Interim "Skeleton Key" to some common species of
INOCYBE[1]in the Pacific Northwest
By Dr. Daniel Stuntz ca. 1978
Footnotes (containing species descriptions) by Ian Gibson 2004
(In Word, choose View -> Footnotes if not visible.)
Copyright Pacific Northwest Key Council 1978, 2004
Key to species...... 2
Glossary...... 13
Selected References...... 14
Index...... 15
INOCYBE - 1 -
KEY TO SPECIES
1aCap uniformly white or ivory or pale cream color...... 2
1bCap straw color, ochre, yellow, or some shade of brown, at least at the center (margin may be pallid or cream color or yellow) 11
2aStipe pruinose (as if covered with fine sand; use a hand lens) only at the top if at all..3
2bStipe pruinose in its entire length...... 5
3aOdor strong of green corn...... I. sororia[2]
3bOdor not of green corn...... 4
4aCap and stipe white, becoming flushed or stained with pink or red, especially when dried I. pudica[3]
4bCap and stipe white, not developing any pink or red stains, and not becoming pink when dried I. geophylla[4]
5a(2b) Odor sweet, like sweet pea or lily-of-the-valley, or both...... I. suaveolens[5]
5bOdor not as in the above...... 6
6aStipe pink at the apex only, or all over...... 7
6bStipe ivory, cream color, or pale yellow, lacking pink colors...... 8
7aPileus entirely white; stipe pink all over...... I. grammata[6]
7bPileus cream color; stipe pink at the apex only, elsewhere cream color or ivory...... I. kauffmanii[7]
8a(6b) Stipe discoloring dingy brown or gray or nearly black, from the base up, in older specimens and when dried 9
8bStipe not discoloring brown or gray, remaining pale yellow in older specimens and when dried 10
9aOdor sharp, penetrating, resinous with component of acetic acid; stipe discoloring dull brown or vinaceous brown rather than gray I. picrosma[8]
9bOdor merely spermatic or scarcely notable; stipe discoloring definitely gray, frequently dark gray I. leucomelaena[9]
10a(8b) Pileus silky, soon becoming scaly at least at the center, not lubricous when wet..
...... I. kauffmanii[10]
10bPileus becoming rimose but not scaly; lubricous when wet...... I. mixtilis[11]
11a(1b) Odor strong of green corn...... I. sororia[12]
11bOdor varies, but not of green corn...... 12
12aPileus white at the center, grayish vinaceous or brownish vinaceous at the margin; stipe pink, entirely pruinate, with a definite marginate bulb I. grammata[13]
12bNot with all three of the above features...... 13
13aCenter of pileus either brown or slate gray or nearly black, these colors shading to white or dingy ivory at the margin, and - base of the stipe the same color as the center of the pileus, shading up to white at the apex 14
13bNeither cap nor stipe colored as in the above...... 15
14aCenter of pileus and base of stipe gray to nearly black...... I. fuscodisca[14]
14bCenter of pileus and base of stipe red-brown to umber, without any gray tones......
...... I. agglutinata[15]
15a(13b) Young gills orange (use unopened caps)...... I. cinnamomea[16]
15bYoung gills white, pale cream, greenish, or some shade of lavender or purplish...... 16
16aYoung gills and apex of stipe lavender, lilac, violet, or similar purplish color...... 17
16bYoung gills white, pale cream, yellow, or tinged greenish...... 18
17aStipe lavender at the apex, pallid below and with streaks of brown fibrils or tomentum.....
...... I. cincinnata[17]
17bStipe entirely lavender or violet, satiny, lacking brown fibrillose or tomentose streaks......
