Community find

Deer Mushroom

Pluteus cervinus

Group

gilled mushroom

Season

Spring through autumn, sometimes into early winter in milder climates.

Habitat

Typically found growing singly or in small groups on decaying wood (logs, stumps, wood chips), often preferring deciduous trees but also found on conifers. It is a saprophytic species.

Key characteristics

Cap: 5-15 cm wide, conical to convex, then flattening with a broad umbo; color varies from grayish-brown to dark brown, often with radiating dark fibrils. Gills: Free from the stem, crowded, initially white, becoming pinkish with age due to spore development. Stem: 5-15 cm long, 0.5-2 cm thick, cylindrical, often slightly thicker at the base, whitish to grayish-brown, often fibrillose, no ring. Spore print: Pinkish-brown.

Look-alikes

Some Inocybe species can look superficially similar but have different gill attachment and spore print color (often dingy brown). Entoloma species can also have pinkish gills but usually have adnate or sinuate gills and a different cap texture.

Ecological role

Saprophytic, playing a crucial role in the decomposition of dead wood, returning nutrients to the ecosystem.