Plate 097 · on a fallen leaf, with an ant IdentificationFive marks on the plate
- 1Wine-red to purple cap, bell-shaped.
- 2Deep radial grooves, like a pinwheel.
- 3White to cream gills, few and widely spaced.
- 4Hair-thin black stalk, pale at the top.
- 5On fallen leaves, in groups.
Easily confused with Orange pinwheelMarasmius siccusOrange cap, not purplish red. Black-stalked MarasmiusTetrapyrgos nigripesWhite cap. 097 / 100 · FUNGI & LICHENS · MARASMIACEAENOT EVALUATED Purple pinwheel
Marasmius haematocephalus
Molinillo púrpura · Blood-red parachute
A tiny gilled mushroom with wine-red caps the size of a lentil or a small coin. It springs up in groups on fallen leaves after the summer rains. It helps break down the leaf litter of the forest floor.
- Cap
- 2.5 – 16 mm
- Altitude
- c. 400 – 1,200 m
- Stalk
- 2 – 6 cm, black
- Gills
- white, widely spaced
- Leaf litter
- Tiny
- Native to South America
- Rainy summer
Altitude rangeFloor of the lower forest
Foothill and lower montane forest In Tucumán it is recorded in the forest leaf litter of the Sierra de San Javier and nearby, mostly after summer rain.
EcologyBreaks down the litter
- Fallen leavesMain substrate
- MoistureFruits after rain
- ShadeUnder the canopy
- Slugs and insectsEat the caps
Its hyphae bind loose leaves together and start to break them down. That returns nutrients to the forest soil.
Life cycleSmall and fleeting
J F M A M J J A S O N D FruitingOccasional - Mycelium in the leaves. Lives inside the layer of dead leaves on the ground.
- Sprouts after rain. Caps appear in groups within one or two wet days.
- Dry but not dead. In many Marasmius a dried cap reopens with rain and sheds spores again.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- Parque Provincial La Florida
- Quebrada de Lules