Galerina marginata Funeral Bell

A distinctive Galerina species with a domed, brown cap, 10 -70mm in diameter, with faint striations along the edge. The stem has white fibrils below a prominent membranous ring which usually persists for a long time. It is a saprobic species which often grows on coniferous wood and sometimes on decaying deciduous branches. However it also grows on other types of plant debris and on sawdust and occasionally occurs in mossy beds in coastal grassland and heathland when it may be smaller than specimens growing on wood. It grows among other Galerina species and waxcaps in moss-dominated habitats in coastal habitats in West Glamorgan. The fruiting bodies are extremely toxic and contain the same sorts of amatoxins that are found in Death Cap (Amanita phalloides). Fatal poisonings have been reported in Europe and North America.