Leucopaxillus albissimus

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Leucopaxillus albissimus
Leucopaxillus albissimus (4496737529).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Tricholomataceae
Genus: Leucopaxillus
Species:
L. albissimus
Binomial name
Leucopaxillus albissimus
(Peck) Singer (1939)
Synonyms
  • Agaricus albissimusPeck (1873)
Leucopaxillus albissimus
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svgFlat cap icon.svg Cap is convex or flat
Decurrent gills icon2.svg Hymenium is decurrent
Bare stipe icon.svg Stipe is bare
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is white
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Inedible.pngEdibility is inedible

Leucopaxillus albissimus, commonly known as the large white leucopaxillus, [1] is a species of mushroom that lives as a saprobe, decaying the litter under coniferous trees. It produces a large white fruiting body that is unusually resistant to decay. [2] [3] It is considered to be inedible. [4]

Contents

Description

The species is generally white, with albissimus meaning 'whitest' in Latin. [5]

The cap of Leucopaxillus albissimus is 4–20 cm wide, and slowly changes from convex to plane; occasionally the disc is depressed. When young, the margin is incurved and faintly striate. The cap's surface is dry, unpolished, and smooth; in moderate weather, it becomes scaled and a shade of cream to cream-buff. [6] As it ages, the cap's surface turns buff-tan. Overall, the flesh is white, moderately thick, and has a mild odor. [7] Gills are crowded, broad, and decurrent. Although they are originally cream-colored, the gills turn buff-tan with age. [8] Varying from 3–7 cm in length, the stipe of Leucopaxillus albissimus is 2.5–4 cm thick, stout, and often enlarged at the base. The surface of the stipe varies from smooth to finely-scaled and is a cream color when young; it may turn buff-tan in age. When handled, it bruises pale buff-brown at the base. [9]

Leucopaxillus albissimus has a white spore print. The elliptical spores are ornamented with amyloid warts. The spores measure 5–7 x 3.5–5  μm. [10]

While the biological reason for the trait is unknown, the species demonstrates a tendency not to rot. [5]

Leucopaxillus albissimus spores Leucopaxillus albissimus spores.jpg
Leucopaxillus albissimus spores

Habitat

Primarily residing under conifers and hardwoods, Leucopaxillus albimissus is often scattered or gregarious in arcs or rings. It fruits from mid to late winter in California, and in autumn in other parts of North America. [11]

Similar species

Leucopaxillus gentianeus is closely related. Clitocybe species may appear similar due to the decurrent gills. [12]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Aspropaxillus giganteus</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Agaricus albolutescens</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Agaricus perobscurus</i> Species of fungus

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

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<i>Armillaria nabsnona</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Lactarius subflammeus</i> Species of fungus

Lactarius subflammeus, commonly known as the orange milk cap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is found in western North America in the late summer and fall and is especially common in the Pacific Northwest, where it grows on the ground near conifers like pine and spruce. The brightly colored fruit bodies, which are slimy or sticky, have scarlet caps when young that soon fade to brilliant orange. The stem—typically longer than the width of the cap—is also bright orange but the gills are whitish. The mushroom secretes a whitish latex when it is cut or injured.

<i>Lactarius alnicola</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Lactarius argillaceifolius</i> Species of fungus

Lactarius argillaceifolius is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The mushrooms produced by the fungus have convex to flattened drab lilac-colored caps that are up to 18 cm (7.1 in) wide. The cream-colored gills are closely spaced together and extend slightly down the length of the stem, which is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long by 3.5 cm (1.4 in) thick. The mushroom produces an off-white latex when injured that stains the mushroom tissue brownish.

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

Hygrophorus bakerensis, commonly known as the Mt. Baker waxy cap, the brown almond waxy cap or the tawny almond waxy cap, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is characterized by its medium to large, relatively slender-statured fruit bodies with an almond odor, and growth often on or near rotting conifer wood. The slimy cap is brown in the center and cream to white near its curved edges. The gills and the stem are white, and in moist environments are often covered with droplets of a translucent liquid. The mushroom is known only from the United States, where it is common in coniferous forests throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was initially collected in Washington State on Mount Baker, a volcano. Although edible, the mushroom is not considered to be of high quality.

<i>Picipes badius</i> Species of fungus

Picipes badius, commonly known as the black-footed polypore or black-leg, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It causes a white rot of hardwoods and conifers. The species is found in temperate areas of Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. It has a dark brown or reddish-brown cap that reaches a diameter of 25 cm (9.8 in), and a stipe that is often completely black or brown at the top and black at the base.

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

Clitocybe albirhiza, commonly known as the snowmelt clitocybe, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae. It is found in high-elevation locations in the western United States.

<i>Lentinellus montanus</i> Species of fungus

Lentinellus montanus is a species of agaric fungus in the family Auriscalpiaceae. It is found at high elevations in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, where it fruits singly or in clumps on decaying conifer wood.

<i>Lactarius pseudomucidus</i> Species of fungus

Lactarius pseudomucidus, commonly known as the slimy milk cap, is a fungus native to the northwestern part of North America, often found in coastal and conifer forests. It has a charcoal brown cap, smooth and slimy, from 2–10 cm across, initially flat convex, becoming shallowly depressed. The gills are decurrent, white with a gray or yellow tinge, staining brownish. The stipe is 40–100 mm tall, hollow, brittle. Both the cap and stipe are mucilaginous. The flesh is gray and the latex is milky white, drying yellowish. There is only a slight odor, and the taste slowly becomes acrid. Spores are white in mass, ellipsoid, amyloid, about 8 μm long, with a reticulate decoration on the surface. The species is inedible. It resembles Lactarius argillaceifolius, which has a light orange-gray cap, and eastern North America's Lactarius mucidus. It's edibility is unknown, but the extremely viscid stalk and cap are a deterrent.

References

  1. Thiers, Harry D.; Arora, David (September 1980). "Mushrooms Demystified". Mycologia. 72 (5): 1054. doi:10.2307/3759750. ISSN   0027-5514.
  2. "Rogers Mushrooms ; Mushroom Pictures & Mushroom Reference". Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  3. Wood, Michael; Fred Stevens. "California Fungi—Leucopaxillus albissimus". MykoWeb. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  4. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 67. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
  5. 1 2 Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 111. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.
  6. McKenny et al.: p. 83
  7. Kuo, M. (February 2007). "Leucopaxillus albissimus". MushroomExpert.Com. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  8. Arora (1986) p. 167
  9. Arora (1991): p. 58
  10. Lincoff GH (1981). The Audubon Society field guide to North American mushrooms. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   0-394-51992-2.
  11. Miller: sp. 160
  12. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 138. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.