Saproamanita thiersii

Last updated

Saproamanita thiersii
Amanita thiersii 121772.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Amanitaceae
Genus: Saproamanita
Species:
S. thiersii
Binomial name
Saproamanita thiersii
(Bas) Redhead, Vizzini, Drehmel & Contu (2016)
Synonyms [1]
  • Amanita thiersiiBas (1969)
  • Amanita albaThiers (1957)
Saproamanita thiersii
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svg Cap is convex
Free gills icon2.svg Hymenium is free
Ring and volva stipe icon.svg Stipe has a ring and volva
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is white
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Poison.pngEdibility is poisonous

Saproamanita thiersii (formerly Amanita thiersii), commonly called Thiers' lepidella, is a North American saprotrophic basidiomycete fungus in the genus Saproamanita . It is a white, small mushroom. Its cap is convex, measuring 3.5–10 centimetres (1+12–4 inches) across, and the stipe is 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long. The spore print is white.

Contents

Originally described from Texas but today found in ten states of North America, the mushroom grows in lawns, pastures and prairies. It is a saprotroph, living on decaying plant material, and not mycorrhizal as is the case with species of Amanita , where it was previously placed. Fruit bodies appear during July and August, either in isolation or in groups, and often form fairy rings. A genome sequencing project aims to study the cellulose decomposition capabilities of the fungus. It is probably poisonous.

Taxonomy

Sapromanita thiersii was first described in 1957 by American mycologist Harry Delbert Thiers, who had spotted it on a campus lawn when he was a student. [2] He named it Amanita alba but that name was disallowed as it had already been used for another species. In 1969 it was renamed by the Dutch mycologist Cornelis Bas as Amanita thiersii in honour of its finder. [3] It used to be placed in the genus Amanita [4] in the section Lepidella and subsection Vittadiniae. [5] Bas created the stirps (an informal ranking below species level) Thiersii, in which he placed S. thiersii along with A. albofloccosa , A. aureofloccosa , A. foetens and A. praeclara . [4] The mushroom is commonly called "Thiers' lepidella". [4]

Then in 2016 Scott Redhead and his associates created the genus Saproamanita for the saprophytic members of Amanita (sensu largo) but the new name Saproamanita thiersii is very controversial and not broadly accepted. [1] [6] [7]

Description

Stipe and cap of the mushroom Amanita thiersii 258501.jpg
Stipe and cap of the mushroom

The cap is white and dry, measuring 3.5–10 centimetres (1+12–4 inches) wide, and convex in shape (conico- or plano-convex). It often has a broad low umbo. The cap's flesh may be 10 millimetres (12 in) thick. At first the cap is covered by the soft, white fragmentary remains of the universal veil, which become more widely separated as the cap expands. They are shaggy and somewhat sticky. [4] [8]

The gills are of varying lengths. They are free from the stipe and vary from crowded to widely spaced. They may be narrow or broad and are white to creamy yellow in color. The stipe is white and is 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long and 10–20 mm (1234 in) wide. In some specimens, the stipe bruises to a yellow color. It is either hollow or lightly stuffed with a cottony tissue. [9] The bulb at the base is slightly broader than the rest of the stipe. The bulb is 2.5 cm (1 in) long and 2.2 cm (78 in) wide. A shaggy, drooping ring is present which is often shed before maturity. [4]

Spores of S. thiersii are white and roughly spherical. They measure approximately 7.8–9.8 by 7.3–9.0  μm and are amyloid. [4] In an analysis, both monokaryotic (one nucleus per cell) and dikaryotic (two nuclei per cell) strains were isolated from fruit bodies. All the spores were found to be binucleate but the researchers believed that in the monokaryotic strain, the second nucleus had failed to pass through the germ tube. [3]

The odor of this mushroom is indistinct but with age can become unpleasant, like that of decay or cheese. The fungus is said to taste oily bitter [10] or bitter metallic. [4]

