Calocybe gambosa

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Calocybe gambosa
Calocybe gambosa 080420wa.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Lyophyllaceae
Genus: Calocybe
Species:
C. gambosa
Binomial name
Calocybe gambosa
(Fr.) Donk (1962)
Synonyms

Tricholoma gambosum

Calocybe gambosa
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svg Cap is convex
Sinuate gills icon2.svg Hymenium is sinuate
Bare stipe icon.svg Stipe is bare
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is white
Mycorrhizal fungus.svgEcology is mycorrhizal
Mycomorphbox Choice.pngEdibility is choice

Calocybe gambosa, commonly known as St. George's mushroom, is an edible mushroom that grows mainly in fields, grass verges and roadsides. Deriving its common name from when it first appears in the UK, namely on St George's Day (23 April). It appears in March in Italy, a warmer country where it is also a popular mushroom to eat, [1] and is known there as prugnolo. It is also popular in Northern Spain and Southern France, in the Basque Country region and its surroundings where it appears in April. In these regions it is usually eaten sautéed with egg or with bacon.

Contents

It is considered a delicacy, especially when fried in butter. It was previously considered a part of the large genus Tricholoma and is still seen as T. gambosum in older texts.

Taxonomy

Initially described as Agaricus gambosus by Elias Magnus Fries in his 1821 work Systema Mycologicum , [2] with its specific epithet derived from a Latin term for "club footed" in relation to its bulky stipe. [1] It was later named Tricholoma gambosum by Paul Kummer in 1871, [3] before being reclassified as Calocybe gambosa by Marinus Anton Donk in 1962. [4] In Germany it is known as Maipilz, where it fruits in May. [5] The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms kalos "pretty", and cubos "head". [6] In Denmark it is called Vårmousseron, appearing in spring—early May [7]

Description

The cap measures from 5–15 cm (2 to 6 inches) in diameter and has a smooth texture and has ridges on it. The colour of the cap, stipe and flesh can range from white-creamy coloured to bright yellow. The sinuate gills are white and crowded. The flesh is thick and soft and has a mealy or cucumber smell. The spore print is white to pinkish white. The stubby stipe is bulky at the base. [1]

Care must be taken not to confuse it with the highly poisonous Inosperma erubescens , which grows in the same habitats. The latter has a more pungent fruity smell and bruises red. Entoloma sinuatum , also poisonous, has a rancid smell. [5]

Distribution and habitat

Calocybe gambosa is common in grasslands in Europe, often in areas rich in limestone. It is common on the Swedish islands Öland and Gotland, both situated in the Baltic sea. On the South Downs in southern England, it has formed huge fairy rings that appear to be several hundred years old. [8] It is found from April in the United Kingdom, and earlier in warmer countries. [1]

Edibility

The mushroom is best picked in dry weather. It can be eaten dry, pickled or even raw. It is imported in commercial quantities into Western Europe from Romania. [1] It was held in high esteem in medieval Italy, reported by Costanzo Felici in 1569 as the most expensive and highly regarded mushroom in Umbria and Marches in central Italy, and held in high esteem in the Apennine mountain region—Liguria, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna)—by Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti in 1777. It is still locally eaten in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. [9]

St George's mushroom is highly prized in the Basque Country of Spain, where it fetches very high prices. [10] In Alava, it is traditionally eaten on the feast of Saint Prudence (28 April), alongside snails. [11] The mushroom is also a cornerstone of the gastronomy of Bilbao, where it is typically eaten in an omelette. [12] The demand in the Basque Country is so high the mushroom has to be imported from Eastern Europe.[ citation needed ]

Calocybe gambosa grows at the same time of year and locations to, and can be confused with, young Inocybe erubescens (poisonous), Melanoleuca strictipes (inedible), and Entoloma sinuatum (poisonous). [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mushroom poisoning</span> Harmful effects from ingestion of toxic substances present in a mushroom

Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus.

<i>Tricholoma</i> Genus of fungi

Tricholoma is a genus of fungus that contains many fairly fleshy white-spored gilled mushrooms which are found worldwide generally growing in woodlands. These are ectomycorrhizal fungi, existing in a symbiotic relationship with various species of coniferous or broad-leaved trees. The generic name derives from Ancient Greek: τριχο-, romanized: tricho-, lit. 'hair' and Ancient Greek: λῶμα, romanized: loma, lit. 'fringe, border' although only a few species have shaggy caps which fit this description.

