Weeping Widow

Description

The weeping widow has a cap 3–8 cm across, bell-shaped when young, then expanded and flat, coloured from cream-ochre to rusty brown, covered with fibrils and scales, and with fine hairs in older specimens. Shreds of veil hang from the margin of young caps. The gills are first grey-yellow, then brown-black, often with a violet-grey tinge, and they exude droplets of liquid, which gave the species its Latin name ("weeping"). The stem is slender, hollow, fibrous and hairy, with an indistinct ring zone.

It grows from early summer to late autumn on roadsides, in parks, gardens, field boundaries and forest tracks, usually on fertile soil. In Poland it is common.

It can be confused with Lacrymaria pyrotricha, which has a paler, red-orange cap and sometimes a ring, and with the smaller Psathyrella candolleana. It is regarded as an inedible mushroom, so there is no reason to collect it.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 3–8 cm; bell-shaped in young specimens, then broadly expanded, and flat but not depressed in old age. Colour ranges from cream-ochre or yellowish grey through orange-brown to rusty brown, sometimes orangish in the centre. The surface is covered with fibrils and scales, and with fine hairs in older specimens. Veil remnants hang from the margin of young caps.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Gills adnate (they may appear notched), grey-yellow in young specimens, then brown-black, often with a violet-grey tinge. A characteristic feature: the gills exude droplets of liquid, on which the dark spores collect.

Stem

Height 5–12 cm (up to 13 cm according to some descriptions), thickness 5–8 mm (up to 15 mm according to some descriptions). Cylindrical, hollow, longitudinally fibrous, covered with fine hairs; colour from ochre to brown. It has a faintly marked fibrous ring zone, above which it is smooth. No true ring.

Flesh

Pale grey-brown, without a distinct smell. The flesh should not be tasted.

Spore print and spores

Spore print brown-black. Spores ellipsoid, 8–12 × 5–8 µm.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. Saprotroph, growing on decaying pieces of bark and other organic matter; it grows on disturbed ground, most often on fertile soils.

Distribution. Most records come from North America and Europe; it also occurs in Central America, northern Asia, Africa, Japan and New Zealand. In Central Europe and in Poland it is common. It grows on roadsides, in parks, gardens, field boundaries and forest tracks. It is not legally protected in Poland.

Fruiting. From early summer to late autumn.

What can it be confused with?

• Lacrymaria pyrotricha (kruchawica pomarańczowa) — Paler, red-orange cap; a ring is often present on the stem. Grows in montane spruce forests.
• Psathyrella candolleana (Polish: kruchaweczka zaroślowa) — Smaller and common; lacks the hairy, ochre-brown surface of the cap and stem typical of the weeping widow.

Never rely on a single feature. If you are not sure — do not pick it; show the mushroom to a qualified mushroom expert.

Interesting facts

• The Latin name lacrymabunda means "weeping"; it refers to the droplets of liquid exuded by the gills, on which the spores collect.
• The first description dates from 1785 (Bulliard, as Agaricus lacrymabundus); the species has over 30 scientific synonyms.
• In English it is called the "weeping widow".
• It occurs on several continents: in North and Central America, Europe, northern Asia, Africa and New Zealand.