Summary:
Section Celluloderma. Pluteus romellii is identified by a brownish to dark yellow brown cap, free fairly close gills, a yellow stem, and a pinkish brown spore deposit. At least in California the cap can be green when young and retain a greenish tint. Pluteus romellii was previously known in the Pacific Northwest by the name of a synonym, Pluteus lutescens. P. lutescens var. lutescens has pleurocystidia that are clavate to clavate-saccate pedicellate, the cap is usually olive-tinted, and it is found at least in Europe and MI. Other specimens from WA, OR, CA, MI, WY, fall under an unnamed variety described by Homola with features as given below (differing from var. lutescens in more yellowish brown cap which is not usually olive-tinted, and pleurocystidia broadly fusoid-ventricose with a short to elongate tapering neck and obtuse apex). The presence of this taxon in North America is questioned by Minnis(1) who say that Pluteus fulvobadius is often regarded as Pluteus romellii or Pluteus lutescens (including the Homola concept). That view is not universally accepted (see NOTES under Pluteus fulvobadius). DNA evidence suggests that at least 5 closely related species may occur in Europe and North America; two of these may occur in the Pacific Northwest but neither of those appears to be the true Pluteus romelli (D. Miller, pers. comm.).

Gills:
"free at maturity, fairly close, broad"; "whitish to pale yellow, but finally pinkish form ripening spores", (Arora), yellowish when young, (Hansen), free but approximate to stem, close, 0.5-0.7cm broad, ventricose when young; "yellowish citrine" to pale olive-yellow ("pale ivory yellow" to "Marguerite yellow"), becoming pinkish from spores, edge colored as face or slightly paler; entire, (Homola)

Stem:
2-7cm x 0.2-0.6cm, "more or less equal, straight or curved, fragile"; "pale yellow, the base usually brighter yellow", (Arora), 2-7cm x 0.2-0.6cm, lemon or lemon chrome, brightest at base, (Hansen), (1)4-7cm x 0.3-0.8cm, equal to widening slightly downward, round in cross-section, frequently crooked, stuffed to hollow; bright orange over base or staining orange, gradually paler upward; moist to dry, bald except at very base, longitudinally striate, (Homola)

Veil:
absent (Arora)

Odor:
mild (Arora), not distinctive (Homola)

Taste:
not distinctive (Homola)

Microscopic spores:
spores 6-7 x 5-6 microns, nearly round, smooth; pleurocystidia club-shaped to flask-shaped, (Arora), spores 6-8 x 5.2-6.5 microns, in face view ovate to nearly round with a somewhat tapered apex, in side view ovate to mostly irregularly nearly round, smooth, with slightly thickened wall, yellow-brown in KOH; basidia 4-spored, 20-29 x 8-10 microns, short and wide, ventricose below middle, colorless in KOH; pleurocystidia scattered, 35-80 x 11-35 microns, "clavate to broadly clavate to broadly fusoid-ventricose with short neck and broad obtuse apex, thin-walled", colorless in KOH, cheilocystidia crowded, 26-65 x 10-25.5 microns, "clavate to oval-pedicellate to broadly fusoid-ventricose with short neck and broad obtuse apex, thin-walled", colorless in KOH, "in some mounts amorphous material may be seen adhering to the apex of the cystidia or floating free in the KOH"; gill trama of convergent hyphae; cap cuticle a hymeniform layer, elements 31-60 x 19-39 microns, "clavate to saccate to vesiculose-pedicellate", colorless to dark yellow to smoky brown in KOH; clamp connections absent, (Homola), pleurocystidia often rare, broadly clavate or lageniform, (Hansen)

Spore deposit:
pinkish to deep flesh color (Arora)

Notes:
The specimens examined in Homola(1) came from WA, OR, CA, MI, WY. The University of British Columbia has collections from BC listed under P. romellii and under P. lutescens. The University of Washington has a collection listed under P. romellii from AK and collections listed under P. lutescens from WA, AK, and MI. Oregon State University has a collection from OR listed under P. lutescens. P. lutescens has also been reported from California (Arora), and from Colorado (Smith(6)).

EDIBILITY

said to be edible (Arora)