Marasmius elegans (Velvet Parachute)

The fruit body is a mushroom with a cap atop a central stem. The cap may grow to 5 centimetres across, but often you find specimens with caps with a diameter of only about 2 centimetres. It may  be bell-shaped or hemispherical to fairly flat (the last with age, but then often still with a slight central hump). It has a velvety feel and is orange to reddish-brown. The gills are white to creamy, perhaps with a pale orange tint. The tough, flexible stem is up to 7 centimetres long and 5 millimetres in diameter, white in the upper part and red-brown in the lower. At the base the stem is slightly swollen and with a tuft of white hairs (see http://www.cpbr.gov.au/fungi/images-captions/marasmius-elegans-0031.html). The mushroom is connected to the substrate by a yellow mycelium.

There is neither a partial nor a universal veil.     

Spore print: white.

It occurs on litter or well-rotted wood in a variety of habitats.

The original description of this species (as Collybia elegans) was published in 1933, based on specimens collected in South Australia.

It should not be possible to mistake any other species for Marasmius elegans.