_General Information_: This is a very common agaric which in the future will probably be split into several distinct species; unfortunately it is as variable as it is common, hence the common name ‘deceiver’; it is often mistaken at first glance for many other species quite unrelated. I have seen even the most experienced mycologist pick up rather unfamiliar specimens of _Laccaria laccata_ in mistake for a species of _Lactarius_ or a species of _Collybia_, etc. I would hate to say more because I have been ‘deceived’ myself on more than one occasion. _L. laccata_ appears to be a composite species, but because of the difficulty in defining some of the characters the splitting of the species has not as yet been satisfactorily solved. The smell, however, may well give a clue for some specimens smell very strongly of radish whilst others are odourless. ~L. proxima~ (Boudier) Patouillard, differs in having ellipsoid spores; it is larger in stature and is common in wet places. ~L. amethystea~ (Mérat) Murrill, differs in the deep violet or amethyst-colour of the fruit-body and commonly grows in shaded woods. ~L. bicolor~ (Maire) P. D. Orton, which is less frequent, has lilaceous gills and violaceous mycelium at the base of the stem. _Illustrations_: Hvass 66; NB 133¹; WD 20². [Illustration: Plate 22. Fleshy fungi: Spores white and borne on gills] ~Mycena sanguinolenta~ (Fries) Kummer Small bleeding mycena _Cap_: width 10-17 mm. _Stem_: width 2-4 mm; length 50-80 mm. _Description_: Cap: bell-shaped or conical expanding only slightly with age and so remaining umbonate, reddish-brown, striate to the margin from the darker apex and blotched age with red-brown spots. Stem: pale reddish brown, very slender, fragile, woolly at the base and exuding a red-brown juice when broken. Gills: adnate, fairly distant, whitish to flesh-colour with a dark red-brown edge and not noticeably becoming blotched with red-brown. Flesh: with no distinctive smell, reddish-brown and very thin. Spore-print: white. Spores: medium sized, hyaline, ellipsoid to pip-shaped, smooth about 10 µm long (9-10 × 4-5 µm) and becoming bluish grey when mounted in solutions containing iodine. Marginal cystidia: awl-shaped, pointed at the apex, swollen below and filled with dark red-brown contents. Facial cystidia: absent. _Habitat_ & _Distribution_: Solitary or in small groups on poorly kept lawns, in woods and copses; it is particularly frequent in the beds of needles found in pine woods.