Community find

Deer Mushroom

Pluteus cervinus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Pink to salmon-brown

Size

Cap 5-12 cm in diameter; stipe 5-10 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm thick.

Season

Widely found from Spring to late Autumn, particularly after heavy rains.

Habitat

Grows solitarily or in small groups on decaying hardwood logs, stumps, or buried wood mulch.

Distribution

Widely distributed throughout North America and Europe.

Key characteristics

Pale brown to grayish-brown cap, free gills, white to pinkish-tan stipe without a ring or volva, soft and fragile flesh.

Fruiting body

The cap is bell-shaped to convex, smoothing out with age; gills are crowded and free from the stipe, white when young turning pink; stipe is solid and fibrous.

How to recognise it

Look for the distinctive salmon-pink gills that do not touch the stem (free gills) and the growth directly on wood or mulch.

Look-alikes

Pluteus petasatus (lighter cap, grows on wood chips), Amanita species (differentiated by having a volva or ring and white spore print).

Ecological role

Saprophytic, breaking down dead wood and contributing to nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems.

Notes

The species name 'cervinus' is Latin for 'deer-colored.' Microscopically, this mushroom is known for having unique 'horn-like' cystidia (sterile cells) on the gills.