Community find

Deer Mushroom

Pluteus cervinus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Pink to salmon-pink.

Size

Cap 5-12cm wide; stem 5-10cm long and 0.5-1.5cm thick.

Season

Widely found from spring through autumn, especially after rain.

Habitat

Solitary or scattered on decaying logs, stumps, or buried wood of deciduous trees.

Distribution

Cosmopolitan distribution; very common in North America and Europe.

Key characteristics

Tan to grayish-brown cap with darker radiating fibrils; gills are crowded and free from the stem; stem is solid, white to dingy, with dark longitudinal fibers near the base.

Fruiting body

Cap is convex becoming flat, often with a central bump (umbo), surface is smooth to finely fibrous. Gills are white initially, turning pink as spores mature. The stipe is pale, fibrous, and lacks a ring or volva.

How to recognise it

Look for free gills (not touching the stem), a pinkish spore print, and growth occurring directly on wood or wood chips.

Look-alikes

Megacollybia rodmanii (broad-gilled mushroom) has attached gills and different spore print; Pluteus petasatus is paler and lacks cap fibrils.

Ecological role

Saprophytic; primarily decomposes dead hardwood logs.

Notes

The species name 'cervinus' is Latin for 'deer-like,' referring to the cap color. Microscopically, it is known for having distinctive 'horned' cystidia on the gill edges and faces.