Shield Dapperling

Description

The shield dapperling is a small mushroom with a cap 4–7 cm across, egg-shaped at first, then bell-shaped and flat. It is whitish or yellowish, covered with brownish scales arranged in rings, and has a darker, smooth umbo in the centre. The gills are white and crowded, and the flesh has an unpleasant smell. It is easiest to recognise by its stem: below the quickly disappearing ring it is thick and woolly, as if dressed in a "sock".

It grows from July to October on the ground in deciduous and coniferous forests and in parks, singly or in small groups, most often in well-lit places. In Central Europe it is fairly common.

It is poisonous and must not be eaten. Worse still, it is sometimes mistaken for the parasol mushroom, and the genus Lepiota includes deadly poisonous species. Treat every small mushroom with a scaly cap, white gills and a ring on the stem as dangerous and do not collect it for eating.

Identification features

Cap

Diameter 4–7 cm. Egg-shaped when young, then bell-shaped, finally flat, with a blunt, smooth, rusty-brown umbo in the centre; the umbo forms a sharply delimited disc in the colour of the scales. The surface is whitish, white-cream or yellowish, covered with ochre-yellow to brownish, woolly scales arranged concentrically. Remnants of the veil hang from the margin.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Gills crowded, white or pale yellowish, free (not attached to the stem).

Stem

Height 4–12 cm, thickness 0.3–1 cm; cylindrical, narrow, hollow inside (tubular), slightly thickened or club-shaped towards the base. White; the ring is indistinct, quickly disappearing or resembling a ring zone. Below the ring the stipe is covered with thick, woolly, yellowish or brownish scales (a "boot-like" look), and smooth above. In older specimens the scales fade.

Flesh

White to pale ochre. Smell unpleasant, taste mild. The flesh should not be tasted.

Spore print and spores

Spore print white. Spores smooth, spindle-shaped (narrowed at both ends) or almond-shaped, 11–18.5 × 4–6.5 µm (descriptions give different ranges).

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. A saprotroph growing on the ground in deciduous and coniferous forests and in parks, singly or in small groups; prefers well-lit places.

Distribution. Widespread in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere: Europe, North America, Asia (including Japan, Korea, China); according to some descriptions also South America. Fairly common in Central Europe. It is not legally protected in Poland and is not on the list of mushrooms approved for sale in Poland.

Fruiting. From July to October (mainly in autumn).

What can it be confused with?

• Macrolepiota procera (parasol mushroom) — Much larger (cap usually over 10 cm), with a snakeskin pattern on the stem and a movable, persistent ring; in the shield dapperling the fruiting body is small and the stem woolly, without a persistent ring.
• Lepiota ignivolvata (Polish: czubajeczka czerwonopochwowa) — Very similar from above, but the stem has no woolly fibrils, only an orange-brown ring zone.
• Lepiota magnispora (Polish: czubajeczka brzuchatozarodnikowa) — Brighter colours, a more distinctly coloured cap centre, bright yellow to brownish scales on an ochre background, a yellowish-ochre stem and longer spores.
• Lepiota ochraceosulfurescens — A less distinct dark disc in the centre of the cap, a smell of rubber or melted butter and yellow flesh at the stem base; some authors treat this name as a synonym.

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

• Described in 1789 by Jean Bulliard as Agaricus clypeolarius; Paul Kummer transferred it to the genus Lepiota in 1871.
• The English name "shield dapperling" refers to the dark disc (shield) in the centre of the cap; the name "shaggy-stalked Lepiota" (for the shaggy stem) is also used.
• It belongs to section Fusisporae, whose shared features are long, spindle-shaped spores and a fluffy stem below the ring.
• It has been recorded in North America, Europe and Asia, including Japan, Korea and several provinces of China.