Sheathed woodtuft or Poplar fieldcap

The cap is 3-7 cm across, hemispherical with an inrolled edge in young mushrooms, later becoming convex to flat with a noticeable low bump. The color is two-toned: in wet weather the center is dark chestnut-brown and the edge pale ocher; in dry weather it's the other way around. The surface is smooth, slimy in wet weather. The cap skin peels off easily.

The cap of the poplar fieldcap is 4 to 10, occasionally up to 15 centimeters across. When young it is hemispherical; with age it opens to convex and flat, often with fine radial cracks across the surface in dry weather. The surface is smooth, dry and matte. The color is dark brown or chestnut at first, fading with age and from center to edge to light ochre, cream or nearly white; the center is usually darker.

Gilled hymenophore: the gills are attached to the stem, moderately crowded. In young mushrooms they are pale beige, cream, darkening with age to brown, 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 spore-bearing surface is made of gills. The gills are attached to the stem and fairly crowded, whitish or pale gray at first, turning tobacco-brown, rusty-brown from the spores as they mature. The spore print is tobacco-brown. Pale gills that brown with age, together with the ring on the stem, help you recognize this species.

The stem is 4-8 cm tall and 0.5-1 cm thick, cylindrical, often curved. Two-toned: in the upper part (above the ring) it is smooth, pale ocher-cream. In the lower part (below the ring) it is brownish-black, with distinct brown toothlike scales that stick outward. The ring is narrow, membranous, brownish; noticeable in young mushrooms, it may disappear in older ones.

The stem is cylindrical, fairly long and firm, 5 to 12 centimeters tall, white or cream, often browning toward the base. Near the top there is a persistent white membranous ring — a remnant of the veil — on which brown spore dust often settles. Several stems fuse together in a cluster at the base. There is no volva. The stem flesh is tougher than the cap, so mostly the caps are eaten.

The flesh is meaty in the cap, thin in the stem, creamy white to brownish cream. When cut it does not change color. The smell and taste are pleasantly mushroomy, with a nutty note.

The flesh is white, firm and springy — fleshy in the cap and fibrous-tough in the stem. It does not change color when cut. The taste is pleasant, nutty and mushroomy, sometimes with a light winey note. Thanks to its firmness, the flesh holds its shape when cooked and doesn't turn mushy, which is why the mushroom is so valued in the kitchen.

Pleasantly mushroomy with a nutty note. No chemical or mealy undertones, an extra diagnostic feature against Galerina, which has a faint mealy smell.

The smell is pleasant and mushroomy, with a distinctive winey-mealy or cedar-like note. The aroma is quite pronounced and helps you recognize the mushroom, along with its clustered growth on poplar, pale cap and white ring on the stem.