Community find

Deer Mushroom

Pluteus cervinus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Salmon-pink to brownish-pink.

Size

Cap diameter: 5-15 cm; Stipe: 5-13 cm long and 0.5-2 cm thick.

Season

Spring through autumn; occasionally in winter during mild climates.

Habitat

Found growing directly on well-decayed logs, stumps, and wood chips of both deciduous and coniferous trees.

Distribution

Widespread and common throughout North America, Europe, and parts of Asia.

Key characteristics

Fawn-colored to grayish-brown cap that is smooth and often radiating fibers; free gills that start white and turn pink with age; grows on rotting wood; lacks a ring and a volva.

Fruiting body

Cap is convex to flat, often with a slight central bump (umbo); surface is moist and smooth. Hymenophore consists of crowded, free gills (not attached to the stem). Stipe is white to grayish, solid, and often has dark longitudinal fibers.

How to recognise it

Check for free gills (gills that do not touch the stem) and a pink spore print on a mushroom growing directly on wood.

Look-alikes

Entoloma species (grow on soil, not wood), Megacollybia rodmanii (white gills, different spore print), other Pluteus species which may require microscopy to distinguish.

Ecological role

Saprophytic, acting as a primary decomposer of dead wood in forest ecosystems.

Notes

The genus name 'Pluteus' is Latin for 'penthouse' or 'shed', referring to the cap's shape, while 'cervinus' means 'deer-colored'. This species is often used in scientific studies regarding wood decay and fungal genetics.