Arrhenia spathulata

Arrhenia spathulata is a mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in Europe, it is widespread along the Atlantic coast.^[1]

Arrhenia spathulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Hygrophoraceae
Genus:	Arrhenia
Species:	A. spathulata
Binomial name
Arrhenia spathulata (Fr.) Redhead (1984)
Synonyms
Cantharellus spathulatus Fr. (1828) Arrhenia muscigena (Bull.) Kühner & Lamoure (1972) Arrhenia muscigenum (Bull.) Honrubia & Folgado (1972) Arrhenia retiruga var. spathulata (Fr.) Gminder (2001)

Arrhenia spathulata Mycological characteristics
	Ridges on hymenium
	Cap is infundibuliform
	Hymenium is decurrent
	Stipe is bare or lacks a stipe
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is inedible

Description

Its cap is 5-20 mm and hygrophanous, becoming dark grey and translucently striped when wet, and paling to a grey-brown when dry. It is spatula or funnel shaped and its texture is smooth.^[2] The hymenophore has branched grey veins, that with age anastomose. They are adnexed to the stipe. The stipe is 2-3 x .5-1.5 mm. The flesh smells like geranium leaves. ^[3]

The spore print is white. The spores measure 7-10 by 4-6.5 μm. and teardrop shaped. The basidia have 4 spores each and measure 28-34 x 7-10 μm. They have straight to curved sterigmata. Cheilocystidia are absent. Clamp connections are absent in all tissues. ^[1]

Ecology

Arrhenia spathulata grows on Tortula ruralis var. ruraliformis. It is common on coastal dunes in the Netherlands. It grows from October to January. ^[1]