Pluteus mushrooms are found worldwide
The genus Pluteus is a large and diverse group of fungi with over 300 known species. They are characterized by their wood-rotting lifestyle, pink spore prints, and gills that are free from the stem. Their caps come in a variety of colors, including brown, tan, gray, yellow, and orange (like Pluteus aurantiorugosus). Caps often convex becoming plane; sometime with an umbo. Pluteus mushrooms can be found growing on decaying wood, such as logs, stumps, mulch/sawdust piles and humus rich soil. Can be found spring through fall, especially when conditions are damp. Some of the fleshier species, like Pluteus cervinus and Pluteus petasatus, are edible and collected for the table but not held in high regard for their culinary qualities. Many Pluteus mushrooms are small with thin flesh and not considered edible. Some species, like Pluteus americanus, produce the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin. In Indiana, where many collections have been DNA sequenced, there are more unidentified Pluteus mushrooms (about 25) than positively identified species (about 20).
Pluteus Mushrooms at Indiana Fungi
See also:
- The Genus Pluteus with key: MushroomExpert.Com
- General information on Pluteus at Wikipedia
- See key (p.80) to several interesting species of Pluteus section Pluteus present in USA and Canada East of the Rocky Mountains: PHYTOTAXA
- Pluteus of Indiana at MycoMap