Pluteus Cervinus group (Deer Shield)

These are another spring to early summer mushroom. They are quite common and come in a few slightly different forms. However, They all have fragile brownish caps, with white, tightly spaced gills that are free from the stem, The stem is also white but often times has vertically oriented dark fibers on it. They grow on dead wood, often around the base of stumps, and sometimes directly from the sides of well rotted logs. When growing from the ground the stem will have a bulbous base. This bulbous base also exists when growing from wood, but it’s usually not readily visible. They also will usually smell like radiish, and are considered edible. However, they are rarely eaten because of the high potential for toxic look-alikes, and relatively low culinary value. They do however have beautiful gills.