The Deer Shield (Pluteus cervinus) is the commonest shield mushroom in Britain. Its cap, greyish-brown to yellowish-brown, is streaked with fine radiating fibres and darker towards the centre. Turn it over and the free gills are white at first, turning pink as the spores mature. The white stem is streaked with dark fibres and slightly swollen at the base.
It grows on stumps, logs and buried wood, mostly of broadleaf trees, and on woodchip and sawdust. It can appear almost all year, from spring to the frosts and in mild winter spells. It often smells of radish.
The Willow Shield (Pluteus salicinus) is greyer, with blue-green tints at the stem base, and the Velvet Shield (Pluteus umbrosus) has a dark, wrinkled, velvety cap. Pinkgills (Entoloma) also have pink spores but grow on soil and have attached gills, and some are poisonous. The Deer Shield is edible but poorly rated.
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Distribution
Very common and widespread.
Habitat
Occurs in mostly deciduous woodland, also woodchips.
Etymology
Pluteus is Latin for a screen or shelter, perhaps after the shield-like cap. cervinus is Latin for 'deer-coloured', from cervus, 'deer', after the fawn-brown cap.
Cap
Convex to umbonate, 5-14 cm across, with a fibrillose surface and finer scales towards the centre. The colour is greyish-brown to yellowish-brown, the margin is smooth and the cap flattens with age.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Convex, Umbonate |
| Surface | Fibrillose |
| Width | 5 - 14 cm |
| Margin | Smooth |
Gills
Free, broad and crowded; white at first, becoming pink.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Free |
| Spacing | Close |
| Edge | Smooth |
Flesh
White and soft, thin towards the cap margin.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Raphanoid |
| Taste | Unpleasant |
Stem
White to lighter brown with darker fibrils, firm and fibrillose, 5-10 cm tall. It is cylindrical, slightly swollen at the base, and has no ring.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 - 10 cm |
| Width | 5 - 15 mm |
| Texture | Fibrillose |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 6-8 x 4.5-6.5 μm |
Microscopic Features
| Cheilocystidia | Globose |
|---|---|
| Pleurocystidia | Fusiform |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Pluteaceae
- ↳ Genus: Pluteus
Synonyms
- Agaricus atricapillus Batsch
- Agaricus cervinus
- Agaricus cervinus Schaeff.
- Agaricus cervinus var. bullii Cooke
- Agaricus cervinus var. eximius Saund. {?} & W.G. Sm.
- Agaricus cervinus var. eximius W. Saunders & W.G. Sm.
- Agaricus curtisii Berk. & Br.
- Agaricus curtisii Berk. & Broome
- Agaricus pluteus Batsch
- Agaricus pluteus Fr.
- Agaricus pluteus β rigens Pers.
- Pluteus atricapillus (Batsch) Fayod
- Pluteus atricapillus (Batsch) Fr.
- Pluteus bullii Berk. ex Rea
- Pluteus cervinus
- Pluteus cervinus var. bullii (Berk.) Massee
- Pluteus cervinus var. bullii (Cooke ) Rea
- Pluteus cervinus var. bullii (Cooke) Rea
- Pluteus cervinus var. cervinus (Schaeff.) P. Kumm.
- Pluteus cervinus var. eximius (Saund. {?} & W.G. Sm.) Massee
- Pluteus cervinus var. eximius (W. Saunders & W.G. Sm.) A. Pearson & Dennis
- Pluteus cervinus var. eximius (W. Saunders & W.G. Sm.) Sacc.
- Pluteus cervinus var. rigens (Pers.) P. Karst.
- Pluteus curtisii (Berk. & Br.) Sacc.
- Pluteus curtisii Berk.
- Pluteus eximius (Saund. & W.G. Sm.) Sacc.
- Pluteus eximius (W. Saunders & W.G. Sm.) Sacc.
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
R. Phillips (2006) Mushrooms. Macmillan.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 2. Geoffrey Kibby.