...... I. pusio[18]
18a(16b) Stipe entirely pruinose...... 19
18bStipe pruinose at the apex only, if at all, elsewhere satiny, glabrous, fibrillose-streaked, fibrillose-scaly, squarrose, or tomentose, but notpruinose below the apex 26
19aStipe some shade of pink, at least at the apex...... 20
19bStipe entirely without pink colors...... 22
20aStipe entirely pink; pileus uniformly bay or umber, or red-brown at the center and yellow at the margin 21
20bStipe pink at the apex only, elsewhere cream color or ivory: pileus at most dingy yellowish or straw color I. kauffmanii[19]
21aMature pileus red-brown (bay) at the center, brassy yellow at the margin; stipe bright salmon pink I. laetior[20]
21bMature pileus uniformly red-brown or umber; stipe usually very pale pink......
...... I. glabrodisca[21]
22a(19b) Odor sweet, like sweet pea or lily-of-the-valley, or both...... I. suaveolens[22]
22bOdor sharp and resinous-acetic, or spermatic, or not notable...... 23
23aStipe discoloring dingy brown or gray or nearly black from the base up, in older specimens and when dried 24
23bStipe not discoloring brown or gray, remaining pale yellow in older specimens and when dried 25
24aOdor sharp, penetrating, resinous with component of acetic acid; stipe discoloring dull brown or vinaceous brown rather than gray I. picrosma[23]
24bOdor merely spermatic or scarcely notable; stipe discoloring definitely gray, frequently dark gray I. leucomelaena[24]
25a(23b) Pileus silky, soon becoming scaly at least at the center, not lubricous when wet.....
...... I. kauffmanii[25]
25bPileus becoming rimose but not scaly: lubricous when wet...... I. mixtilis[26]
26a(18b) Stipe yellow ochre, frequently darkening to smoky brown at the base; pileus either uniformly yellow ochre, or brown at the center and yellow ochre at the margin
...... I. olympiana[27]
26bStipe white, ivory, cream color, pink, or some shade of brown; pileus either uniformly brown, or in one case, bicolorous 27
27aPileus bicolorous, tawny or orange brown at the center, shading to straw color or yellow at the margin, conic or at least sharply umbonate; gills often with a distinct greenish cast; stipe satiny, glabrous, dingy pallid; odor strong, spermatic I. rimosa[28]
27bPileus uniformly brown, or the center a deeper shade of the same brown as the margin, not bicolorous, not conic or sharply umbonate; lamellae never with a greenish cast; stipe varies in color and surface 28
28aStipe flesh-pink or rosy-pink, at least at the apex...... I. subdestricta[29]
28bStipe white or pallid or some shade of brown, lacking any pink colors...... 29
29aStipe white or pallid, in age sometimes flushed with vinaceous brown; odor complex, of green corn then becoming sweet-aromatic with lingering green corn component
...... I. lanatodisca[30]
29bStipe brown; odor fishy, spermatic, or not notable...... 30
30aPileus silky-smooth, becoming rimose but not scaly...... 31
30bPileus definitely scaly...... 32
31aStipe glabrous, satiny, with a napiform (turnip-shaped) bulb...... I. napipes[31]
31bStipe fibrillose-streaked, lacking a bulb at the base...... I. lacera[32]
32a(30b) Stipe merely fibrillose-streaked, not scaly or tomentose; pileus lacerate-fibrillose-scaly, not squarrose I. lacera[33]
32bPileus squarrose; stipe either squarrose, or tomentose at least at the base or lower half33
33aStipe fibrillose-squarrose, dull green inside and out at the base; odor like raw fish (sometimes with a resinous component); growing on the ground I. calamistrata[34]
33bStipe tomentose at least in lower part, not green at the base; odor spermatic or not notable; growing on rotten wood I. lanuginosa group[35]
GLOSSARY
INOCYBE - 1 -
apedicellate - without a pedicel or stalk
applanate - horizontally expanded, plane, flat
avellaneous - dull grayish brown, hazel-brown, or light gray yellow brown, or closer to drab, or gray tinged with pink, in Ridgway 1912 closer to pinkish buff
bicolorous - of two colors
boletoid - of spores, resembling spores of boletes, which are typically long and narrowly elliptic or spindle-shaped in face view and inequilateral in profile
capitate - with a head
catenate - in chains or end to end series
caulocystidium (pl. caulocystidia) - cystidium on stipe (stem)
caulocystidioid - like a caulocystidium
cheilocystidium (pl. cheilocystidia) - cystidium on edge of gill
cheilocystidioid - like a cheilocystidium
