Found by David Edington. 11 October 2010 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Cap Top shaped, often fused with neighbours, surface felty, pale pinkish, darkening with age and becoming blue grey then blackish Spines Pinkish, then grey, to about 4 mm long Stem Fibrous or velvety, concolorous with the cap, to about 4 cm long Flesh Firm, greyish to black Smell Indistinct when fresh, of crushed fenugreek seeds when dry Season Autumn Distribution Rare Habitat On soil with deciduous and coniferous trees Spore Print White Microscopic Features Spores sub-globose, spiny (3.5-5) x (3-4) µm2 excluding 0.5 µm spines. Generative hyphae sparsely encrusted. Edibility Inedible Notes The flesh exudes a blue green stain on exposure to an alkali such as ammonia solution. |