Agrocybe praecox Spring Fieldcap

A widespread species which grows in grassland (including dune grasslands) but also on woodchip mulch and along tracks in woodland. The cap is ochraceous brown but becomes paler with age. The gills are covered by a veil when young and this breaks off to leave a small, fragile ring on the stem. The base of the stem has mycelial chords. Spores are elliptical to oval in shape and 8-10 microns in length. Cheilocystidia are broadly utriform and clavate in shape. The utriform cystidia are large and obvious on the gill edge when found, but they are often scarce. It is a rather variable species, probably best regarded as a species complex, with a number of forms that have been given species names. The name (praecox) refers to the habit of this species to appear early in the year, often in spring. However it can appear at other times. It is not always easy to identify this species in the field and there are surprisingly few records of it in West Glamorgan.