Leucocoprinus cepaestipes.
Basidiomycota > Agaricales > Agaricaceae > Leucocoprinus.
Seen growing in dense clusters on leaf litter, wood chips, gardens and soil especially after good rain.
The white caps, sometimes with a faint brownish tinge, can be up to 9 cm across.
They grow from being ovate to convex with a broad central umbo or almost flat.
In the centre of the cap is a greyish-brown, fairly smooth, “button”.
The button can be white in very young mushrooms.
The cap surface is dry and powdery with small scales that easily wash off in rain.
There may be faint or marked striae around the cap margin.
The thin flesh is white.
The gills, which are free of the stem, are white but can be brownish with age.
The smooth stem can be up to 9 or 10 cm tall with a slightly swollen base.
It is fairly smooth and white with yellow tints above the ring.
The large, delicate white ring often disappears.
Leucocoprinus cepaestipes, the very similar L. cretaceus and the yellow L. birnbaumii occur in Queensland.
J.F.