Identification

S. thiersii may be gathered inadvertently and thought to be edible due to the fact that it grows on lawns among grasses. This is in contrast to Amanita species, which grow around trees and are thus usually seen in forests. It can be distinguished from other white fungi growing in grassland by its fluffy cap, though the white veil fragments may eventually get washed away by rain. [11]

It is similar in appearance to a number of Amanita species. It can be distinguished from A. praegraveolens microscopically by the absence of clamp connections between the cells in S. thiersii. [12] Both S. thiersii and A. aureofloccosa have hollow stems but the latter has a more tapering stipe and the whole fruit body is yellower. [9] [13] A. silvifuga is another species that grows in similar locations in grassland in Texas and H. D. Thiers described the taste of both it and A. thiersii as being bitter. It can be distinguished by its darker coloration and more warted appearance. [9] [14]

Distribution and habitat

A specimen of S. thiersii Amanita thiersii 260826.jpg
A specimen of S. thiersii

Saproamanita thiersii inhabits lawns, pastures and prairies throughout the Mississippi River Basin. It often forms fairy rings [15] or arcs but also sometimes fruits as isolated specimens. It has been found growing in the same lawn as Chlorophyllum molybdites . [8] Analysis using stable carbon isotopes has proved that this mushroom is saprotrophic in nature, unlike the other mycorrhizal Amanitas. [3] [16]

The fruit bodies of S. thiersii grow during the mid or late summer until early fall. [11] Since it was first reported in 1952 in Texas, this species has been expanding its range. It appeared in southern Illinois in the 1990s and has since spread to central Illinois, where it is the most common mushroom found in lawns during July and August. [17] Today it occurs in nine states including Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois. [3] It also occurs in Mexico. [4]

Genome project

The main source from which S. thiersii derives its carbon is the cellulose of the decomposing plant material found in its grassland habitat. [3] The enzymes that degrade cellulose are homologous to the enzymes used by ectomycorrhizal fungi that have symbiotic associations with plant roots. In an attempt to identify the genes involved in these processes, researchers at the United States Department of Energy and University of Wisconsin are jointly working to sequence the S. thiersii genome and to compare it with that of Amanita bisporigera , a species which forms mycorrhizal relationships with tree [18] and which has already been partly sequenced. They hope to better understand the genetic pathways involved in the evolution of ectomycorrhizal associations. Another research objective is to establish whether the enzymes used by S. thiersii to degrade cellulose can be cost-effectively used in the conversion of crop residues into biofuels. S. thiersii seems to be expanding its range northwards and its genome may provide clues as to how it is adapting to climate change and further information on mycorrhizal relationships. [19]

This research has shown that there was a single origin of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis in the genus Amanita. DNA analysis has shown that a group of species in the subsection Vittadiniae (which includes S. thiersii) has few derived characteristics. This clade has a single ancestor (or a very small number) and seems to have come into being at a very early stage in the evolution of the genus. [4] [20]

Toxicity

The species is suspected of being toxic as is the case in most of its close relatives. Handling the mushroom is harmless; poisoning occurs only on ingestion. [11] A case of poisoning that may have been caused by S. thiersii has been reported from the state of Puebla, Mexico. The outcome of this case is unknown. Symptoms of poisoning in humans include reversible impairment of kidney function. A Meixner test revealed that amatoxins were not involved in the Puebla case. [4] [11] The species is harvested in Mexico under the Spanish name hongos de neblina. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Amanita gemmata, commonly known as the gemmed amanita or the jonquil amanita, is an agaric mushroom of the family Amanitaceae and genus Amanita. The fruit body has a cap that is a dull to golden shade of yellow, and typically 2.5–12 centimetres in diameter. The cap surface is sticky when moist, and characterized by white warts, which are easily detached. It is initially convex, and flattens out when mature. The flesh is white and does not change colour when cut. The gills are white and closely spaced. The stem is pale yellow, and measures 4–12 cm long by 0.5–1.9 cm thick. The partial veil that covers the young fruit body turns into the ring on the stem at maturity. The spore print is white. It resembles numerous other species.

