About this fungus
Hongo's Shield is a fungus in the Pluteaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A pale, often cream-coloured shield with a brownish central bump, free gills and a smooth white stem on wood chips or rotten wood.
What to check
Confirm free gills and a pink-brown spore deposit. Species confirmation depends on the shape of the horned pleurocystidia, often with bifid apical hooks, and may use DNA.
Variation
Published collections range from about 3 to 10cm across, with smooth to fibrillose cream caps and variable brown centres.
Lookalikes
Pluteus cervinus and several large pale Pluteus species overlap in the field. The bifid hooks on pleurocystidia are a microscopic distinction.
Habitat and range
Originally described from Japan and subsequently documented from China and Europe on wood chips and decaying wood. Its full distribution is still poorly resolved.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Photo: Brian C. Hunt · CC BY 4.0