Crepidotus mollis

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Crepidotus mollis

22 October 2020 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin.

Cap

Shell shaped, surface smooth, white then ivory to pale brown, sometimes with brown scales, laterally attached to the substrate, to about 8 cm across

Gills

Pale buff to pale rust, fairly close

Stem

Lateral, rudimentary or absent

Flesh

Thin, gelatinous beneath the cap surface, white

Smell

Indistinct

Taste

Indistinct

Season

Autumn

Distribution

Frequent

Habitat

On dead branches and trunks of deciduous trees

Spore Print

Ochraceous brown

Microscopic Features

Spores ellipsoidal, smooth (7-9) x (5-6.5) µm2. Basidia club shaped, 4 spored. Gill edge cystidia irregular, cylindrical to narrowly flask shaped. Cap hairs smooth.

Edibility

Inedible

Notes

Crepidotus mollis and C. calolepis are separated from other species by the thin, elastic cap cuticle which is easily seen by squashing the cap. The scaly form of this species needs examination with a microsope to separate it from C. calolepis.

Crepidotus mollis

Scaly specimens, which were growing on the same fallen tree, within a meter of the smooth specimens in the previous image. 22 October 2020 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin.