The Common Fieldcap (Agrocybe pediades) is a small, neat, yellowish-brown mushroom of lawns, pastures and dunes, one of the most familiar 'little brown mushrooms' after rain. Its smooth, slightly greasy cap is only a few centimetres across and pales as it dries, above gills that turn from pale beige to grey-brown and rusty brown as the spores ripen.
The slender stem may have a faint ring-zone. It has a mealy smell. It fruits from spring to autumn, usually in groups. The Spring Fieldcap (Agrocybe praecox) is larger with a persistent ring, while the Veiled Poisonpie (Hebeloma mesophaeum) can look very similar and is poisonous. Because it is so easy to confuse with toxic species, it should not be eaten.
| Season | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Distribution
Widespread and common
Habitat
In open grasslands, meadows, sandy fields, dunes etc.
Etymology
Agrocybe is Greek for 'field head', from agros, 'field', and kybe, 'head'. pediades is from the Greek pedion, 'plain' or 'flat ground', after its open grassland habitat.
Cap
The cap is 0.5-3 cm across, convex to conical, and yellowish-brown. The surface is smooth and greasy, fading paler as it dries, and young caps may show small white veil fragments at the margin.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Conical |
| Width | 0.5 - 3 cm |
Gills
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Adnate |
| Spacing | crowded |
Flesh
The flesh is white and fibrous, with a farinaceous smell and taste, like fresh meal or flour. The mealy smell is faint but noticeable when the flesh is broken.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Farinaceous |
| Taste | Farinaceous |
Stem
The stem is cylindrical, pale yellow to white, 2.5-6 cm tall and 2-3 mm wide, with a fluccose (cottony) surface. It sometimes has a thin ring, and becomes hollow with age.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 2.5 - 6 cm |
| Width | 2 - 3 mm |
| Texture | Fluccose |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Spores
The spores are smooth, broadly ellipsoid, 10-16 x 7-11 μm, and thick-walled with a central germ-pore.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Broadly ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 10-16 x 7-11 μm |
Microscopic Features
Cheilocystidia are utriform, often capitate with a resinous cap.
| Cheilocystidia | Utriform |
|---|
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Strophariaceae
- ↳ Genus: Agrocybe
Synonyms
- Agaricus arenicola Berk.
- Agaricus pediades Fr.
- Agaricus pusillus Schaeff.
- Agaricus semiorbicularis Bull.
- Agaricus semiorbicularis Bull. ex St Amans
- Agaricus temulentus Fr.
- Agrocybe arenaria (Peck) Singer
- Agrocybe arenicola
- Agrocybe arenicola (Berk.) Singer
- Agrocybe arvalis sensu auct.
- Agrocybe semiorbicularis (Bull. ex St. -Amans) Fayod
- Agrocybe semiorbicularis (Bull.) Fayod
- Agrocybe subpediades (Murrill) Watling
- Agrocybe temulenta (Fr.) Singer
- Agrocybe vervacti sensu auct. brit.
- Naucoria arenaria Peck
- Naucoria pediades (Fr.) Kummer
- Naucoria pediades (Fr.) P. Kumm.
- Naucoria semiorbicularis (Bull. ex St Amans) Quel.
- Naucoria semiorbicularis (Bull.) Quél.
- Naucoria subpediades Murrill
- Naucoria temulenta (Fr.) Kummer
- Naucoria temulenta (Fr.) P. Kumm.
- Naucoria vervacti sensu Ricken [Blätterpilze Deutschl.: 210 (1912)]
Reference Sources
S. Buczacki, C. Shields, D. Ovenden (2012) Collins Fungi Guide. HarperCollins.
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2021) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 3. Geoffrey Kibby.
