Inocybe fuscidula / nitidiuscula / leiocephala

I am working on the ID of an Inocybe with cracking and small (2-3 cm across) pileus with chestnut color and variable striated with beige bands or patches (maybe because of hard soil over) growing at edges or under of a pine afforested area.

My options are short listed on fuscidula / nitidiuscula / leiocephala. The spores are broadly ellipsoid navicular (front view), almond-shaped (dorsal view), 10.6-13.2 um x 5.2-7.6 um (mean12.1 x 6.6) with a Q of 1.8 +/- 0.3. The cheilocystidia have a thick wall (not extremely thick) with apical crystals, in clusters 60-70 x 13.5-18um, while the pleurocystidia are more or less similar but not frequent and usually solitary.

Pileipellis:

Intricate cylindrical hyphae of various widths, but apparently two types, one that are cylindrical and slender, hyaline, 5 um wide, irregular and intricate, and the other type formed by larger and broader (11-14 um wide), sausage-shaped hyphae with pigmented incrustations on the walls.

The stipe seems to redden a bit in old specimens otherwise ocher-cream when fresh and undisturbed. The pruinosity seems to run half the stipe length (differs between various specimens) in some it seems going down in a patchy distribution below the lower half of the stipe.

I have a whole set of characters that I can show and discuss, but I think the above is the crucial. Photos attached.

I am thinking Inocybe nitidiuscula (Britz.) Saccardo for:

Redenning / browning of stipe in adult specimens, Spores match, habitat under pines ok, ornamented with tufts till the base, pruinose at the upper part

Inocybe nitidiuscula (Britz.) Saccardo - Funghi Velenosi - Funghi in Italia - Fiori in Italia - Forum Micologia e Botanica

Thanks Ditte, I was pretty sure that I was in the right group but I am no authority or have much experience with Inocybe. So I thank you for helping me out.

From the Italian website about I. nitidiuscula :

Stipe: " Da 4-6 (7) cm, cilindrico, spesso ricurvo alla base dove appare un poco ingrossato, senza mai formare un bulbo vero e proprio, delicatamente decorato da fibrille longitudinali per quasi tutta la sua lunghezza, pruinoso solo nella parte apicale , di colore ocra pallido con sfumature pink-rossastre specie in età adulta . " I interpreted that the what I am seeing is delicate longitudinal fibrils almost towards the entire stipe , while pruinosity is lmited below the cap at the upper part of the pileus.

The collection is from the Maltese Islands.

Unless some accident occurred, I have dry specimens to 1) check some feature and 2) to send you for your own examination. (PM yr address). I will tomorrow check the spores again, but I am quite sure they are correct.

I took images of the spores in KOH as well I just took in Iodine to test amyloid reaction. The measurements must be good but I can recheck.

The collection is from the Maltese Islands and it it was collected on December 2020, but working on the determination this week. I can only supply dried basidiocarps - is that still ok to send ?

I measured another set of spores with the following results:

10.1 [11.4 ; 11.9] 13.2 × 5.6 [6.5 ; 6.9] 7.8 µm

Q = 1.4 [1.7 ; 1.8] 2 ; N = 41 ; C = 95%

Me = 11.7 × 6.7 µm ; Qe = 1.7

On Inocybe.org (well done for the work) I read :

Spores up to approx. 12 (13) µm, often drawn out at the apex

I did not manage to PM you (I have photographed the dry specimens) so if you want to send me an email: info [at] malta wild plants .com (remove space and brackets) I can comm re sending samples