Asterophora parasitica
Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Agaricales OrderFruiting body containing fibers (usually in the stalk)
White Spored SuborderSpore print "light-colored": white or buff, sometimes tinged with pink or tan. Greenish and (except for the Russulales) yellow spore prints also go here
Stalk fibrous, not fracturing like a piece of chalk
Tricholomataceae FamilyNone of the special features distinguishing the other white-spored genera:
Gills not free, as in the Lepiotas and Amanitas
Basidia not extra-long, as in the Hygrophoraceae
Spores smooth, except for Lentinellus
Fungicolous Trich SubfamilyCap less than an inch across
Growing on other fungi, usually on their blackened and squishy remains
Asterophora GenusShaped like a normal mushroom, though perhaps with very poorly developed gills and stalk
Cap gradually disintegrating into a powdery mass of chlamydospores
Here are the characters that distinguish this species from the others in its group. For its more general characters, see higher up on the page.
If there's just a few words or a microscopic feature here, a more thorough description can be found above.
Diagnosis
- Smooth, elliptical chlamydospores
Comments
Which Asterophora is this? I honestly don't know. It could be a young A. lycoperdoides or a mature A. parasitica. One would have to check the microscopic features
The host mushroom is even more well-preserved in this picture, though I think the black stuff on the ground (upper left) is the remains of its siblings
