more sturdy, and those of C. confusa are much paler in colour. Another Cudonia species, C. circinans (which is highly similar to C. lutea), is similar to L. lubrica, though it can be differentiated by its colour (which is more brown), spores (which are smaller and thinner) and texture (which is less slimy and gelatinous than L. lubrica). L. lubrica fruit bodies can also be mistaken for those of the much rarer L. atrovirens, which can be differentiated by its darker colouration. L. viscosa can again be differentiated by colouration; the species has a green head. However, as L. lubrica fruit bodies can sometimes have a greenish hue, differentiation between the two species is not always easy. Edibility Its fruit bodies are of little culinary interest, and, contrary to what is suggested by the common name, are often described as inedible by field guides. It has also been reported that the species is in fact edible yet insipid. Charles McIlvaine even considered it good, although others describe it as bland. In the field, the flesh has no discernible smell or taste. Habitat, distribution and ecology Leotia lubrica favours damp deciduous woodland, but can also be found under conifers. Particular favoured habitats include path sides and underneath bracken, while favoured substrates include soil, moss and plant waste. While it has been conventionally regarded as a saprotroph, molecular, isotopic and other lines of evidence have suggested that Leotia lubrica forms ectomycorrhizae. Fruit bodies are typically encountered from late summer to late autumn in Europe, and from late spring to autumn in North America, where it is the most common Leotia species. It has also been recorded in eastern Asia, in China and Tibet, as well as in New Zealand and Australia. The fruit bodies are typically found growing in large numbers, sometimes in clumps, though solitary specimens are occasionally encountered. Several bodies can be connected at their bases, or younger bodies can grow out of the bases of older ones. The youngest fruit bodies are conical in shape. When the body reaches around 2 mm in length, the tip of the cone begins to expand, forming the head. This is the stage at which the hymenium becomes differentiated from the rest of the body, and the bodies quickly reach their mature form, maturing only through growth after that point. Fruit bodies can be infected by the mould Hypomyces leotiarum (asexual reproduction form