Lepiota clypeolaria

Lepiota clypeolaria
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Agaricaceae
Genus:	Lepiota
Species:	L. clypeolaria
Binomial name
Lepiota clypeolaria (Bull.) P.Kumm. (1871)
Synonyms [1]
Lepiota ochraceosulfurescensLocq. ex Bon (1981) Agaricus clypeolariusBull. (1789)

Lepiota clypeolaria, commonly known as the shield dapperling or the shaggy-stalked Lepiota, is a common mushroom in the genus Lepiota . It is widely distributed in northern temperate zones, where it grows in deciduous and coniferous forests. The fruit bodies have a brownish cap, a shaggy stipe with a collapsed, sheathing ring or ring zone, and spindle-shaped spores.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1789 as Agaricus clypeolarius by French mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois Bulliard. Paul Kummer transferred it to Lepiota in 1871. ^[1] It is commonly known as the "shaggy-stalked Lepiota". ^[2]

L. clypeolaria is probably the best known of the section Fusisporae within genus Lepiota, whose members are characterized by long spindle-shaped spores and a fluffy stem beneath the ring. ^[3]

Description

Lepiota clypeolaria Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is campanulate or convex
	Hymenium is free
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is white
	Edibility is unknown or poisonous

The cap is egg-shaped when young, soon broadly bell-shaped and has pale straw- or orange-brown scales on a pale background. The central umbo is covered with a well-delimited uniform disk of the same colour as the scales. It grows to a diameter of 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in). The gills are white, crowded, free from attachment to the stipe. ^[4]

The white stem has an indistinct ring, below which it is coarsely woolly, giving an appearance which is sometimes described as "booted". The stipe, which measures 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) long by 0.3–1 cm (0.12–0.39 in) thick, is hollow and slender, expanding slightly at the base into a club shape. The flesh is white and has an unpleasant smell. ^[4]

The spore print is white. The spores are fuse-shaped (fusiform), meaning that they are tapered at both ends. They have dimensions of 12–16 by 5–6  μm. Cystidia on the gill edge (cheilocystidia) are club-shaped to cylindrical, and measure 20–40 by 5–15 μm. ^[4]

Similar species

Forma ochraceosulfurescens

Lepiota ochraceosulfurescens may be distinguished as having a less defined dark area in the cap centre, a smell of rubber or melted butter, and yellow flesh in the stipe base, ^[5] but in Species Fungorum and Funga Nordica this name is regarded as a synonym. ^{[1] [6]}

Lepiota magnispora is similar in appearance but has brighter colours with a more intensely coloured cap center and longer spores. ^[7]

Habitat and distribution

The fruit bodies grow singly or in small groups on the ground in deciduous and coniferous forests. A common species, it is widespread in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and has been reported from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. ^[8] Fruiting occurs in autumn. ^[2] In China, it is known from the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Yunnan. ^[8]

Toxicity

L. clypeolaria is considered poisonous, ^[9] but more importantly, it resembles some of the more deadly species of its genus. ^[10]

See also

• Fungi portal

• List of Lepiota species

References

1. "Species Synonymy: Lepiota clypeolaria (Bull.) P. Kumm., Führ. Pilzk. (Zerbst): 137 (1871)". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
2. Laessoe T. (2002). Mushrooms. Smithsonian Handbooks (2nd ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley Adult. p. 168. ISBN   978-0-7894-8986-9.
3. Courtecuisse, R.; Duhem, B. (2013). Champignons de France et d'Europe (in French). Delachaux et Niestlé. p. 282. ISBN   978-2-603-02038-8. Also available in English.
4. Courtecuisse R. (1999). Mushrooms of Britain and Europe. Collins Wildlife Trust Guides. London, UK: Harpercollins. pp. 597–8. ISBN   978-0-00-220012-7.
5. Eyssartier, Guillaume; Roux, Pierre (2013). Le Guide des Champignons France et Europe (in French). Paris: Belin. p. 332. ISBN   978-2-7011-8289-6.
6. Knudsen, H.; Vesterholt, J., eds. (2008). Funga Nordica Agaricoid, boletoid and cyphelloid genera. Copenhagen: Nordsvamp. p. 548. ISBN   978-87-983961-3-0.
7. Kuo M. (October 2007). "Lepiota clypeolaria". MushroomExpert. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
8. Bi ZS, Zheng GY, Li TH (1993). The Macrofungus Flora of China's Guangdong Province. Chinese University Press. p. 386. ISBN   978-962-201-556-2.
9. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 35. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
10. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 57. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.

Further reading

• E. Garnweidner. Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe. Collins. 1994.
• H. Knudsen & J. Vesterholt. Funga Nordica. Agaricoid, boletoid and cyphelloid genera. Nordsvamp, Copenhagen 2008.