Shield Dapperling

Shield Dapperling Lepiota clypeolaria (Bull.) P. Kumm. (illustrated 25% life size) Cap 2–8cm across, broadly bell-shaped, becoming flatter with a low, broad umbo, margin ragged from veil remnants, sometimes recurved in mature specimens; cinnamon-brown on the disc, paler and more yellowish-tawny near the edge; dry, velvety, quickly breaking up into scales. Gills free, close, narrow; white. Stem 40–120×3–8mm; whitish or yellowish at the top, becoming more dingy brownish below in age; fragile, covered in soft, cottony, shaggy scales; slight ring left on upper stem by white veil. Flesh white; thin; taste not distinctive, smell mild or slightly pungent. Spores 12.4–18×4.4–5.5¼, fusiform, smooth; dextrinoid. Spore print white. Habitat singly, scattered, or in small groups in mixed or broad-leaved woods, or sometimes swamps; summer to autumn. Uncommon. Poisonous.