About this fungus
Grooved Bonnet is a fungus in the Mycenaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A tall, delicate grey-brown bonnet growing on decaying wood, often in small clusters, with a finely lined cap and a long cartilaginous stem.
What to check
Check for longitudinal grooves along the stem, sometimes strongest near the top, and a white downy or rooting base attached to dead or buried wood. The cap is conical to bell-shaped and translucent-striate, with pale narrowly attached gills. There is no ring or volva.
Variation
Caps range from grey to dark grey-brown and fade with age. The stem grooves can be strong, faint or occasionally almost absent, so this feature supports rather than proves an identification.
Lookalikes
Mycena vitilis can share the colours and needs microscopy when the stem is weakly grooved. Mycena maculata develops brownish-red spots and can also require microscopic separation. Many other bonnet fungi overlap in photographs.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic on dead hardwood trunks, stumps, branches and buried woody debris, with occasional records on conifer wood. A photograph that appears to show growth from soil may conceal wood below.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Jerzy Opioła / CC BY-SA 4.0Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: