Inosperma erubescens

Description

The cap is hemispherical before flattening out and can reach 8 cm (3.4 in) in diameter. It is variable in colour, initially white though becoming yellow or brownish with age, and stained with pink-white and red marks or lines. The edge of the cap is often irregular with split edges and rough texture. The adnexed gills are reddish-pink. The stipe, dark red-pink, is thin with no ring. The flesh is initially yellowish, later dark pink. The colour tends to fade in direct sunlight. It may be mistaken for Calocybe gambosa, though the latter does not stain red, Agaricus species or Cortinarius caperatus.

Distribution and habitat

It is commonest in beech woods and chalky soils, but grows in other broad-leaved woodland as well. It mainly grows on leaf litter usually during the spring and summer seasons. It is found in southern Europe and has been recorded from eastern Anatolia in Turkey. In Israel, I. erubescens grows under Palestine oak (Quercus calliprinos) and pines, with mushrooms still appearing in periods of little or no rain as they are mycorrhizal.

Toxicity

Inocybe erubescens contains a possibly fatal dose of the toxin muscarine. One fatality was recorded in Surrey in southern England in 1937. In Israel, it is confused with edible mushrooms of the genus Tricholoma, particularly Tricholoma terreum which grows in similar habitat.

High dose intramuscular injections of atropine or diphenhydramine serve as an antidote to Inocybe poisoning.