Young Scurfy Deceiver, Netherlands

Laccaria proxima is distinguished from the more common Deceiver Laccaria laccata by its stem, which has a lilac-coloured base and a tawny upper section. All Laccaria species are ectomycorrhizal fungi, forming symbiotic relationships with forest trees or ericaceous plants. Genetic research into members of the little-understood family Hydnangiaceae is throwing new light on the complexities of these root-fungus relationships.