Fauna
Fungus

Common Conecap

Conocybe tenera

Also known as Brown Dunce Cap, Common Cone Head, Conecap Mushroom

Common conecaps feature delicate, cone-shaped brown caps perched atop thin, fragile stems that sprout among rich soils and grassy habitats. These saprobic fungi decompose dead plant matter, playing an essential role in cycling nutrients back into lawn and pasture ecosystems. Their ephemeral fruiting bodies appear rapidly after summer rains and wither quickly under direct heat.

FungusSaprobicEphemeral
Common Conecap reference1 / 7
(c) MushroomObserverUser|1=9|2=Ron Pastorino (Ronpast), some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preySaprobic (decomposing dead plant matter)
Predators
  • Fungus Gnats
  • Slugs
  • Springtails
ThreatsHabitat clearing and lawn fungicide treatment
HabitatsLawns, pastures, grassy fields, and rich soil
Life spanFruiting body lasts 1–3 days
Classification
  1. OrderAgaricales
  2. FamilyBolbitiaceae
  3. GenusConocybe
  4. SpeciesConocybe tenera
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskHigh
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is high
Potentially toxic and easily confused with deadly look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
Why it is dangerous
Contains harmful fungal compounds causing severe gastrointestinal distress, and closely resembles species containing deadly amatoxins.
How to recognize a risky encounter
Recognizable by its small cinnamon-brown conical cap, fragile pale stem, and fine vertical striations along the cap margin.
What to do
Observe in place without picking, and keep children and pets away from lawn mushrooms.
Responsible observation
  • Observe in Morning: Look for fresh specimens early in the day before sunlight causes the delicate caps to collapse.
  • Check Gill Attachment: Examine how the narrow rusty brown gills attach to the fragile stem to assist identification.
  • Avoid Ingestion: Never harvest small brown mushrooms because many related species carry lethal toxins.
Related species
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