About this fungus
Conifercone Cap is a fungus in the Marasmiaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A tiny pale brown mushroom growing directly from fallen conifer cones, often with many slender stems packed onto one cone. The caps are easily missed among needles and cone scales.
What to check
Trace the stem down to a buried or exposed conifer cone. Look for extremely crowded narrow whitish to buff gills and a slender stem with pale hairs or mycelium at its base. There is no ring or volva.
Lookalikes
Strobilurus species share the cone substrate and can be very similar, but usually have less crowded gills. Reliable species separation may require microscopic characters, including spore size and amyloid reaction, so the cone alone does not establish Baeospora myosura.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic on fallen, often partly buried cones of spruce, pine, Douglas-fir and other conifers. Host emphasis and fruiting season vary by region, with both European and North American records documented.
Food safety
Inedible.