| Macrocybe gigantea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Callistosporiaceae |
| Genus: | Macrocybe |
| Species: | M. gigantea |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrocybe gigantea | |
Macrocybe gigantea is a species of mushroom-forming fungus that is native to India (West Bengal), Pakistan, and Nepal. [1]
The English botanist George Edward Massee described this species as Tricholoma giganteum in 1912 from material collected in Shyamnagar, West Bengal, by Ethel Maud Burkill in 1911. [2] Tricholoma was a wastebasket taxon; the species was moved into the new genus Macrocybe in 1998. [1] Specimens currently classified as M. gigantea from Pakistan and China were more closely related to each other than specimens from India. [3]
The mushroom has a smooth cap that is conical when young before expanding flattening out and can reach 30–35 cm in diameter. It is variable in colour, initially white before ageing to light grey, paler at the margin. The crowded sinuate gills are yellow. The cylindrical stipe is 15–18 cm high by 6 cm wide and is the same colour as the cap. The firm white flesh is up to 3 cm thick under the cap. The spore print is white. The oval spores measure 5.7–7.5 μm long by 4.0–5.3 μm wide. [1]
In West Bengal, M. gigantea grows in groups or sometimes fairy rings in shady or grassy areas, or in association with angiosperm trees. [4] M. gigantea has been found growing on elephant dung in Kerala state in India. [5]
Known locally as Boro dhoodh chhatu, roughly translated as "smells like milk when dried", M. gigantea is picked and sold at roadside markets in central and coastal West Bengal and cooked in mustard oil and spices. [6] In Tripura, the local Tripuri people also collect and eat this mushroom. [7] M. gigantea is able to be cultivated, with investigations showing that pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus) is a promising substrate. [8]
Volvariella is a genus of mushrooms with deep salmon pink gills and spore prints.
Tricholoma pardinum, commonly known as spotted tricholoma, tiger tricholoma, tigertop, leopard knight, or dirty trich, is a gilled mushroom widely distributed across North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. It is generally found in beech woodland in summer and autumn. Two subspecies have been described from southern Europe. First officially described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1801, T. pardinum has had a confusing taxonomic history that extends over two centuries. In 1762, German naturalist Jacob Christian Schäffer described the species Agaricus tigrinus with an illustration corresponding to what is thought to be T. pardinum, and consequently, the name Tricholoma tigrinum has been used erroneously in some European field guides.
Tricholoma ustaloides is a species of mushroom in the large genus Tricholoma. It has a widespread distribution in Europe, where it is typically found in association with oak and beech trees. Although generally considered inedible, it is consumed by some in Mexico.
Conocybe rickenii is a mushroom from the genus Conocybe. Its edibility is disputed, and it has the appearance of a typical little brown mushroom with a small, conical cap, and long, thin stem. In colour, it is generally a cream-brown, lighter on the stem, and it has a thin layer of flesh with no distinct smell or taste. It is a coprophilous fungus, feeding off dung and it is most common on very rich soil or growing directly from dung. It can be found in Europe, Australia and Pacific islands.
Coprophilous fungi are a type of saprobic fungi that grow on animal dung. The hardy spores of coprophilous species are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation, and are excreted along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish in the feces, before releasing their spores to the surrounding area.
Coprinellus micaceus, commonly known as the mica cap, glistening inky cap, or shiny cap, is a common species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae with a cosmopolitan distribution. The fruit bodies of the saprobe typically grow in clusters on or near rotting hardwood tree stumps or underground tree roots. Depending on their stage of development, the tawny-brown mushroom caps may range in shape from oval to bell-shaped to convex, and reach diameters up to 3 cm. The caps, marked with fine radial or linear grooves that extend nearly to the center, rest atop whitish stipes up to 10 cm (4 in) long. In young specimens, the entire cap surface is coated with a fine layer of reflective mica-like cells. Although small and with thin flesh, the mushrooms are usually bountiful, as they typically grow in dense clusters. A few hours after collection, the gills will begin to slowly dissolve into a black, inky, spore-laden liquid—an enzymatic process called autodigestion or deliquescence. The fruit bodies are edible before the gills blacken and dissolve, and cooking will stop the autodigestion process.
