Stropharia ambigua

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Stropharia ambigua
Stropharia ambigua.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Strophariaceae
Genus: Stropharia
Species:
S. ambigua
Binomial name
Stropharia ambigua
(Peck) Zeller (1914)
Synonyms
  • Hypholoma ambiguumPeck (1898)
Stropharia ambigua
Information icon.svg
Gills icon.png Gills on hymenium
Convex cap icon.svg Cap is convex
Adnate gills icon2.svg Hymenium is adnate
Ring stipe icon.svg Stipe has a ring
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Spore print is purple-brown
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic
Mycomorphbox Question.pngEdibility is unknown

Stropharia ambigua, sometimes known as the questionable Stropharia, is a saprotrophic agaric mushroom, commonly fruiting in leaf litter and wood chips in the Pacific Northwest. [1]

Contents

Description

The cap is 3 to 15 cm (1+18 to 5+78 in) broad, obtuse to convex, becoming flat or uplifted in age; it has a smooth surface, is slimy when moist, and yellowish. [2] The edge may have bits of white veil hanging from it. [1] The flesh is white, thick, and soft. The gills are pale gray and gradually darkens to purplish-gray or purplish-black. [2] The gills occasionally pull away from the stipe with age. [3] The stipe is 6 to 18 cm (2+38 to 7+18 in) long, 1–2 cm wide [4] and is stuffed or hollow. It may have bits of white veil hanging from it and, less commonly, a brittle ring. [1] The veil is soft and white. The spore print is dark purplish to nearly black. The species fruits in the spring and fall. [2] It does not have a volva. [3] The species has been said to taste like old leaves. [5]

Edibility

Alexander Hanchett Smith and Nancy S. Weber state that the species is not poisonous. [2] Contrarily, one source regards it as possibly poisonous. [6] Because of conflicting reports on its edibility, the authors David Arora, Orson K. Miller, Jr. and Hope Miller do not recommend eating the species. [3] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Stropharia ambigua appears in late fall as a solitary to scattered mushroom or in groups on rich humus, usually under conifers. It can also be found with alder and other hardwoods in the Pacific Coast. [5] It has frequently been found in disturbed areas, such as where wood was handled. [2] The species will colonize outdoor mushroom beds after wood chips have been decomposed by a primary saprotroph. [8] It favors a cold and damp environment. [3]

Similar species

Similar species include Stropharia aeruginosa , S. coronilla , [4] S. riparia, [1] and S. semiglobata . [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partial veil</span> Mushroom anatomy

In mycology, a partial veil is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, typically agarics. Its role is to isolate and protect the developing spore-producing surface, represented by gills or tubes, found on the lower surface of the cap. A partial veil, in contrast to a universal veil, extends from the stem surface to the cap edge. The partial veil later disintegrates, once the fruiting body has matured and the spores are ready for dispersal. It might then give rise to a stem ring, or fragments attached to the stem or cap edge. In some mushrooms, both a partial veil and a universal veil may be present.

<i>Leratiomyces ceres</i> Species of fungus

Leratiomyces ceres, commonly known as the chip cherry or redlead roundhead, is mushroom which has a bright red to orange cap and dark purple-brown spore deposit. It is usually found growing gregariously on wood chips and is one of the most common and most distinctive mushrooms found in that habitat. It is common on wood chips and lawns in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. The name Stropharia aurantiaca has been used extensively but incorrectly for this mushroom.

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

Agaricus bitorquis, commonly known as torq, banded agaric, spring agaric, banded agaricus, urban agaricus, or pavement mushroom, is an edible white mushroom of the genus Agaricus, similar to the common button mushroom that is sold commercially. The name supersedes Agaricus rodmani.

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

Clitocybe nebularis or Lepista nebularis, commonly known as the clouded agaric, cloudy clitocybe, or cloud funnel, is an abundant gilled fungus which appears both in conifer-dominated forests and broad-leaved woodland in Europe and North America. Appearing in Britain from mid to late autumn, it is edible, but may cause gastrointestinal issues.

<i>Gymnopilus sapineus</i> Species of fungus

Gymnopilus sapineus, commonly known as the scaly rustgill or common and boring gymnopilus, is a small and widely distributed mushroom which grows in dense clusters on dead conifer wood. It has a rusty orange spore print and a bitter taste. This species does not stain blue and lacks the hallucinogen psilocybin.

<i>Stropharia aeruginosa</i> Species of fungus

Stropharia aeruginosa, commonly known as the blue-green stropharia, or verdigris agaric, is a medium-sized green, slimy woodland mushroom, found on lawns, mulch and woodland from spring to autumn. The edibility of this mushroom is controversial - some sources claim that it is edible, while others claim it to be poisonous, although effects are little known and its toxic constituents undescribed.