clavate - like a caveman's club, same as club-shaped; when used of stems, implies base is thicker and stem tapers upward; when used of cystidia, implies part that extends outward beyond the hymenium is thicker
crystalliferous - bearing crystals
cystidium (pl. cystidia) - a sterile cell frequently of distinctive shape, at any surface of a fruiting body
equal - of a stem, the same diameter throughout its length
farinaceous - of odor, with the smell of fresh ground meal from whole grain
floccose - with easily removed cottony or woolly tufts; woolly or cottony; dry and loosely arranged; having the appearance of cotton flannel; with a soft cottony texture
flocculose - with fine, easily removed cottony or woolly tufts; finely woolly or cottony
fuscous - color of a very dark storm cloud: variously described as combinations of gray, brown, purple, or black
fusiform - spindle-shaped, fairly slender and narrowing from middle to both ends
glabrescent - becoming bald
glabrous - bald, without hairs or raised fibers or scales or raised patches
hispid - covered with long rough hairs or bristles
hygrophanous - surface changing color markedly as it dries, usually having a water-soaked appearance when wet and turning a lighter opaque color on drying
inflexed - bent inward, incurved
lageniform - of cystidia, swollen at the base with the middle and top part tapered into a long beak, like a gourd, therefore gourd-like
lanceolate - of a cystidium, slightly swollen at or below the middle and tapered to both ends, hence lance-shaped
lubricous - greasy or slippery or oily but not viscid (sticky) or slimy
marginate - of bulb at the base of stem, having a circular ridge that forms the top of the bulb
nodulose - of spores, covered with broad-based blunt bumps large enough to change the overall shape of the spore
notched - refers to a gill that appears as if a wedge of the gill had been removed near the stem (includes sinuate and uncinate but not adnexed)
paracystidia - short club-shaped sterile cells between and among other cystidia
pedicel - of cystidia, a slender stalk
pleurocystidium (pl. pleurocystidia) - cystidium on sides of gills
pruinate - same as pruinose
pruinose - looking finely powdered or finely granular, on the stem generally reflecting the presence of caulocystidia
pyriform - pear-shaped
recurved - curved back: when used of cap margin or scales on cap or stem means curved back upward
rimose - cracked, referring to surface of cap or stem, often revealing paler flesh underneath
saccate - of a cystidium, shaped like a sac
spermatic - resembling the odor of male flowers of Castanea (chestnut catkins)
squamulose - with small scales
squarra (pl. squarrae) - upright or curved-up pointed scale
squarrose - covered with upright or curved-up pointed scales
sub- - prefix meaning nearly, more or less, somewhat, slightly
tomentose - covered with soft hairs, often soft densely matted hairs, like a woollen blanket
tomentum - a covering of densely matted woolly hairs
umber - a deep dull dark brown, smoky brown; earth brown sometimes with a very slight reddish tinge
ventricose - wider in the middle
INOCYBE - 1 -
SELECTED REFERENCES
Arora, David. 1986 Mushrooms Demystified Second Edition. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley.
Breitenbach, J., Kränzlin, F. 2000. Fungi of Switzerland Volume 5 Agarics Part 3. Cortinariaceae. Edition Mykologia Lucerne.
Cripps, Cathy L. 1997. "The genus Inocybe in Montana aspen stands." Mycologia89(4) 670-688.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1968. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. I." Mycologia60:406-425.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1970. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. II." Mycologia62:925-939.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1975. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. III." Mycologia67:19-31.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1977. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. IV." Mycologia69:392-408.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1980. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. V." Mycologia72:670-688.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1981. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. VI." Mycologia73:655-674.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1983. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. VII." Mycologia75:257-270.
Grund, D.W., D.E. Stuntz. 1984. "Nova Scotian Inocybes. VIII." Mycologia76:733-740.
Kauffman, C.H. 1924. "Inocybe." North American Flora10: 248ff.
