Freckled Dapperling Lepiota aspera (Pers.) Quél syn. L. friesii (Lasch.) Quél. syn. L. acutesquamosa var. furcata Kühner syn. Cystolepiota aspera (Pers.) Knudsen (illustrated 45% life size) Cap 5–10cm across, ovate at first, then obtusely conical or bell-shaped; dark brown at centre, the surface breaking up into dark brown scales elsewhere. Stem 30–50×5–10mm; pallid, often with a few dark brown scales at the extreme base; ring whitish, cottony, often adhering to cap margin. Flesh white. Gills free, crowded and forked near stem; white. Spores 6–8×3–4¼, narrowly fusoid; dextrinoid. Spore print white. Cheilocystidia 8–23¼ in diameter, subglobose, thin-walled, hyaline. Tips of cap surface scales formed of spherical, brownish cells. Habitat in deciduous woods; autumn. Frequent. Unknown edibility. Note the spiny species have often been confused.