Fairy ring champignon or Sprucecone cap

Cap 2-5 cm across, hemispherical when young, becoming convex-flat over time with a distinct low umbo in the center. Color light ocher, creamy beige, reddish cream, darker in wet weather, paler in dry. Surface smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather. The cap margin often has fine grooves. A unique trait: a dried-out cap can "revive" after rain — it regains its shape and the gills resume releasing spores.

The cap of the sprucecone cap is tiny — 0.5 to 2.5 centimeters across. When young it is convex to bell-shaped, becoming almost flat with age. The surface is smooth, dry or slightly moist, matte. The coloring is gray-brown, dark brown or olive-gray, darker in the center and paler at the margin. The small dark cap on a long, thin stem makes the mushroom look like a tiny nail.

Gilled hymenophore — the gills are distant, broad, whitish to cream, with a distinctive attachment to the stem (often free or notched). Spore print white. The contrast of distant broad gills + white spore print are diagnostic features.

The hymenophore is gilled. The gills are white or cream, fairly crowded, attached to the stem or almost free. The spore print is white. Against the darker cap the pale gills stand out well; combined with growth on spruce cones, this reliably sets the species apart.

Stem 4-8 cm tall, 0.2-0.5 cm thick, thin, cylindrical, very fibrous and springy — it practically doesn't snap when bent. Color light cream to ocher, matching the cap. Surface smooth, with no ring and no volva. It doesn't snap — it only bends — a diagnostic feature.

The stem is very thin and long relative to the cap — up to 8 centimeters tall and 1–2 millimeters thick, springy like a piece of wire. At the top it is pale yellowish-brown, darkening downward to reddish-brown, and the base continues into a characteristic root-like extension (pseudorhiza) that reaches down to the buried cone. There is no ring and no volva.

Flesh thin in the cap, fibrous in the stem, white to cream. When cut it does not change color. A distinct, pleasant mushroom smell with a fruity or almond note. Taste mild and aromatic.

The flesh is extremely thin, pale in the cap, tough and fibrous in the stem. It does not change color when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant, without bitterness. Because of the tiny size and tough stem, only the caps are good for the table, and even they have modest culinary value.

A distinct, pleasant mushroom smell with a fruity-almond note. It opens up when you rub the flesh and especially when dried. This is one of the most aromatic Ukrainian mushrooms.

The smell is faint, pleasant and mushroomy, with no sharp notes. The aroma is not a defining feature; you recognize this mushroom primarily by its tiny size, growth on spruce cones, long thin stem with a root-like extension and its early spring season.