onion stem mushroom

onion stem mushroom (Leucocoprinus cepaestipes) Photo © Hank Guarisco

FEATURES
The cap of this species is bell-shaped with granular powder. It is egg-shaped when young but broadens with age. The cap is pale brown-white with a gray-brown center. The cap may be one to three and one-half inches wide when mature. It has white gills that are free from the stem. The gills turn pink to brown with age. Its stem is white and two and one-third to three and one-half inches long. The stem has a ring (may disintegrate quickly) and a slight enlargement near the base. The spore print is white.

BEHAVIORS
The fruiting bodies grow in clumps on wood debris, wood chips and in forests. They appear in spring through fall and even in winter if conditions are warm enough.

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Agaricaceae