bridge S.P., Sauk Co.

Another botanical jargon word often used to describe caps, especially of Inocybe and Coprinus

rimose: cracked, or full of clefts

Pluteus, cap exceptionally blackish and rimose

7/31/94, Stewart Dane Co. Pk.

In contrast to most dark-spored genera, there has been essentially no agonizing about where to put its species; Pluteus is exceptionally well-marked, and usually easy to recognize, even in the field.

~100 world wide, 43 in Great Britain according to Orton.  It is significantly under-represented in modern picture-books, with only 5 pictures each in Phillips and Bessette, Fisher and Bessette.  Smith, Smith, and Weber, who were not constrained by having to produce nice photos, described 21.

Pleuteus is usually divided into three sections, defined on the basis of microscopic characters:

Section Pluteus: filamentous cap cuticle, large thick-walled facial(pleuro-)cystidea, usually horned.  Fries used it to describe the same species in macroscopic terms as having a cuticle separating into fibrils or down.

Section Hispoderma: Filamentous cap cuticle, lacks thick walled or horned facial cystidea

Section Celluoderma: cap cuticle with inflated cells (or mixed)

Many of the showiest US species do not appear in Europe, seemingly more than for many genera.  For European species, the underlined numbers are Moser's, and the ones in brackets are from Orton's treatment in British Fungal Flora Vol. 4.  Here I give page numbers for references to American books that I happen to have, but not for European ones.  

Section Pluteus:

1.7 [1] cervinus (Fr)Kumm.  Extremely common in the US: Pk23'69,87; 38'84,134;54'00,`8?',74;  

    This is in every book I have seen.  Several people have noted the color is not anything particularly like a deer.  It does first appear in Wisconsin when the fawns are first born and still lying in cover instead of running away.  Could the species name refer to the horned cystidea?  I have not seen anyone say so, and did not know that Fries used a microscope much.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Kauf CIII,537; Grah 31-5; SSW 186; Ca 155,166; Aud 675,231,233; McK 248,30; sp. Kauf 9(32); GSM 144; M.171; S.200; NFP 71; Kr 431, Hard 265; Ph2 138; Kan 139; SoW 200; Ar2 256;

Here are especially dark and bumpy young ones:

  

Pluteus cervinus  5/27/00, Governor Dodge    c.f. magnus 7/9/91, Kek.Gunfl. MN

  

Pluteus c.f. cervinus  exceptionally dark.  8/19/02, Raven Nature Trail, Vilas Co.

9/27/97 Natural Bridge S.P. Sauk Co

Pluteus cervinus 8/30/87, Indian Lake Co. Pk. Dane Co. 

Pluteus c.f. cervinus  9/22/92, Indian Lake Co. Pk., Dane Co.

Quite possibly another species.

 

Pluteus cervinus 18 July 2004, Lake Kegonsa S.P.

Pluteus cervinus  11 July 2004, Belmont Wood

All of these (except those marked “cf”) were found to have the horned cystidea that characterize this section; I did not examine the others under a microscope.

Pluteus cervinus comes out in the spring on logs at the same time as Megacollybia (Tricholomopsis, Collybia) platyphyllus, and I am always surprised that I mix them up just looking at the top of the cap.  They don't even need to be disturbed to tell them apart; the gills are much closer and softer for the Pluteus, and a touch distinguishes them without even picking them to look underneath.

Everybody says that Pluteus cervinus will not hurt you, but we are usually finding something with higher recommendations when we find it, and I have never tried eating it.  It gets soft quickly, and old specimens should certainly not be eaten.

1.6 [2] atromarginalis(Kon)Kühn.=nigrofloccosus(R.Schlz)Favre=tricuspidatus Vel.

SSW 186; Aud 674,233; Ca 153,166; Ph2 138; Ar2 256;  (GSM)

blackish brn,appressed blk fibrils, 3-10; sp 6.5-8x4.5-5 gill edges brown, stem 5-10x.5-1.2

2.5 [ 8] umbrosus (Pers.:Fr.)Kum. Pk'78/32,28;38'84,135; Kauf 538; Grah 31-12; (GSM)

3-8,convex-campanulate6conv./plane, dk.brn.fibril.scales on lt.brn,stem with brown fibrils, sp,5.6-7.3x4.4-5.7; gill edges bl./brn. flocc.