<i>Inosperma erubescens</i> Species of fungus

Inocybe erubescens, also known as I. patouillardii, commonly known as the deadly fibrecap, brick-red tear mushroom or red-staining Inocybe, is a poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Inocybe and one of the few known to have caused death. It is found growing in small groups on leaf litters in association with beech. All mushroom guidebooks as well as mushroom hunters advise that the entire Inocybaceae should be avoided for consumption. The fruit bodies appear in spring and summer; the bell-shaped caps are generally pale pinkish in colour with red stains, with a reddish-pink stipe and gills.

<i>Entoloma sinuatum</i> Species of poisonous fungus in the family Entolomataceae found across Europe and North America

Entoloma sinuatum is a poisonous mushroom found across Europe and North America. Some guidebooks refer to it by its older scientific names of Entoloma lividum or Rhodophyllus sinuatus. The largest mushroom of the genus of pink-spored fungi known as Entoloma, it is also the type species. Appearing in late summer and autumn, fruit bodies are found in deciduous woodlands on clay or chalky soils, or nearby parklands, sometimes in the form of fairy rings. Solid in shape, they resemble members of the genus Tricholoma. The ivory to light grey-brown cap is up to 20 cm (7.9 in) across with a margin that is rolled inward. The sinuate gills are pale and often yellowish, becoming pink as the spores develop. The thick whitish stem has no ring.

<i>Tricholoma sulphureum</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma sulphureum, also known as the stinker, sulphur knight or gas agaric, is an inedible or mildly poisonous mushroom found in woodlands in Europe. It has a distinctive bright yellow colour and an unusual smell likened to coal gas. It occurs in deciduous woodlands in Europe from spring to autumn.

<i>Entoloma</i> Genus of fungi

Entoloma is a genus of fungi in the order Agaricales. Called pinkgills in English, basidiocarps are typically agaricoid, though a minority are gasteroid. All have salmon-pink basidiospores which colour the gills at maturity and are angular (polyhedral) under a microscope. The genus is large, with almost 2000 species worldwide. Most species are saprotrophic, but some are ectomycorrhizal, and a few are parasitic on other fungi. The type, Entoloma sinuatum, is one of several Entoloma species that are poisonous, typically causing mild to severe gastrointestinal illness.

<i>Tricholoma pardinum</i> Species of agaric fungus endemic to North America, Europe, and parts of Asia

Tricholoma pardinum, commonly known as spotted tricholoma, tiger tricholoma, tigertop, leopard knight, or dirty trich, is a gilled mushroom widely distributed across North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. It is generally found in beech woodland in summer and autumn. Two subspecies have been described from southern Europe. First officially described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1801, T. pardinum has had a confusing taxonomic history that extends over two centuries. In 1762, German naturalist Jacob Christian Schäffer described the species Agaricus tigrinus with an illustration corresponding to what is thought to be T. pardinum, and consequently, the name Tricholoma tigrinum has been used erroneously in some European field guides.

<i>Clitocybe nebularis</i> Species of fungus

Clitocybe nebularis or Lepista nebularis, commonly known as the clouded agaric, cloudy clitocybe, or cloud funnel, is an abundant gilled fungus which appears both in conifer-dominated forests and broad-leaved woodland in Europe and North America. Appearing in Britain from mid to late autumn, it is edible, but may cause gastrointestinal issues.

<i>Cortinarius caperatus</i> Species of fungus

Cortinarius caperatus is an edible mushroom of the genus Cortinarius found in northern regions of Europe and North America. It was known as Rozites caperata for many years before genetic studies revealed that it belonged to the genus Cortinarius. The fruit bodies appear in autumn in coniferous and beech woods as well as heathlands in late summer and autumn. The ochre-coloured cap is up to 10 cm (4 in) across and has a fibrous surface. The clay-colored gills are attached to the stipe under the cap, and the stipe is whitish with a whitish ring. The Latin specific name, caperatus, means wrinkled, and refers to the distinctive texture of the cap. The flesh has a mild smell and flavor.

<i>Inocybe geophylla</i> Species of fungus

Inocybe geophylla, commonly known as the earthy inocybe, common white inocybe or white fibercap, is a poisonous mushroom of the genus Inocybe. It is widespread and common in Europe and North America, appearing under both conifer and deciduous trees in summer and autumn. The fruiting body is a small all-white or cream mushroom with a fibrous silky umbonate cap and adnexed gills. An all-lilac variety lilacina is also common.

