Pinecone Cap

Pinecone Cap Strobilurus tenacellus (Pers.) Singer syn. Pseudohiatula tenacella (Pers.) Métrod (illustrated 90% life size) Cap 1–2.5cm across, convex, becoming flattened and umbonate; brown, often paler at centre. Stem 40–80×1–3mm, base very long and rooting; white at apex, ochre-brown below; tough. Flesh concolorous; thin; taste bitter, smell not distinctive. Gills white. Spores 6–7.5×2.5–3.5¼. Spore print white. Cheilo- and pleurocystidia fusoid, thin-walled, hyaline. Cap cuticle of globose cells with a stalked base. Habitat attached to buried pine cones by the long rooting system; spring. Occasional. Not edible too small.