Photo by Tjakko Stivje
Cap: 3.8 - 5.2 cm broad. Obtusely conic to convex
at first with an incurved and often denticulate margin, becoming
broadly convex to nearly plane in age with or without a broad low umbo.
Brown to buff brown, with greenish gray tones, and darker brown to
greenish blue, sometimes nearly black, near the center. Surface covered
with appressed fibrillose squamules, more densely towards the disc.
Flesh white.
Gills: Attachment narrowly adnate, crowded, broad, and with minutely fringed margin. Pale brown to buff, or pale grayish brown.
Stem: 24-95 mm long by 5-15
mm thick. Solid, equal to enlarged near the base. Surface smooth above
to fibrillose and longitudinally striate below. Whitish to dull grey
below and grayish ochraceous brown to sordid brown overall, with the
base often with grayish greenish tinges. Flesh white to gray towards
base, slightly reddening upon exposure. Partial veil cortinate, soon
disappearing. Scent aromatic, similar to Peruvian balsam.
Microscopic features: Spores
brown in deposit, smooth, lemon to almond shaped, 7-10 by 5-6 u.
Basidia 4-spored. Pleurocystidia 33-70 by 9-21 u, cylindrical to
clavate cylindrical. Cheilocystidia rare and similair to
pleurocystidia.
Habit, habitat and distribution:
Widespread across Europe, The British Isles, and North America in
August through October, primarily under deciduous trees (Fagus,
Quercus, Caprinus) and to lesser degree under conifers (Picea) in
woodland soils.
Comments: Weakly active, according to Stijve and Kuyper (1985). One variety,
I. corydalina var.
corydalina, contains up to 0.032�silocybin, no psilocin, and 0.034 aeocystin. Another,
Inocybe corydalina var.
erinaceomorpha,
had 0.10�silocybin, no psilocin, and 0.034 aeocystin. (Note: the
sampling was limited to only three collections.) Gurevich and
Nezoiminogo (1994) reported that a collection of
I. corydalina var.
corydalina tested negative for psilocybin but positive for muscarine, a result not confirmed by other researchers.
I. corydalina var.
corydalina has been reported from both North America and Europe, while
Inocybe corydalina var.
erinaceomorpha
has thus far only been reported from Europe. The former species has
greenish gray fibrils near the disc, while the latter has dark brown
scales but without greenish hues.
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