Appearance
The cap of the mushroom is 4–8 centimetres in diameter, convex with a small boss, becoming plane to depressed in shape. It has a smooth surface. Cap colours are generally grey-brown, sometimes tinged olive, with a pale margin.The stem has a markedly bulbous base, and is 3–7 centimetres tall by 1–1.5 centimetres wide. Its surface is covered in silky fibres, and it is the same colour as the cap. The thick flesh is white, but slightly yellow at the base. In the stem, it is tough on the surface and spongy and soft in the centre.
It is watery with a slightly sweet smell that has been likened to bitter almond, orange blossom, or cinnamon. The gills are strongly decurrent and cream-yellow in colour, contrasting with the rest of the mushroom. There are some smaller gills in between the regular gills, and the gills are occasionally forked near the stem. The gill edges are straight in younger mushrooms and sometimes wavy in older ones. The spore print is white. The round to oval spores are 4.5–5 by 3.5–4 microns.
It resembles the clouded agaric, but can be distinguished by its bulbous stem, deeply decurrent gills, and overall darker colour. In the western United States, it can be confused with "Ampulloclitocybe avellaneialba", which is larger and has a darker cap and white gills.
Distribution
It is widespread and abundant across Northern Europe and the British Isles, and is becoming more common. In North America, it is common under pine plantations in the east, and less common in the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat
It is found in conifer and deciduous forests, particularly under beech, the fruit bodies appearing from August to November in northern Europe.References:
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