Conocybe rugosa

Conocybe rugosa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Bolbitiaceae
Genus:	Conocybe
Species:	C. rugosa
Binomial name
Conocybe rugosa (Peck) Watling (1981)
Synonyms [1]
Pholiota rugosaPeck (1898) Pholiotina rugosa(Peck) Singer (1946) Pholiotina filaris var. rugosa(Peck) Singer (1950)

Conocybe rugosa Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is conical or flat
	Hymenium is adnexed
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is brown to reddish-brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is deadly

Conocybe rugosa is a common and highly toxic species of mushroom that is widely distributed and especially common in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It grows in woodchips, flowerbeds and compost piles. ^{[2] [3]} It has been found in Europe, Asia and North America. ^{[2] [3]} Conocybe rugosa was originally described in the genus Pholiotina , and its morphology and a 2013 molecular phylogenetics study supported its continued classification there. ^[4]

Description

Conocybe rugosa has a conical cap that expands to flat, usually with an umbo. It is less than 3 cm across, has a smooth brown top, and the margin is often striate. The gills are rusty brown, close, and adnexed. The stalk is 2 mm thick and 1 to 6 cm long, smooth, and brown, with a prominent and movable ring. The spores are rusty brown, and it may be difficult to identify the species without a microscope. ^[5]

Toxicity

This species is deadly poisonous, ^[6] the fruiting bodies containing alpha-amanitin, a cyclic peptide that is highly toxic to the liver and is responsible for many deaths by poisoning from mushrooms in the genera Amanita and Lepiota . They are sometimes mistaken for species of the genus Psilocybe due to their similar looking cap.

See also

• List of deadly fungi

References

1. "GSD Species Synonymy Conocybe rugosa (Peck) Watling (1981)". Species Fungorum. Kew Mycology (2015). Retrieved 2024-02-28.
2. Hausknecht A, Krisai-Greilhuber I, Voglmayr H (2004). "Type studies in North American species of Bolbitiaceae belonging to the genera Conocybe and Pholiotina". Österreichische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde. 13: 153–235.
3. Hausknecht, Anton; Kalamees, Kuulo; Knudsen, Henning; Mukhin, Viktor (2009). "The genera Conocybe and Pholiotina (Agaricomycotina, Bolbitiaceae) in temperate Asia" (PDF). Folia Cryptogamica Estonica. 1345: 23–47.
4. Tóth, Annamária; Hausknecht, Anton; Krisai-Greilhuber, Irmgard; Papp, Tamás; Vágvölgyi, Csaba Vágvölgyi; Nagy, László G. (2013). "Iteratively Refined Guide Trees Help Improving Alignment and Phylogenetic Inference in the Mushroom Family Bolbitiaceae". PLOS ONE. 8 (2): e56143. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...856143T. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056143 . PMC   3572013 . PMID   23418526.
5. Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 179–180. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.
6. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 214. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.