 The cap is initially convex before flattening out , sometimes retaining a small central papilla , and sometimes developing a central depression ; the cap diameter reaches 5 – 15 mm ( 0 @.@ 2 – 0 @.@ 6 in ) . The smooth cap is hygrophanous ( i.e. , it changes colour as it loses or absorbs moisture ) , and has shallow radial grooves extending about halfway up the cap . Its colour is reddish to brownish , and is often paler in the center than the margin ; when dry , the colour fades to greyish . The greyish @-@ white gills have a free to deeply emarginate ( notched ) attachment to the cap . They are somewhat crowded together , numbering 20 – 25 gills with 1 to 7 tiers of interspersed lamellulae ( short gills that do not extend fully from the cap margin to the stipe ) . The cylindrical stipe measures 4 – 7 @.@ 5 cm ( 1 @.@ 6 – 3 @.@ 0 in ) long by 0 @.@ 5 – 2 mm thick , and has at its base a root @-@ like pseudorrhiza that extends into the substrate . The upper stipe is yellowish brown , while lower it is dark orange @-@ brown to reddish @-@ brown . The flesh has no odour and usually has a bitter taste . While the fruit bodies are sometimes described as are edible , they are too small to be of culinary interest . 
