Clustered Lyophyllum (Lyophyllum decastes)
Index Fungorum Lyophyllum decastes (Fr.) Singer
MycoBank Lyophyllum decastes (Fr.) Singer
Lyophyllum decastes, grouped Tricholoma (clustered lyophyllum).
Decastes, standing in tens. From δέκα ten + στάσις, εως, ὁ standing.
Agaricus decastes Fr., Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 2: 105 (1818)
Clitocybe decastes (Fr.) P. Kumm., Führ. Pilzk. (Zerbst): 124 (1871)
Lyophyllum aggregatum (Schaeff.) Kühner, Bull. mens. Soc. linn. Soc. Bot. Lyon 7: 211 (1938)
Many authors note that behind the species *L. decastes* there almost certainly lies a complex of species that are difficult to distinguish from one another, with overlapping macro- and micro-characteristics.
5–15 cm in diameter, initially convex with a smooth, inrolled margin, becoming plano-convex or expanded at maturity, usually with a central umbo. Over time, in expanded fruiting bodies, the cap takes on an irregular, curved shape; the margin becomes wavy and sometimes turns upward in places. Surface smooth or with radially arranged fibers, greasy-shiny in wet weather, grayish-brown to brown, paler toward the margin, often unevenly colored with spots. When moist, the cuticle can be peeled from the edge almost to the center of the cap. Within a single cluster, caps of different sizes and shapes may occur.
Gills adnate, light-colored, whitish, sometimes forked near the stipe; margin even.
4–10 cm long, 0.5–2 cm in diameter, cylindrical, expanding or tapering toward the base, curved, solid; in fruiting bodies growing at the edges of the cluster, sometimes eccentric. Surface smooth, whitish to creamy, longitudinally fibrous, with a thin white bloom in the upper part.
In the cap, the flesh is white, elastic, and juicy; in the stipe, it is more fibrous; taste is mildly expressed.
Weak, mealy, "tricholoma-like".
Spore print white. Spores spherical or nearly spherical, smooth, hyaline.
Terrestrial-litter saprotroph. Grows on soil in deciduous and mixed forests; frequently found in parks and gardens, along paths and trails. Often occurs in areas of disturbed soil. Grows in groups, in clusters.
Smoky Lyophyllum (Lyophyllum fumosum) — a visually difficult-to-distinguish species; the stipe of L. fumosum is thinner, and the caps are smoother and on average more gray in color; associated with pure pine forests.
Shimeji Lyophyllum (Lyophyllum shimeji) — forms clusters with fewer but larger fruiting bodies; like L. fumosum, inhabits pure pine forests. A valuable delicacy mushroom in Japanese cuisine.
Fused Clitocybe (Leucocybe connata) — a species with light-colored, practically white fruiting bodies; like L. decastes, it grows in deciduous forests, but forms less abundant clusters.
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