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Species Information
Summary: Features include small size, a moist cap that is violet brown to violet gray on the disc, the margin pinkish cinnamon and fading, long-decurrent gills, a stem that is dark at the top and pinkish cinnamon to grayish over the lower half, growth on moss, and elongate, smooth, inamyloid spores. It is possible that this is a variety of Rickenella fibula. Rickenella setipes (Fr.) Raithelh. is a European species not established as occurring in North America.
Rickenella swartzii has been found at least in WA, OR, and CA, (Castellano). There are collections from BC deposited at the University of British Columbia.
Cap: 0.6-1.2cm across, flat when young with margin downcurved, at maturity disc slightly depressed and the margin flat or slightly raised; violet brown to violet gray on disc, the margin more or less cinnamon tinged with pink and fading to avellaneous ("deep slaty brown" on disc and "vinaceous cinnamon" on margin when young, "deep brownish drab" on disc and "avellaneous" on margin at maturity); moist and at first pruinose from cystidia, becoming bald when old, (Smith)
Flesh: thin and readily splitting radially (Smith); thin; orange, (Buczacki)
Gills: long-decurrent, close, 17-20 reaching stem, 1-2 tiers of subgills, gills narrow near margin but broad near stem; whitish; densely pruinose under hand lens, (Smith), when old becoming anastomosed, wrinkled or veined, (Castellano)
Stem: 4-7cm long and 0.1cm wide, equal, cartilaginous, "deep slaty brown" at top and "pinkish cinnamon" over lower half, fading to sordid violaceous gray; densely pruinose, (Smith), 2-5(7)cm x 0.05-0.2cm (Castellano), "dark purple to purplish gray at apex, transitioning to orangish at base", (Siegel)
Veil: [none]
Odor: indistinct (Buczacki)
Taste: mild (Buczacki)
Microscopic spores: spores 4-5 x 2-2.5 microns, narrowly elliptic, smooth, inamyloid; basidia 4-spored; pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia scattered to abundant, 42-66 x 10-18 microns, ventricose-subcapitate, colorless, thin-walled; cap surface with numerous pileocystidia, 50-90 x 10-18 microns, "cylindric above an inflated base or fusoid-ventricose with the neck greatly elongated"; caulocystidia abundant, similar to pileocystidia, (Smith), spores (4)5-7 x 2-3(3.5) microns; clamp connections present (Castellano)
Spore deposit: cream-white (Buczacki)
Habitat / Range
usually scattered to gregarious in groups of 6-12 on beds of moss or occasionally debris, spring, summer, or fall, (Smith), locally abundant in small troops or among mosses under hardwoods (Castellano)
Similar Species
Rickenella fibula is found in same habitat, often associated, but Rickenella swartzii is dark at the top of the stem, and always has brownish cap colors with a darker disc. Lichenomphalia umbellifera has a more evenly colored cap and stem, and averages larger, as well as being associated with the lichen Botrydina vulgaris and having larger spores. Omphalina pyxidata lacks the violaceous cap disc and stem apex, and lacks the conspicuous cystidia on cap, gills, and stem, (Castellano).
Smith(1) (as Mycena swartzii, colors in quotation marks from Ridgway(1)), Castellano(2)*, Buczacki(1)*, Desjardin(6)*, Siegel(2)* References for the fungi