<i>Leucoagaricus leucothites</i> Species of fungus

Leucoagaricus leucothites, commonly known as the smooth parasol, woman on motorcycle, ma'am on motorcycle, white dapperling, or white agaricus mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus. The species was originally described as Agaricus leucothites by Carlo Vittadini in 1835, and bears similarity to species of that genus. Solomon Wasser transferred it to Leucoagaricus in 1977. While sometimes regarded as edible, the species is suspected of being poisonous due to gastric-upset-causing toxins. It could also be confused with the deadly Amanita ocreata.

<i>Russula fragilis</i> Species of fungus

Russula fragilis, commonly known as the fragile russula, or fragile brittlegill, is a species of mushroom of the genus Russula, whose members are commonly known as brittlegills. It is a small, fragile, long stemmed, and variably coloured brittlegill, found in mixed forests, and woods in Europe, Asia, and North America.

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

Agaricus placomyces is a toxic basidiomycete fungus of the genus Agaricus. It is found in North America; the Eurasian populations formerly known by the same scientific name are nowadays known as A. moelleri, while the present species may also be referred to as A. praeclaresquamosus.

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

Agaricus albolutescens, commonly known as the amber-staining agaricus, is a moderate-sized, stocky-statured mushroom with a pleasant odor; it bruises slowly but persistently yellow.

<i>Lepiota castanea</i> Species of fungus

Lepiota castanea, commonly known as the chestnut dapperling or petite parasol, is a deadly poisonous, uncommon, gilled mushroom of the genus Lepiota in the order Agaricales. It is known to contain amatoxins and consuming this fungus can be a potentially lethal proposition. It was described by French mycologist Lucien Quélet in 1881.

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

Hygrophorus subalpinus, commonly known as the subalpine waxycap, is a species of white snowbank fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the mountains of western North America, it is found growing on the ground under conifers, usually near snowbanks.

<i>Russula albidula</i> Species of fungus

Russula albidula is a species of mushroom in the genus Russula. The species, known in the vernacular as the boring white russula or the whitish brittlegill, is nondescript, with a small or medium dirty white fruit body, and a highly acrid taste. It is found in eastern North America.

<i>Agrocybe pediades</i> Species of fungus

Agrocybe pediades, commonly known as the common agrocybe, is a typically lawn and other types of grassland mushroom, but can also grow on mulch containing horse manure. It was first described as Agaricus pediades by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1821, and moved to its current genus Agrocybe by Victor Fayod in 1889. A synonym for this mushroom is Agrocybe semiorbicularis, though some guides list these separately. Technically it is edible, but it could be confused with poisonous species, including one of the genus Hebeloma.

<i>Suillus tomentosus</i> Species of fungus

Suillus tomentosus is a species of mushroom. The common names of the species are blue-staining slippery Jack, poor man's slippery Jack, and woolly-capped suillus.

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

Hygrophorus purpurascens, commonly known as the purple-red waxy cap, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hygrophoraceae. Its cap has a pink background color with streaks of purplish red overlaid, and mature gills have red spots.

<i>Floccularia albolanaripes</i> Species of fungus

Floccularia albolanaripes is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Mushrooms are characterized by their yellow caps with a brownish center and scales over the margin, and the conspicuous remains of a partial veil that is left on the stipe. The species grows in the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains of North America, and in India.

<i>Ramaria magnipes</i> Species of fungus

Ramaria magnipes is a coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. It is found in western North America, where it fruits on the ground in mixed forests.

<i>Stropharia coronilla</i> Species of fungus

Stropharia coronilla, commonly known as the garland roundhead or garland stropharia, is a species of mushroom native to Europe and North America. It is considered poisonous, and is sometimes mistaken for species of Agaricus.

<i>Hygrocybe flavescens</i> Species of fungus

Hygrocybe flavescens, commonly known as the golden waxy cap, is a species of Hygrocybe described from Michigan. It is considered nonpoisonous to humans. The species can be found in various forests and woodlands.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 210–211. ISBN   978-0-88192-935-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Alexander Hanchett; Weber, Nancy S. (1980). The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide. University of Michigan Press. pp. 225–226. ISBN   978-0-472-85610-7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Arora, David (1991). All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms. Ten Speed Press. p. 126. ISBN   978-0-89815-388-0.
  4. 1 2 3 Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.
  5. 1 2 Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi . Ten Speed Press. p.  378. ISBN   978-0-89815-169-5.
  6. Multiple authors, Fuller Thomas C.; McClintock, Elizabeth May (1986). Poisonous Plants of California. University of California Press. p. 53. ISBN   978-0-520-05569-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. K. Miller, Orson; Miller, Hope (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Globe Pequot. p. 256. ISBN   978-0-7627-3109-1.
  8. Stamets, Paul (2000). Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Ten Speed Press. p. 12. ISBN   978-1-58008-175-7.