  I have little confidence that I can tell these apart, but do sometimes see Pluteus with horned cystidea and dark gill edges.

Pluteus atromarginalis (?) September 8, 1992, Ridges, Door Co.

Pluteus umbrosus (?)

Sept. 29, 1984

Blue Mound S.P. Dane/Iowa Co.

1.3 [7]  petasatus(Fr)Gill non ss.Rick. = curtisii(Berk.&Br.)Sacc.ss Sing.

= patricus(S.Schulz)Boud ss Sing. = pellitus(Pers.Fr.)Kumm. ss Rick.

SSW 187; McK 252,30; Ph2 138; BM2 62; IOH 128; Ar2 255;

pallid, streaked w. brn fibrils, disk scaly, 4-10;sp. 6-7.5x4.5-5; stem 4-10x.7-1.5, sawdust piles, usually misidentified.

  Perhaps misidentified, but there are a lot of lighter-colored guys that look a lot like cervinus out there.

 

Pluteus c.f. pellitus  June 23, 1995            Pluteus pallid scaley  September 9 1994,

Newport S.P. Door Co.    Point Beach S.P.

Pluteus c.f. petasatus  May 25, 1997,    Pluteus light, horned cystidea  June 20 1995

Owen Park, Madison     Cave Pt. Door Co. Pk.

These look different, but are light-colored enough 

Pluteus, shiny white.  April 27, 1999   Pluteus, also shiny white, July 6 1994

Highland Hammock S.P. FL    Whitefish Dune S.P. Door Co.

Pluteus presumably sect. Pluteus  June 22, 1997, Governor Dodge S.P. Iowa Co.

bartelliae Sm GtLk, thkwalled cystidea, horns, poorly developed SSW 186;

blkish brn, scurfy disk, 4-10; odor pungent; sp. 7-8x5-5.5; stem 6-10x1-2, blksh brn, surface unpol.-surfy   (I don't think that I have seen it).

I should be able to identify these species!  But I can't, and did not even establish the section.

 

Pluteus dk. grey tinyscaley on light      Pluteus dk. grey tinyscaley on light  

July 31, 1995, Porcupine Mt. S.P. MI    its spores (on the leaf) are lightt too.

Section Hispoderma: Filamentous cap cuticle, lacks thick walled or horned facial cystidea

tomentosulus Pk'78/32,27;38'84,136; GtLk&E Kauf 540; SSW 187; Grah 31-4; Ca 167; McK 249;

white, dry, 3-10, gills and stem also white first; sp. 5-7x4.5-6; stem 5-10x.4-1,white, cystidea lack horns

 

Pluteus c.f. tomentosulus  5/1984, Wyalusing   similar, 5/28/87, Sauk Co. Forest

Plueus c.f. tomentosulus  September 25, 1991, Natural Bridge S.P. Sauk Co.  very doubtful.

pallidus Homola  Gt.Lk. cystidea lack horns  SSW 189;

pinkish gray to pallid, 2.5-4; taste disagreeable; sp. 5-7x4.5-6; stem 2-4x.13-.4, fragile, silvery streaked, brownish base

Although I only have Smith's description to go on, I think I have seen pallidus several times.

Pluteus  pallidus  August 3, 1991, Wyalusing S.P. Grant Co. (two views)

Pluteus pallidus  July 11, 1991, Gunflint Lake, MN   pallidus 8/23/97,

        Henw. Hollow, GSNP TN

granularis Pk Pk26'72,55;38'84,135; Kauf 541; SSW 188; Grah 31-11; Hard 247; BBF 235+;

dk brn,plush covered,2-5; sp. 5-6.5x4-5; stem 3-8x.2-.5,plush covered,dk brn, cystidea no horns

This is an American-only species (as far as I know) that seems quite distinct.

Pluteus granularis  July 11 1991     Pluteus granularis  June 9, 1991,  

Governor  Dodge S.P. Iowa Co   Blue Mound S. P. Dane/Iowa Co.

Pluteus granularis  July 8, 1994, Cave Point Door Co. Pk.

Pluteus c.f. granularis  August 31, 1985, Cherokee Park, Madison

flavofulgineus Atk cyst. no horns GrtLk,E,&S Kauf  545,536; SSW 188; Aud 674; Ca 168;

 McK 250,30; Ph2 138; Ar2 258; (GSM)

first blackish-brown, but soon turning yellow from margin in, 2-7; sp. 6-7x4.5-5.5; stem 4-10x.4-.8, pinkish gradually to dull yellow

This is another distinctively American species that has a different-looking stem from the yellow one following it here.