Aspropaxillus giganteus, also Leucopaxillus giganteus, commonly known as the giant leucopax or the giant funnel, is a saprobic species of fungus in the order Agaricales. As its common names imply, the fruit body, or mushroom, can become quite large—the cap reaches diameters of up to 50 cm (20 in). It has a white or pale cream cap, and is funnel-shaped when mature, with the gills running down the length of the stem. Considered by some to be a choice edible when young, this species has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is typically found growing in groups or rings in grassy pastures, roadside hedges, or woodland clearings. It has been shown to contain a bioactive compound with antibiotic properties.
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.
Pleurotus djamor, commonly known as the pink oyster mushroom, is a species of fungus in the family Pleurotaceae.
Tricholoma columbetta, commonly known as dove-coloured tricholoma, is an edible mushroom of the large genus Tricholoma. It is found in Europe, where it is eaten in France.
Tricholoma atrosquamosum, commonly known as dark-scaled knight, is an edible gilled mushroom native to Europe. The grey-capped fruit bodies are generally found singly or in small groups in deciduous woodland on chalk-based soils.
Tricholoma vaccinum, commonly known as the russet scaly tricholoma, the scaly knight, or the fuzztop, is a fungus of the agaric genus Tricholoma. It produces medium-sized fruit bodies (mushrooms) that have a distinctive hairy reddish-brown cap with a shaggy margin when young. The cap, which can reach a diameter of up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in) wide, breaks up into flattened scales in maturity. It has cream-buff to pinkish gills with brown spots. Its fibrous, hollow stipe is white above and reddish brown below, and measures 4 to 7.5 cm long. Although young fruit bodies have a partial veil, it does not leave a ring on the stipe.
Amanita zambiana, commonly known as the Zambian slender Caesar, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Amanita. An edible mushroom, it is found in Africa, where it is commonly sold in markets.
Tricholoma vernaticum is an agaric fungus of the genus Tricholoma native to the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The fungus was originally described in 1976 as a species of Armillaria when that genus was more inclusive; it received its current name twenty years later. The stout fruit bodies (mushrooms) have moist white to grayish caps, a membranous ring on the stipe, and an odor resembling cucumbers. Mycorrhizal with conifers, the fungus fruits in the spring or early summer, with its mushrooms appearing on the ground singly or in groups at high elevations, often at the edge of melting snowbanks. The edibility of the mushroom is unknown, but it has a strong unpleasant odor and a mealy taste.
Macrocybe crassa is a species of fungus that is native to Sri Lanka, India (Kerala), Thailand and Malaysia. The large pale cream to brownish mushrooms can weigh up to 1.25 kg and have 40 cm diameter caps. They are widely consumed and highly regarded.
Cantharocybe virosa is a member of the fungal family Hygrophoraceae that has been identified in India, Bangladesh and Thailand. It is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that is toxic for consumption and has no know uses in agriculture, horticulture or medicine. C. virosa is a gray to gray-brown fungus with white to yellowish-white gills that can be found in soil or on mud walls near Cocos nucifera.
Termitomyces eurrhizus species of agaric fungus in the family Lyophyllaceae native to Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, southwestern China and Malaysia. The fungus has a symbiotic relationship with termites, its mushrooms growing out of mounds after periods of rainfall. It is eaten in Malaysia and the Indian subcontinent.
Entoloma flavostipitatum is a fungus in belonging to the broad genus Entoloma. The name "flavostipitatum" is constructed using Latin, with "flavo" meaning "yellow", it refers to the mushroom's yellow stipe. The sporocarp has a light brown cap, yellow subdecurrent gills, a smooth yellow stipe, and contains basidiospores with sizes ranging from 6.5 to 8.5 × 5.5–7.5 μm. Additionally, it contains yellowish-brown cystidia with sizes of range 30–44 × 6–8.5 μm. It was discovered in Kerala, India by researchers.
Leucocoprinus straminellus is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Like other Leucocoprinus species it may have originated in a tropical climate but now finds a home in plant pots, greenhouses and compost piles in many countries. Leucocoprinus straminellus is described as being similar to the more commonly known Leucocoprinus birnbaumii but it is smaller and a lighter shade of yellow with smaller spores that lack a germ pore. It is also described as being superficially similar to Leucocoprinus fragilissimus but slightly more robust with flesh that is less translucent.
Lepiota ochrospora is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Agaricaceae.