Kuhner, R. 1933. "Notes sur le genre Inocybe". Bull. Soc. Mycol. Fr. 49: 81-121.
Kuyper, Thomas W. 1986. A Revision of the Genus Inocybe in Europe. I. Subgenus Inosperma and the Smooth-Spored Species of Subgenus Inocybe. Rijksherbarium, Leiden.
Malloch, David. 1973. "Inocybe dulcamara." Fungi Canadenses No. 3. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa.
Matheny, P. Brandon, Bradley R. Kropp. 2001. "A revision of the Inocybe lanuginosa group and allied species in North America." Sydowia53(1): 93-139.
Matheny, P. Brandon, Yajuan J. Liu, Joseph F. Ammirati, and Benjamin D. Hall. 2002. "Using RPB1 sequences to improve phylogenetic inference among mushrooms (Inocybe, Agaricales)." American Journal of Botany89(4): 688-698.
Nishida, Florence H. 1988. "New Species of Inocybe from Southern California." Mycotaxon33: 213-222.
Nishida, Florence H. 1989. "Key to the Species of Inocybe in California." Mycotaxon 34(1): 181-196.
Smith, Alexander H. 1941. "New and Unusual Agarics from North America. II." Mycologia33(1):1-16.
Smith, Alexander H., Daniel E. Stuntz. 1950. "New or Noteworthy Fungi from Mt.RainierNational Park." Mycologia42: 80-134.
Smith, Alexander H., Smith Helen V., Weber, Nancy S. 1979. How to Know the Gilled Mushrooms. Wm. C. Brown Company, Dubuque, Iowa.
Stuntz, Daniel. 1947. "Studies in the Genus Inocybe. I. New and Noteworthy Species from Washington." Mycologia39: 21-55.
INDEX
(Note some of these Pacific Northwest species are not mentioned in the key.)
SpeciesKey leadPage
INOCYBE (Fr.) Fr.
I. agglutinata Peck...... 14b...... 5
I. albodisca Quél. - See. I. grammata
I. armeniaca Huijsman
I. brunneolipes Grund & D.E. Stuntz
I. calamistrata (Fr.) P. Karst...... 33a...... 11
I. castanea Peck
I. catalaunica Singer...... 28a...... 9
I. chalcodoxantha Grund & D.E. Stuntz
I. chelanensis D.E. Stuntz...... 1
I. cicatricata Ellis & Ev.
I. cincinnata (Fr) Quél. var. major (S. Peterson) Kuyper...... 17a...... 6
= I. phaeocomis (Pers.) Kuyper var. major S. Peterson sensu Kuyper & Stangl
= I. cincinnatula Kuhn.
= I. obscuroides Orton
I. cincinnatula Kühner - see I. cincinnata var. major
I. cinnamomea A.H. Sm...... 15a...... 6
I. dulcamara (Pers.) P. Kumm...... 1
I. eutheloides Peck
I. fallax Peck
I. fastigiata (Schaeff.) Quél. - seeI. rimosa
I. flavella P. Karst...... 27a...... 9
I. flavidolilacina (Britz.) Sacc...... 4a...... 2
I. flocculosa Sacc.
= I. lucifuga (Fr.) Quél.