<i>Amanita cokeri</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Amanita arocheae</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Amanita ovoidea</i> Species of fungus

The European white egg, bearded amanita or European egg amidella, is a species of fungus of the genus Amanita in the family Amanitaceae. It is a large, white-colored fungus, often tinged with cream. Native to Europe, it is found on plains as well as mountains in the Mediterranean region. It is similar to some deadly poisonous species.

<i>Amanita smithiana</i> Species of fungus

Amanita smithiana, also known as Smith's amanita, is a species of agaric found on soil in coniferous and broadleaved woodland in the Pacific Northwest of North America. It fruits in August and September.

<i>Amanita abrupta</i> Species of fungus

Amanita abrupta, commonly known as the American abrupt-bulbed amanita or the American abrupt-bulbed lepidella, is a possibly toxic species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. Named for the characteristic shape of its fruit bodies, this white Amanita has a slender stem, a cap covered with conical white warts, and an "abruptly enlarged" swollen base. This terrestrial species grows in mixed woods in eastern North America and eastern Asia, where it is thought to exist in a mycorrhizal relationship with a variety of both coniferous and deciduous tree species.

<i>Amanita daucipes</i> Species of fungus

Amanita daucipes is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae of the mushroom order Agaricales. Found exclusively in North America, the mushroom may be recognized in the field by the medium to large white caps with pale orange tints, and the dense covering of pale orange or reddish-brown powdery conical warts on the cap surface. The mushroom also has a characteristic large bulb at the base of its stem with a blunt short rooting base, whose shape is suggestive of the common names carrot-footed lepidella, carrot-foot amanita, or turnip-foot amanita. The mushroom has a strong odor that has been described variously as "sweet and nauseous", or compared to an old ham bone, or soap. Edibility is unknown for the species, but consumption of species belonging to Amanita subgroup Lepidella is risky.

<i>Amanita onusta</i> Species of fungus

Amanita onusta, commonly known as the loaded Lepidella, the gunpowder Lepidella or the gunpowder amanita, is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Amanitaceae. It is characterized by its small to medium-sized fruit bodies that have white to pale gray caps crowded with roughly conical, pyramidal, or irregular gray warts. The stipe is whitish-gray with woolly or wart-like veil remnants, and at the base is a spindle- or turnip-shaped base that is rooted somewhat deeply in the soil.

<i>Amanita bisporigera</i> Poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae endemic to North America

Amanita bisporigera is a deadly poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is commonly known as the eastern destroying angel amanita, the eastern North American destroying angel or just as the destroying angel, although the fungus shares this latter name with three other lethal white Amanita species, A. ocreata, A. verna and A. virosa. The mushroom has a smooth white cap that can reach up to 10 centimetres across and a stipe up to 14 cm tall with a white skirt-like ring near the top. The bulbous stipe base is covered with a membranous sac-like volva. The white gills are free from attachment to the stalk and crowded closely together. As the species name suggests, A. bisporigera typically bears two spores on the basidia, although this characteristic is not immutable. A. bisporigera closely resembles a few other white amanitas, including the equally deadly A. virosa and A. verna.

<i>Amanita ravenelii</i> Species of fungus

Amanita ravenelii, commonly known as the pinecone lepidella, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. The whitish fruit bodies are medium to large, with caps up to 17 centimetres wide, and stems up to 25 cm (10 in) long. The cap surface has large warts and the stem has a scaly, bulbous base. The mushrooms have a unique chlorine like odor.

<i>Amanita rubrovolvata</i> Species of fungus

Amanita rubrovolvata, commonly known as the red volva amanita, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. The fungus produces small to medium-sized mushrooms, with reddish-orange caps up to 6.5 centimetres wide. The stems are up to 10 cm (4 in) tall, cream-coloured above the ring and cream to yellowish below it. The stem ends in a roughly spherical bulb at the base, which is covered with bright orange patches.

