Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 22, 2014

Gymnopilus maritimus is a species of Cortinariaceae fungus first collected in northern Sardinia, Italy, in 2006. The species produces moderately sized, sturdy mushrooms of a reddish-orange colour. The cap, which can measure up to 70 millimetres (3 in) across, is covered in orange fibrils, and sometimes has small scales. The yellowish stem measures up to 110 mm (4 in) in length by 8 mm (0.3 in) in width, and sometimes shows remnants of the partial veil. The mushrooms have thick gills of a variable colour, ranging from yellow to rust but staining darker, and the yellow flesh has a mild taste. The mushrooms leave a rusty-brown spore print, while the spores themselves measure from 7.5 to 11.5 micrometres in length. The species is most similar in appearance to G. arenophilus and G. fulgens, but is not closely related to either and is not particularly similar to any of its closest relatives. The species has been found only on coastal sand dunes near Olbia, Sardinia, where it was observed growing at the base of Juncus maritimus (the sea rush), between the winter months of October and January. However, there is speculation that it may also grow elsewhere in Europe. (Full article...)

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