Pholiota squarrosipes

The fruitbody is a mushroom with a cap atop a central stem. The caps are convex to flat. The caps may grow to over 7 centimetres in diameter, but mature mushrooms may have caps no more than 2 centimetres across. The cap is viscid in moist conditions and often has erect scales but these can disappear to leave a smooth surface. The cap is some shade of brown (e.g. creamy brown, yellowish brown, tan brown).

The gills are initially creamy but become more brownish as the spores mature. The stem may grow to over 7 centimetres long and up to a centimetre in diameter. It is dry, of a colour similar to that of the cap and bears numerous chunky scales that stick out from the stem, giving it a shaggy look.    

A partial veil is present in young mushrooms, is yellowish and of a thick, cobwebby appearance. Some traces may remain on the stem or the edge of the cap in mature mushrooms. There is no universal veil.

Spore print: dull brown

The mushrooms appear on the ground or on woody material in a variety of habitats.  This is a native species that was first described in 1933, based on material collected in South Australia.

Look-alikes

The combination of features listed above should make this easy to recognize.