The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words makros "long" and kube "head".[1]
Description
The species form huge, pale, fleshy fruit bodies that often grow in clumps on dead wood in the ground. The weight of the cluster may exceed 30kg.[1] The caps are convex to depressed, and sometimes have a central boss (umbo), and are white to cream or pale ochre or grey. One species, M. titans, has a cap that can reach a metre (40in) in diameter. The white gills are sinuate. The flesh is white and does not change colour when bruised. The stipe is white and often has a swollen base. The spore print is white. The round to oval spores are less than 10 micrometres long and smooth.[1]
Habitat
The species are saprotrophic, generally growing on dead wood in grass.[1] One species, M. gigantea, has been found growing on elephant dung in Kerala state in India,[3] and M. crassa has been cultivated on horse manure in Thailand.[1]
Edibility
Several species are edible and eaten locally in Africa and southern Asia.[1][4] An undescribed species is eaten by the Patamona people in Guyana.[5] Although edible, some species do contain traces of cyanide that require cooking to eliminate.[1]
Species
Eight species have been described,[1][2] though it is not yet clear that they are all distinct.[2]
M. crassa – Sri Lanka, India (Kerala), Malaysia, Thailand
M. gigantea – India (West Bengal), Pakistan, Nepal
1 2 3 4 Vizzini A, Consiglio G, Marchetti M (2020). "Insights into the Tricholomatineae (Agaricales, Agaricomycetes): a new arrangement of Biannulariaceae and Callistosporium, Callistosporiaceae fam. nov., Xerophorus stat. nov., and Pleurocollybia incorporated into Callistosporium". Fungal Diversity. 101: 211–259. doi:10.1007/s13225-020-00441-x. S2CID211729095.
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