How to tell Weeping widow from Deadly fibrecap

The cap is 3 to 10 cm across, occasionally 12 cm. It starts bell-shaped or hemispherical with an inrolled margin, then becomes convex to almost flat, usually with a low, broad bump.

The surface is dry and densely fibrous, woolly or finely scaly, with fibres radiating from the centre. It's tawny, ochre or yellow-brown, darker in the centre. A pale, ragged fringe of veil hangs from the edge and wears off with age.

The cap is 3-10 cm across, hemispherical to convex when young, with a broad central umbo, and opens out with age. The surface is silky and shiny, with fine radial fibres and flattened scales. It starts out whitish, cream or ivory, and with age and handling it slowly turns red: pinkish at first, then brick-carmine or cinnamon-red. The reddening shows most along the margin and wherever the mushroom is damaged. This is the key identification feature.

The gills are attached and crowded, pale yellow-brown at first, then dark brown, mottled and almost black, with white edges. In damp weather droplets form along the edges, turn black with spores and leave dark spots. On young caps a cobweb-like veil covers the gills.

The spore print is black or blackish brown.

The gills are fairly crowded and notched where they meet the stem. They're whitish-pinkish when young, turning olive-brown to brick-brown with age. The spore print is olive-brown or tobacco-coloured, typical of the whole genus Inocybe.

The stem is 5 to 12 cm tall and 0.5 to 1.5 cm thick, whitish at the top and browner below, fibrous or scaly, hollow and brittle.

There's no true ring: near the top the veil leaves a fibrous ring zone that turns black with spores, like a pen line round the stem.

The stem is 3-10 cm tall and 0.5-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly widening toward the base. It's whitish to cream, with a pink or reddish-brick tinge (especially lower down). Like the cap, it turns red with age and handling. The surface has lengthwise fibres, and there's no ring. The flesh of the stem is firm.

The flesh is thin, whitish to watery brown, browner at the stem base, and doesn't change colour when cut.

The flesh is thick and white; when cut, it slowly turns red (not right away: sometimes only after 30 minutes or more), especially in the lower part of the stem. This is an important way to tell it from most Agaricus mushrooms, whose flesh either doesn't change colour or turns yellow (though some wood mushrooms, such as Agaricus silvaticus, also redden, so check the gills and spore print too). The fresh flesh smells and tastes pleasant, fruity and sweetish, and that's exactly what makes it so treacherous.

The smell is indistinct.

Sweet and fruity, with notes of ripe pears or apples. That's unusual for the genus Inocybe, which usually smells spermatic or musty. An appealing aroma, plus a reddening white cap, plus the very season when edible white mushrooms are being picked: the perfect trap for a beginner forager. Never rely on smell to identify this species.