Sheathed woodtuft or Glistening inkcap

The cap is 3-7 cm across, hemispherical with an inrolled edge when young, later convex to flat with a low but noticeable bump. The colour is two-toned: in wet weather the cap is evenly dark chestnut-brown, and as it dries it pales from the centre, which turns pale ochre while the edge stays dark. The surface is smooth and slimy in wet weather, and the cap skin peels off easily.

Young caps are egg-shaped, 1 to 2.5 cm, then bell-shaped and convex, 2 to 4 cm across, occasionally 5 cm; with age the margin splits and turns up. The colour is honey brown, ochre or russet, darker in the centre and paler at the edge, greying with age. The surface is grooved almost to the centre.

Young caps are covered in tiny white, glittering grains like sugar or mica. Rain and dew wash them off, so older caps are bare.

The gills are attached to the stem and moderately crowded. They start pale beige or cream and darken to brown or chocolate-brown as the spores ripen. The spore print is brown to rusty brown. In young mushrooms the gills are covered by a whitish partial veil.

The gills are crowded, attached or free, white at first, then grey-brown, purplish brown and black. With age they blacken and partly dissolve, though less completely than in the common inkcap.

The spore print is black-brown to black.

The stem is 4-8 cm tall and 0.5-1 cm thick, cylindrical and often curved. It's two-toned: above the ring it's smooth and pale ochre-cream. Below the ring it's brownish-black, with distinct brown toothlike scales that stick outward. The ring is narrow, membranous and brownish; it's noticeable in young mushrooms but may disappear in older ones.

The stem is 3 to 8 cm tall, occasionally 10 cm, and 2 to 5 mm thick, white, silky, hollow and brittle, ochre or brownish at the base. Young stems show a fine down under a hand lens. There's no ring.

The flesh is meaty in the cap and thin in the stem, creamy white to brownish cream, and doesn't change colour when cut. The smell and taste are pleasantly mushroomy, with a nutty note.

The flesh is very thin, brittle and whitish.

Pleasantly mushroomy with a nutty note. There's no mealy undertone. Galerina often smells of flour, but not always, so don't rely on smell.

The smell isn't distinctive.