Bonnets (Mycena spp.) are the tiny, bell-capped toadstools that pepper autumn leaf litter and dead wood in surprising abundance. Delicate yet persistent, their conical caps sit on hair‑thin stems that often snap when handled, though in a basket they’ll neatly realign to shed spores again. Field identification is a delightful puzzle: scents can range from radish and meal to ammonia or even nitric acid; some bleed colored latex, from orange‑red to pale or deep blood; others glow in unusual hues—lilac, rose, apricot, or ash grey. Meet a few London regulars: the Grey Bonnet with cross‑veined gills, steel‑capped Roofnail with silvery‑striated stem, and the clustered, rancid‑scented Oak Bonnet. Plus, the cosmopolitan Lilac Bonnet and its rosy cousin. Ready to look closer?
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