<i>Tricholoma terreum</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma terreum, commonly known as the grey knight or dirty tricholoma, is a grey-capped mushroom of the large genus Tricholoma. It is found in coniferous woodlands in Europe, and has also been encountered under introduced pine trees in Australia and New Zealand. It is regarded as edible. A 2014 article speculated that it may be poisonous, but Sitta et al. in 2016 published in the same journal a counter article demonstrating the unfounded nature of such speculation.

<i>Tricholoma saponaceum</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma saponaceum, also known as the soap-scented toadstool, soapy tricholoma, soapy knight or soap tricholoma is an inedible mushroom found in woodlands in Europe and North America.

<i>Tricholoma columbetta</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma columbetta, commonly known as dove-coloured tricholoma, is an edible mushroom of the large genus Tricholoma. It is found in Europe, where it is eaten in France.

<i>Tricholoma album</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma album, commonly known as the white knight, is an all-white mushroom of the large genus Tricholoma. It is found in Europe, India, and possibly North America. The cap and gills are white. The whitish stipe has no ring.

<i>Infundibulicybe geotropa</i> Species of fungus

Infundibulicybe geotropa, also known as the trooping funnel or monk's head, is a funnel-shaped toadstool widely found in Europe and in North America. A large sturdy cream- or buff-coloured funnel-shaped mushroom, it grows in mixed woodlands, often in troops or fairy rings, one of which is over half a mile wide. Although edible, it could be confused with some poisonous species of similar colouration and size.

<i>Tricholoma portentosum</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma portentosum, commonly known as the charbonnier, streaked tricholoma, or sooty head, in North America, is a grey-capped edible mushroom of the large genus Tricholoma. It is found in woodlands in Europe and North America.

<i>Tricholoma atrosquamosum</i> Species of fungus

Tricholoma atrosquamosum, commonly known as dark-scaled knight, is an edible gilled mushroom native to Europe. The grey-capped fruit bodies are generally found singly or in small groups in deciduous woodland on chalk-based soils.

<i>Cortinarius camphoratus</i> Species of fungus

Cortinarius camphoratus, commonly known as the goatcheese webcap, is an agaric fungus in the family Cortinariaceae. The fungus is found in Europe and North America, where its fruit bodies (mushrooms) grow on the ground in a mycorrhizal association with spruce and firs in coniferous forests. Mushrooms are characterized by pale blue lilac colors when young, and a strong distinctive odor. Sources disagree as to the edibility of the mushroom, but they are generally not recommended for eating.

<i>Hygrophorus erubescens</i> Species of fungus

Hygrophorus erubescens, commonly known as the blotched woodwax or pink waxcap, is an agaric fungus native to Scandinavia, Japan, Central Europe, Great Britain and North America.

<i>Hygrophorus pudorinus</i> Species of fungus

Hygrophorus pudorinus, commonly known as the blushing waxycap, turpentine waxycap, or spruce waxy cap, is a species of fungus in the genus Hygrophorus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Carluccio A (2003). The Complete Mushroom Book. Quadrille. p. 75. ISBN   1-84400-040-0.
  2. Fries EM (1821). Systema Mycologicum. Vol. 1. Lundae: Ex Officina Berlingiana. p. 50.
  3. Kummer, Paul (1871). Der Führer in die Pilzkunde (in German) (1 ed.). Zerbst, Germany: Luppe. p. 131.
  4. Donk M.A. (1962). The generic names proposed for the Agaricaceae. Beihefte zur Nova Hedwigia. Vol. 5. Weinheim, Germany. p. 46.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. 1 2 Zeitlmayr, Linus (1976). Wild Mushrooms:An Illustrated Handbook. Garden City Press, Hertfordshire. p. 70. ISBN   0-584-10324-7.
  6. Nilson S, Persson O (1977). Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi. Penguin. p. 24. ISBN   0-14-063006-6.
  7. "MycoKey fungus identifier".
  8. Ramsbottom, John (1953). Mushrooms & Toadstools. Collins. p. 125. ISBN   1-870630-09-2.
  9. Sitta, Nicola; Floriani, Marco (2008). "Nationalization and Globalization Trends in the Wild Mushroom Commerce of Italy with Emphasis on Porcini ( Boletus edulis and Allied Species)". Economic Botany. 62 (3): 307–22. doi:10.1007/s12231-008-9037-4. S2CID   44274570.
  10. "El precio del perretxiko supera los 40 euros el kilo". EITB. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. "De 'La comida del Gargantúa' a la primera Tamborrada". elcorreo.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  12. JULIÁN MÉNDEZ (May 2017). "Perretxikos, el tesoro de la primavera". El Correro.
  13. "Normlisten".

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