Clitocybe nuda | |
---|---|
Wood blewit | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Agaricales |
Family: | Clitocybaceae |
Genus: | Clitocybe |
Species: | C. nuda |
Binomial name | |
Clitocybe nuda | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Agaricus nudus Bull. (1790) Contents |
Clitocybe nuda | |
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Gills on hymenium | |
Cap is convex or umbonate | |
Hymenium is emarginate | |
Stipe is bare | |
Spore print is buff | |
Ecology is saprotrophic | |
Edibility is choice |
Clitocybe nuda, commonly known as the blewit [2] or wood blewit [3] [4] and alternately described as Lepista nuda, is an edible mushroom native to Europe and North America. Described by Pierre Bulliard in 1790, it was also known as Tricholoma nudum for many years. It is found in both coniferous and deciduous woodlands. It is a fairly distinctive mushroom that is widely eaten. It has been cultivated in Britain, the Netherlands and France.
The French mycologist Pierre Bulliard described the wood blewit in his work Herbier de la France in 1790 as Agaricus nudus, reporting that it was common in the woods all year. He wrote of two varieties: one whose gills and cap are initially light violet and mature to burgundy, while the other has wine-coloured gills that intensify in colour with age. He added that the first variety was often confused with Cortinarius violaceus , though it has a "nude" cap and no spidery web veil unlike the other species. [5] English naturalist James Bolton gave it the name Agaricus bulbosa—the bulbous agaric—in his An History of Fungusses growing about Halifax in 1791. He noted that it was rare in the region, though had found some in Ovenden. [6]
German mycologist Paul Kummer placed it in the genus Tricholoma in 1871, [7] the same year that English botanist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke placed it in Lepista. [8] It was known by these names for many years, with some authors accepting Lepista and while others retained the wood blewit in Tricholoma. In 1969 Howard E. Bigelow and Alexander H. Smith reviewed Lepista and reclassified it as a subgenus of Clitocybe [9] Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja has called for the sinking of Lepista into Clitocybe, with C. nebularis as the type species of the latter genus. [10] Hence the wood blewit is classified as either Lepista nuda or Clitocybe nuda. [11]
A 2015 genetic study found that the genera Collybia and Lepista were closely related to the core clade of Clitocybe, but that all three were polyphyletic, with many members in lineages removed from other members of the same genus and instead more closely related to the other two. To complicate matters, the wood blewit is not closely related to the type species of Lepista, L. densifolia. Alvarado and colleagues declined to define the genera but proposed several options and highlighted the need for a wider analysis. [11]
The species is commonly known as the wood blewit. Cooke called it the amethyst lepista, [8] John Sibthorp called it the blue-gilled agaric in his 1794 work Flora Oxoniensis. [12]
This mushroom can range from lilac to purple-pink. Some North American specimens are duller and tend toward tan, but usually have purplish tones on the stem and gills. Younger specimens are lighter with more convex caps, while mature specimens have a darker color and flatter cap, ranging from 4–15 cm (1+5⁄8–5+7⁄8 in) in diameter. [13] The gills are attached to the short, stout stem, which is about 2–6 cm (3⁄4–2+3⁄8 in) long and 1–2.5 cm wide, [13] sometimes larger at the base. [14] Wood blewits have a very distinctive odor, which has been likened by one author to that of frozen orange juice. [15]
Wood blewits can be easily distinguished by their odor, as well as by their spore print, which is white to pale pink. [16]
Wood blewits can be confused with certain blue or purple species of the genus Cortinarius , [13] including the uncommon C. camphoratus , [17] many of which may be poisonous. Cortinarius mushrooms often have the remains of a veil under their caps and a ring-like impression on their stem. Cortinarius species produce a rusty brown spore print after several hours on white paper. Their brown spores often dust their stems and objects beneath them. [16]
The species also resembles Clitocybe brunneocephala, Clitocybe tarda , Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis , and Lepista subconnexa. [13]
The wood blewit is found in Europe and North America and is becoming more common in Australia, where it appears to have been introduced. In Australia it has developed a relationship with some eucalyptus species and gorse; with an entirely different growth pattern and differs slightly in appearance to its European Lepista nuda cousins.
It is a saprotrophic species, growing on decaying leaf litter. In the United Kingdom, it appears from September through to December.
