Inocybe lanuginosa

Woolly Inocybe

Treat as POISONOUS: a member of the muscarine-rich genus Inocybe. A small brown mushroom whose cap and stem are covered in woolly fibrils and upturned scales, with brown gills and nodulose (knobby) spores. The name is used broadly and includes several look-alikes that need microscopy to separate.

Species profile

Edibility: Toxic
Treat as poisonous; do not eat. Its toxin content is not documented (Mykoweb lists edibility as unknown), but many Inocybe species contain muscarine, and the close relative I. stellatospora is reported to cause muscarine-type poisoning (sweating, salivation, gastrointestinal upset, blurred vision).

Help build this page

This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:

Photos. None yet — moderators review each photo before it appears.Sign in to add a photo
Sightings. Spotted it in the wild? Add it to the map.Open the map
Strains. No public strains of this species on WeMush yet.

Track Your Own Woolly Inocybe Grows

Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.

Join WeMush

Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.

Habitat

Ectomycorrhizal; solitary to scattered in duff under conifers, sometimes with hardwoods, and occasionally on rotten wood or acidic sandy soil; fall.

Distribution

Europe (including the Netherlands and north-western Russia) and North America, where it is uncommon on the California coast (Mykoweb). North American material was revised by Matheny & Kropp (2001, as cited by Mykoweb); some regional reports (e.g., Texas) are tentative.

Characteristics

Cap: 1-5 cm, convex becoming flatter; brown to dark brown, densely fibrillose with rough, upturned scales at the center. Gills: adnexed to adnate, pale becoming cinnamon brown. Stem: 2-7 cm long, 2-7 mm thick, woolly-fibrillose to scaly, brown. Veil: a cortina when young. Flesh: whitish; odor faint. Spore print: brown. Spores: nodulose. Cystidia: thick-walled pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia present.