Pluteus flavofulgineus  July 12, 1986, Baxter's Hollow, Sauk Co.

Pluteus flavovulgineus 8/29/87, Baxter's Hollow, Sauk Co.   July 23, 1992, Baxt. Hollow

Pluteus flavofulgineus (button) July 20, 2002, Wyalusing S.P. Grant Co.

2.3[21] leoninus Fr (Schaeff)Kumm = fayodii Pk23'69,87; Pk38'84,137; (GSM)

Kauf 545; Aud 674;

y.,glabrous,margin striate, 2-5; sp. 6-7x5; st.5-7x.2-.5,pellucid white, striulate, hemlock forests

Pluteus leoninus  June 2, 1991,  

Governor Dodge S.P. Iowa Co    6/30/90, Baxter's Hollow, Sauk Co.

Mystery species from Carnes County Park (Dodge County)

 

Pluteus no horned cystidea  15 Aug. 2004  Carnes Co. Pk.

There were many hundreds of these in wood chips.  Their appearance in different clumps was rather different, but I could find no microscopic differences in them, and believe they are probably all the same thing.  They are so large and firm that I would have called them cervinus if I had not looked under a microscope.

 

Pluteus  no horned cystidea  15 Aug. 2004  Carnes Co. Pk.

Pluteus  no horned cystidea  15 Aug. 2004  Carnes Co. Pk.

the amount of cracking and scalyness of the cap varied a lot, but all seemed to be the same species.  These pictures demonstrate why you can't identify many mushrooms by matching photos in books

Pluteus, very dark, big  October 19 2003, Carnes CP.  It might be the same species as in 2004, as it grew on the same wood chips, one year earlier, but it looks rather different.

Pluteus? Smooth pink spores, but it feels most uncharacteristically tough, and was growing on soil.  I was sure it was an Entoloma until it had not angles on the spores.  I unfortunately have not been able to locate it again.  Wyalusing, Mississippi river floodplane, late fall.

Section Celluoderma: cuticle with inflated cells (or mixed)

admirabilis Pk., Pk24'70,64; Pk38'84,137; Kauf 544; SSW 189; Grah 263,32-13; Aud 673,229;

McK 248,30; M.172; Ca 153,165; Ph2 138; Kan 140; [Pk28'74,85 var. with brn. pileus wht. stem]  lemon to ochre y.,glabrous,1-3; sp. 6-7x4.5-5.8; stem 3-6x.1-.25,lemon yellow, mycelium white

yellow coloring of pileus in cells 30-35x20-25 µ

Pluteus admirabilis  July 6, 1994, Whitefish Dunes S.P. Door Co

Pluteus admirabilis  July 7, 1997, Rowan Creek (two views)

Pluteus admirabilis  25 July 2004, Gov. Dodge S. P.

This is the yellowest of our Plutei, and is quite striking when young.

longistriatus (Pk.)Sacc. Pk38'84,137; Kauf CIV,543; SSW 188;

Grah 31-8; Aud 676,234; Ar2 257; Gt.Lk,E&S (KS,GSM)

brown-gray, deeply furrowed in age, 2.5-5, soon collapses; sp. 6-7.5x5.5,subglob; stem 2-8x.15-.3, fibers

Pluteus longistriatus  July 13, 1985, Bendix Woods IN  (is this same as others?)

Pluteus longistriatus  September 13, 1987, Whitefish Dunes S.P. Door Co.

Pluteus longistriatus  July 7, 1994, Newport S.P. Door Co.

These often collapse to a stinking mess before they put out spores, but are quite pretty when young.

These are also soft and virgate but did not appear to me to be longistriatus.

 

Pluteus 7/15/92 Cherokee Park, Madison Pluteus   8/19/97, Ogle Place, GSMNP TN

Collapsed before examined properly

Pluteus brown softening,  8/3/91, Wyalsusing

3.6 [35]  lutescens (Fr)Bres = nanus var. lutescens(fr.)Konr.&Maulb.  =romellii(Britz.)Sacc.'95

Kauf 543; Grah 263; SSW 189; McK 250,30; Ar2 257; (GSM)

olive-brown to yellowish,1-5; sp. 6.8-7x5-6; stem 2-4x.13-.3,yellow,brighter at base

Pluteus lutescens  October 10, 1998, Point Beach S.F  (two views).