I. fraudans (Britz.) Sacc...... 4a...... 2
= I. pyriodora (Pers.: Fr.) Kumm. sensu Kauffman, D.E. Stuntz
I. fuscidula Vel...... 28a...... 9
I. fuscodisca (Peck) Massee...... 14a...... 5
I. geophylla (Fr.) P. Kumm...... 4b...... 2
I. glabrodisca Orton...... 21b...... 7
= I. decemgibbosa (Kuehner) Vauras
= I. oblectabilis (Britz.) Sacc. f. decemgibbosa Kühner
I. griseolilacina J. Lange...... 17a...... 6
I. grammata Quél...... 7a, 10b, 12a...... 3, 4, 5
= I. albodisca Peck
I. griseoscabrosa (Peck) Earle
I. hemileuca F.H. Nishida & D.E. Stuntz
I. heterochrominea Grund & D.E. Stuntz
I. hirsuta (Lasch) Quél. var. maxima A.H. Sm. sensu Grund & D.E. Stuntz...... 33a...... 11
I. hotsoniana D.E. Stuntz
I. intricata Peck var. pallidistipitata Grund & D.E. Stuntz
I. jacobi Kühn.
= I. fulvella sensu D.E. Stuntz 1947
I. kauffmanii A.H. Sm...... 7b, 10a, 20b, 25a...3, 4, 7, 8
= I. longipes Kauffman
I. lacera (Fr.) P. Kumm...... 31b, 32a...... 11, 11
I. laetior D.E. Stuntz...... 21a...... 7
I. lanatodisca Kauffman...... 29a...... 10
I. lanuginosa (Bull.: Fr.) P. Kumm...... 33b...... 12
= I. nodulospora (Peck) Sacc.
= I. ovatocystis Boursier & Kühner
I. leiocephala D.E. Stuntz - see I. catalaunica
I. leptophylla G.F. Atk...... 33b...... 12
I. leucomelaena...... 9b, 24b...... 4, 8
I. lilacina (Boud.) Kauffman...... 4a, 4b...... 2, 2
= I. geophylla var. lilacina (Peck) Gillet
I. maculata Boud...... 29a...... 10
I. mixtilis (Britzelm.) Sacc...... 10b...... 4
= I. trechispora (Berk.) Karst. sensu Kauffman
I. napipes Lange...... 10b, 31a...... 4, 11
I. nitidiuscula (Britzelm.) Sacc...... 21a, 28a...... 7, 9
= I. friesii R. Heim
= I. subdestricta Kauffman ?
I. oblectabilis (Britzelm.) Sacc. forma decemgibbosa Kühner - see I. glabrodisca
I. obscuroides sensu D.E. Stuntz - see I. pusio
I. olympiana A.H. Sm...... 26a...... 9
I. pallidipes Ellis & Ev.
I. petiginosa (Fr.) Gillet
I. phaeocomis (Pers.) Kuyper var. major S. Peterson sensu Kuyper & Stangl - seeI. cincinnata var. major
I. picrosma D.E. Stuntz...... 7b, 9a, 24a...... 3, 4, 8
I. posterula (Britz.) Sacc.
I. praetervisa Quél., Bres...... 10b...... 4
I. prominens Kauffman
= I. umboninota Peck
I. pudica Kühner...... 4a...... 2
= I. whitei (Berk. & Br.) Sacc. f. whitei sensu Kuyper
I. pusio Karst...... 17b...... 6
= I. obscuroides sensu D.E. Stuntz
I. pyriodora (Pers.: Fr.) Kumm. sensu Kauffman, D.E. Stuntzs - see I. fraudans
I. pyrotricha D.E. Stuntz...... 17a...... 6
I. rainierensis D.E. Stuntz...... 1
I. rimosa (Bull.: Fr.) P. Kumm...... 27a...... 9
= I. fastigiata (Schaeff. ex Fr.) Quél.
= I. holoxantha Grund & D.E. Stuntz
= I. confusa P. Karst.
I. semifulva Grund & D.E. Stuntz
I. sindonia (Fr.) P. Karst.
I. soluta Velen.
I. sororia Kauffman...... 3a, 11a...... 2, 5
I. stellatospora (Peck) Massee...... 33b...... 12
= I. longicystis G.F. Atk. non Velen.
= I. lanuginosa sensu M.M. Moser
= I. lanuginosa sensu Stangl
I. suaveolens D.E. Stuntz...... 5a, 22a...... 3, 8
I. subcarpta Kühner & Boursier...... 33b...... 12
I. subdecurrens Ellis & Ev.
I. subdestrictaKauffman...... 28a...... 9
I. submuricellata G.F. Atk.
I. umbratica Quél.
I. variabillima Speg.
= I. acystidiosa Kauffman
= I. decipientoides Peck
= I. astoriana Murrill
I. volvata D.E. Stuntz
I. xanthomelas Boursier & Kühner...... 10b...... 4
INOCYBE - 1 -
[1] This key is presented as originally written about 1978. Footnotes are added to describe the species briefly, to mention some other similar species, and to note a few nomenclatural problems.