Soil analysis of soil containing mycelium from a wood blewit fairy ring under Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) and Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) in southeast Sweden yielded fourteen halogenated low molecular weight organic compounds, three of which were brominated and the others chlorinated. It is unclear whether these were metabolites or pollutants. Brominated compounds are unknown as metabolites from terrestrial fungi. [18]
The form glaucocana is found in mountainous environs. [14]
In Australia, male satin bowerbirds collect blue objects to decorate their bowers with. A young male was reported to have collected wood blewits to this end near Braidwood in southern New South Wales. [19]
Wood blewits are good edible mushrooms. [20]
Blewits can be eaten as a cream sauce or sautéed in butter. [21] They can also be cooked like tripe or as omelette filling, and also make good stewing mushrooms. [22] They have a strong flavour, so they combine well with leeks or onions. [17]
Wood blewits can be dried, [13] or can be preserved in olive oil or white vinegar after blanching. [17]
The wood blewit has been cultivated in Britain, the Netherlands and France. [23] [ page needed ] Cultivated wood blewits are said not to taste as good as wild wood blewits. [17]
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi. Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Mushrooms that have a particularly desirable taste are described as "choice". Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value. Mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, are sources of umami flavor.
Cortinarius is a globally distributed genus of mushrooms in the family Cortinariaceae. It is suspected to be the largest genus of agarics, containing over 2,000 widespread species. A common feature among all species in the genus Cortinarius is that young specimens have a cortina (veil) between the cap and the stem, hence the name, meaning curtained. Most of the fibres of the cortina are ephemeral and will leave no trace once gone, except for limited remnants on the stem or cap edge in some species. All have a rusty brown spore print. The common names cortinar and webcap refer to members of the genus. Due to dangerous toxicity of several species and the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between various species of the genus, non-expert consumption of mushrooms from the genus is discouraged.
Clitocybe is a genus of mushrooms characterized by white, off-white, buff, cream, pink, or light-yellow spores, gills running down the stem, and pale white to brown or lilac coloration. They are primarily saprotrophic, decomposing forest ground litter. There are estimated to be around 300 species in the widespread genus.
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.
Clitocybe odora, commonly known as the blue green anise mushroom, or aniseed toadstool, is a blue-green mushroom that grows near deciduous and coniferous trees. They can be found growing in small groups along the side of tree roots. This mushroom is edible, but a few expert mushroom hunters insist that young specimens should be avoided as they can be confused with Stropharia aeruginosa. The anise odor is due to the presence of p-anisaldehyde and a small amount of benzaldehyde. This odor can give away the mushroom's presence before it is observed by eye.
Blewit refers to two closely related species of edible agarics in the genus Clitocybe, the wood blewit and the field blewit or blue-leg (C.saeva). Both species are treated by some authorities as belonging to the genus Lepista.
Lepista is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi, the widespread genus contains approximately 50 species. In 1969, Howard Bigelow and Alex H. Smith designated the group as subgenus of Clitocybe.
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.
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and heathland, and sometimes on woodchips used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped cap up to 8 cm across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked gills on the underside of the cap run partway down the length of the otherwise smooth stipe. Reports on the mushroom's edibility vary – it is considered poisonous, but has historically been eaten in parts of Europe and the Americas.
Lepista personata is a species of edible fungus commonly found growing in grassy areas across Europe and is morphologically related to the wood blewit.
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.
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.
Cortinarius mucosus, commonly known as the orange webcap or the slimy cortinarius, is a species of mushroom in the family Cortinariaceae. In North America, the species is more commonly associated with northern coniferous forests. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word mucosus, meaning mucus.
Ampulloclitocybe clavipes, commonly known as the club-foot or club-footed clitocybe, is a species of gilled mushroom from Europe and North America. The grey brown mushrooms have yellowish decurrent gills and a bulbous stalk, and are found in deciduous and conifer woodlands. Although considered edible, disulfiram-like reactions have been reported after consumption of alcohol after eating this mushroom.
Macrocybe is a genus of fungi in the family Callistosporiaceae. Basidiocarps are agarics and were previously referred to Tricholoma, but are all large, whitish, and saprotrophic. Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that the genus is a natural, monophyletic grouping, though the status of several species is uncertain. Macrocybe species have a tropical to subtropical distribution.
Leucopholiota decorosa is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Tricholomataceae. Commonly known as the decorated pholiota, it is distinguished by its fruit body which is covered with pointed brown, curved scales on the cap and stem, and by its white gills. Found in the eastern United States, France, and Pakistan, it is saprobic, growing on the decaying wood of hardwood trees. L. decorosa was first described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck as Agaricus decorosus in 1873, and the species has been transferred to several genera in its history, including Tricholoma, Tricholomopsis, Armillaria, and Floccularia. Three American mycologists considered the species unique enough to warrant its own genus, and transferred it into the new genus Leucopholiota in a 1996 publication. Lookalike species with similar colors and scaly fruit bodies include Pholiota squarrosoides, Phaeomarasmius erinaceellus, and Leucopholiota lignicola. L. decorosa is considered an edible mushroom.
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.
Paralepista flaccida is a species of mushroom found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is known to form fairy rings.
Infundibulicybe gibba, and commonly known as the common funnel or funnel cap, is a species of gilled mushroom which is common in European woods.