Pluteus lutescens  May 24, 1986, J.Muir trail, S. Kettle Morraine S.F.

3.14[30] phlebophorus (Ditmar : Fr.)Kumm.=chrysophaeus ss Kühn.& Romagn.  (European refs)

cap 1.3-4.5(6), reddish brown shades, relatively strongly veined, stem white 2-9x0.2-0.6, discoloring brownish, spores (5.5)6-8, subglobose to br. ellipsoid, cystidea mostly with a narrow neck.  Confused with thompsonii.

3.10[41]  thompsonii (Berk&Br'76)Dennis1948 = cinereus Quel. SSW 190; BBF 235+; cap 0.8-5.1, blk-brn, disk reticulate-veined, cap paler dull brn, 1-3.5; sp. 6-8x5.5-6; stem 2-4.5x.15-.6

Pluteus phlebeophorus(?)  August 6, 1995, Suppernong Trail, S. Kettle Morraine S.F.

redbrn  9/7/92,

Whitefish Dune S.P. Door Co.

Orton does dismisses the presence or absence of veined reticulations on the cap as having any taxonomic significance; it is very variable, and most species in this section will develop them.  I mainly care about the appearance, so I do care, and show some veined ones here.

Pluteus lighter brown reticulate center  

August 16 1998,  Walking Iron Dane Co. Pk.   7/27/96, Wyalusing S.P. Grant Co.

Pluteus reddish brown and only slightly veined at center  

June 2, 1991 Gov. Dodge     same?  8/31/1991, Wyalusing S.P.

3.5 [32]  chrysophaeus (Fr)Quel = xanthophaeus Ort. SSW 190; Kauf 537; McK 250,30;

dull cinnamon brown, rugulose disk,1-3, taste farinaceous; spores 5-7x5-6; stem 2-4x.2-.5, gray-silvery streaks, becomes yellow-brown from the base  up  (KS)

Pluteus c.f. chrysophaeus  July 17, 1992 Fer.-Bong IN

probably not this.

 

3.18 cyanopus (Quel.)Metr. {psilocybin, etc. present} SSW 185; (Ps 90);

cinn. brn., ± rugose-reticulate, 2-4;sp. 6-7.5x5-6; stem 2-5x.2-.8, base gray to gray-olive,stain greenish-bluish; no horns

    I have not seen a Pluteus species whose base stains blue/green, which is a sign of psilocybin.  There are a couple listed for the US.

I have also not seen the spectacularly colored red-orange species that appears in many books.  

3.1 [34] aurantiorugosus (Trog)Sacc = caloceps = aurantiacus  Kauf 543; SSW 189;

 Grah 31-7; Aud 675,230; Ca 167;  BBF 234+; Myc'00,14/2,133;

brt. red to orange to yellow, 2.5-5.5,gills first white; sp. 6-7x4.5-5; stem 3-6x.3-1, fibrous lines, wht.-yellow

There are especially many species with cellular cap cuticles that I cannot identify.

\

Pluteus very dark putrescent.  Which?  August 12, 2001, Governor Dodge S.P. Iowa Co.

 

Pleuteus dark 5 cm cap.  Pluteus dark virgate youg.   

7/30/95, Porcupine Mt. S.P. MI 8/17/97, Cosby, GSMNP TN

Pluteus, extra-broad-gilled collapser:  July 15 1992, Cherokee Pk. Madison

Pluteus sect. Celluoderma  October 29 1994, Baxter's Hollow, Sauk Co.

I don't know where the plushy-looking species go:

Pluteus, hygrophanous subvelvety rotter   May 26, 1986, Pine Glen, Sauk Co.

Pluteus plushy   both May 3 1999, Porcupine Mtn. S.P. MI

They are almost deliquescent, and often collapse to a gooey mess in a few hours.

Pluteus little subveiny  July 30, 1993 UW Arb near Nakoma Road

Pluteus, very dark little, prob. as above.  September 18, 1991,  UW Arb near Nakoma Road

Pluteus tiny brown and yellow  August 3 1991, Wyalusing

Pluteus, 5 cm, yellowbrown  September 20 2003,  Walking Iron