<i>Amanita ceciliae</i> Species of fungus

Amanita ceciliae, commonly called snakeskin grisette, strangulated amanita, and the Cecilia's ringless amanita, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Amanita. First described in 1854 by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Christopher Edmund Broome, it was given its current name by Cornelis Bas in 1984. It is characterized by bearing a large fruit body with a brown cap 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) across. The cap has charcoal-grey patches, which are easily removable. The stipe is 7–18 cm (2.8–7.1 in) long, white in colour, and there is no ring on it. It is slightly tapered to the top and has irregular cottony bands girdling the base. The universal veil is grey. Spores are white, spherical in shape, non-amyloid, and measure 10.2–11.7 micrometres. The mushrooms are considered edible, but field guides typically advise caution in selecting them for consumption, due to risks of confusion with similar toxic species. A. ceciliae is found in woods throughout Europe and North America, where it fruits during summer and autumn.

<i>Saproamanita vittadinii</i> Species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae

Saproamanita vittadinii, commonly known as the Vittadini's lepidella, is a European saprophyte mushroom classified in the genus Saproamanita. Unlike some Amanitas, this species is known to occur without accompanying woody plant symbionts. It has a general aspect somewhat between Macrolepiota and Armillaria, but it is characterized by a pure white colour overall and by the squamous (scaly) covering of cap and stipe.

<i>Amanita augusta</i> Species of fungus

Amanita augusta, commonly known as the western yellow-veil or western yellow-veiled amanita, is a small tannish-brown mushroom with cap colors bright yellow to dark brown and various combinations of the two colors. The mushroom is often recognizable by the fragmented yellow remnants of the universal veil. This mushroom grows year-round in the Pacific Northwest but fruiting tends to occur in late fall to mid-winter. The fungus grows in an ectomycorrhizal relationship with hardwoods and conifers often in mixed woodlands.

<i>Amanita ananiceps</i> Species of fungus

Amanita ananiceps is a species of agaric fungus in the family Amanitaceae native to Australia.

<i>Saproamanita</i> Genus of fungi

The genus Saproamanita contains about 24 species of agarics and is one of six genera in the family Amanitaceae, of which the similar Amanita is also a member. Saproamanita differs from Amanita in that its species are saprophytic, and not ectomycorrhizal.

<i>Amanita crenulata</i> Toxic species of mushroom

Amanita crenulata, also known as the poison champagne amanita, is a species of fungus that is very common in the Northeast United States.

<i>Saproamanita praeclara</i> Species of fungus

Saproamanita praeclara, or the playing field lepidella, is a species of fungus from South Africa.

<i>Saproamanita inopinata</i> Species of fungus

Saproamanita inopinata, commonly called unexpected anamita, is a basidomycete fungus in the subgenus Saproamanita. This species was previously called Anamita inopinata, before being briefly renamed to Aspidella inopinata until it received its current name. The native range is currently unknown, with it currently being considered introduced into both New Zealand and England.

<i>Zhuliangomyces illinitus</i> Species of fungus

Zhuliangomyces illinitus is a mushroom-forming fungus species of genus Zhuliangomyces in the family Amanitaceae in the order Agaricales. It has been known most recently as Limacella illinita. Also known previously as Agaricus illinitus and Mastocephalus illinitus. This fungus is known for its distinctive slimy cap. Z. illinitus is commonly known as the dripping slimecap or the overflowing slimy stem.

References

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  12. Smith, A. H. (1975). Studies on Higher Fungi: A Collection of Papers Dedicated to Dr. Alexander H. Smith on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday. J. Cramer.
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  14. "Amanita silvifuga ". Amanitaceae.org. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
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  21. Rodríguez Hernández, Alicia (2018). Aspectos bioculturales de Saproamanita thiersii (Fungi: Agaricales) en el municipio de Apaxco de Ocampo, Estado de México (PDF) (Thesis). Univeridad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.