Pluteus americanus

Pluteus americanus is a North American and Russian psychedelic mushroom that grows on hardwoods. It was first collected in Michigan by Alexander H. Smith in 1957 on Populus. Initially described as Pluteus salicinus var. americanus by Banerjee & Sundberg in 1993, it was elevated to species rank by Justo, Malysheva, and Minnis in 2014. The cap of Pluteus americanus ranges from 1–6 cm in diameter, starting as campanulate or hemispherical and becoming convex at maturity. It often has a low, broad umbo with a darker, squamulose center and a radially fibrillose margin. The color is brown to grey, sometimes darker towards the center, and may stain blue. The cap is dry to somewhat viscid when moist, lightening as it dries. The gills are crowded, broad, free, starting white and turning pink with maturity, sometimes bruising blue. The stipe measures 1.5–6.5 cm in length and 0.3–0.6 cm in thickness, with a more or less equal shape or slight swelling at the base. It is white with grayish-green to bluish-green tones near the base. The mushroom has no ring. Taste and odor are strong and resemble Pelargonium leaves, occasionally mild. Spores are pink, smooth, ellipsoid-shaped, measuring 6.5–9.5 μm by 4.5–7 μm. Microscopic features include pleurocystidia (common, metuloid, fusiform or utriform with thickened walls and horn-like projections) and cheilocystidia (clavate or spheropedunculate, thin-walled). The pileipellis is a cutis with cylindrical terminal elements. Clamp connections are common. Pluteus americanus grows solitary or gregariously on hardwoods like Fraxinus, Acer saccharum, Betula papyrifera, and Populus from ...