Thanks are due to Dr. P. B. Matheny for reviewing the footnotes and Dennis Oliver for finding some references.
Some names (on the left) replace others (on the right).
Inocybe catalaunica Singer = Inocybe leiocephala D.E. Stuntz
Inocybe fraudans (Britz.) Sacc. = Inocybe pyriodora (Pers.: Fr.) P. Kumm. sensu Kauffman, D.E. Stuntz
Inocybe glabrodisca P.D. Orton = Inocybeoblectabilis (Britzelm.) Sacc. forma decemgibbosa Kühner
Inocybe grammata Quél. = Inocybe albodisca Peck
Inocybe pusio P. Karst. = Inocybe obscuroides sensu D.E. Stuntz
Inocybe cincinnata (Fr.: Fr.) Quél. = Inocybe cincinnatula Kühner
Inocybe rimosa (Bull.: Fr.) P. Kumm. = Inocybe fastigiata (Schaeff.) Quél.
Most amateurs can learn to recognize a handful of common Inocybe species with practice and by consulting with knowledgeable people. This key is presented as an aid to that process. Inocybe species are sometimes called fiberheads, in reference to the silky, fibrillose, or minutely scaly cap that often has a detectable radial pattern. Few species are brightly colored. The caps are often conical or umbonate, and are usually less than 8cm across. Stipes are typically whitish to cap-colored, and may be fibrillose or pruinose. The partial veil when present is fibrillose or cobwebby. Odor is often "spermatic" like male flowers of Castanea (chestnut catkins), or otherwise distinctive (fresh green corn, sweet pea flowers, geranium leaves, etc.). Spore deposit is dull brown, (in contrast to the rusty or cinnamon color of Cortinarius species). Most grow on the ground.
It is not possible to identify the full range of known Inocybe species in the Pacific Northwest without microscopic characters. Whenever reliable identification is needed, the microscopic characters should always be checked against a description that includes them. Even when the microscope is used, it is not uncommon to encounter species previously undocumented from the Pacific Northwest, or even undescribed in the scientific literature. Spores and cystidia are described here where information is available. Basidia are only mentioned when they are not 4-spored, but basidia should be examined to look for the several members of the I. dulcamara (Alb. & Schw.) P. Kumm. group. They have "necropigmented" basidia, meaning that they become ochraceous and collapse with age. Inocybe dulcamara has a woolly-fibrous ocher cap, and a relatively short stem. Another microscopic curiosity is the "rocket-shaped" spores of I. chelanensis D.E. Stuntz, (a bullet shape with 3 or 4 basal nodules). Inocybe chelanensis is typically a snowbank mushroom, with a fibrillose-cracking brown cap that has a paler center, and a stout lined brownish stem that is slightly pruinose at the top (the rare I. rainierensis D.E. Stuntz has similar spores but uniform dark brown cap and bulbous stem base).
[2]Inocybe sororia is common and characterized by a green corn odor. CAP2-8cm, creamy to pale yellowish, silky, radially fibrillose, soon deeply cracked everywhere except umbo, margin with persistent veil remnants. GILLS adnate to adnexed, close or crowded, rather narrow, pallid becoming yellowish or olive-yellow to brown, edges usually paler. STEM 3-14cm x 0.2-1.0cm, equal or with a slightly bulbous base, white or tinged cap color, fibrillose (often scurfy), pruinose at top. ODOR green corn. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 10-17 x 5-8 um, elliptic, sterile cells crowded in a broad band along the edge of the gill, 45.5-73.5(81.5) x 13-28(35) um, saccate, or clavate to subcapitate, very variable in shape and size, smooth, thin-walled. REMARKSI. rimosa has a spermatic to mild odor and slightly darker (yellow-brown to brownish ocher) cap, at least at the center.