Lacrymaria velutina

Common Name: Velvety Psathyrella

Synonyms: Psathyrella velutina; Lacrymaria lacrymabunda

Substrate: Ground

Location: Hardwood Forests edges, Grassy areas, Yards

Spore Color: Black

Gill Color: Brown and black with a "mottled" or spotty appearance

Gill Attachment: Free to attached

Comments: 

This mushroom seems to have several different growth styles. When I find it in my yard, it often has a short stem with a relatively wide cap, usually fruiting with 2-4 mushrooms in the area.  I have never found it in the woods, but once in a grassy area within a woodland area. It was fruiting gregariously with maybe 30 or 40 mushrooms along side a trail. The mushroom itself has a hairy tan cap and gills that are mottled. They have a spotty or polka dot appearance to them.

Lookalikes: 

Other species of Psathyrella.

Pictures:

9/23/12 - Leonard Springs - Bloomington, IN

8/30/11 - Note "mottled" gill surface in the final picture - Yard in Bloomington, IN 

Same yard in Bloomington, IN - 10/12/11 - More broken up cap surface