Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) is one of the commonest fungi in Britain, and you can find it in almost any month. It grows in dense clusters on stumps, logs and buried roots of both broadleaf and conifer trees, with bright yellow caps that are often orange-brown at the centre.
The best field character is the gill colour: yellow at first, turning olive-green and finally purplish-black as the dark spores mature. Young caps often carry dark, cobweb-like veil fragments at the margin, and the stem may show a faint ring-zone. It is poisonous, causing severe stomach upsets that can begin many hours after eating, and it tastes very bitter.
The edible Conifer Tuft (Hypholoma capnoides) is the main lookalike: it grows only on conifer wood and its gills are pale grey, never green. Brick Tuft (Hypholoma lateritium) has a brownish-red cap. A single stump can go on producing flushes for several years.
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Distribution
Widespread and very common
Habitat
In clusters on stumps of deciduous and coniferous trees
Etymology
Hypholoma is Greek for 'thread-fringed', from hyphos, 'web', and loma, 'fringe', after the thread-like veil at the cap margin. fasciculare is from the Latin fasciculus, 'small bundle', after its clustered growth.
Cap
Cap 2-7 cm across, convex to flattened and often umbonate, yellow with orange tones. The surface is smooth, and the veil often remains adhering to the margin as small dark fragments.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Umbonate, Flattened |
| Surface | Smooth |
| Width | 2 - 7 cm |
| Margin | Smooth, Appendiculate |
Gills
Crowded; yellow at first, turning olive-green and then purplish-black as the spores mature.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Sinuate |
| Spacing | crowded |
Flesh
The flesh is fibrous and firm, and yellow throughout. The taste is very bitter, and the smell is mild and not distinctive.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Not distinctive |
| Taste | Bitter |
Stem
Stem 3-8 cm long and 4-10 mm wide, cylindrical and fibrillose, yellow to orange-yellow and often curved. It has a faint fibrillose ring-zone.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 3 - 8 cm |
| Width | 4 - 10 mm |
| Texture | Fibrillose |
| Shape | Cylindric |
| Veil | ring-zone |
Spores
The spores are smooth and ellipsoid, 6-8 x 4-4.5 μm, slightly thick-walled with a central germ-pore.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 6-8 x 4-4.5 μm |
Microscopic Features
| Cheilocystidia | Utriform, Lageniform |
|---|---|
| Pleurocystidia | Utriform, Lageniform |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Strophariaceae
- ↳ Genus: Hypholoma
Synonyms
- Hypholoma fasciculare (Hudson ex Fr.) Kummer
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.
Genus Hypholoma
No other species found in this genus.
