Stropharia ambigua

Stropharia ambigua
Scientific classification
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 Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is purple-brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility 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. Its edibility is debated.

Description

The cap is 3 to 15 cm (1+1⁄4 to 6 in) broad, obtuse to convex, becoming flat or uplifted in age; it has a smooth surface, is slimy when moist, and yellowish. ^[1] The edge may have bits of white veil hanging from it. ^[2] The flesh is white, thick, and soft. The gills are pale gray and gradually darkens to purplish-gray or purplish-black. ^[1] The gills occasionally pull away from the stipe with age. ^[3]

The stipe is 6 to 18 cm (2+1⁄4 to 7 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. ^[2] The veil is soft and white. The spore print is dark purplish to nearly black. ^[5] The species fruits in the spring and fall. ^[1] It does not have a volva. ^[3] The species has been said to taste like old leaves. ^[6]

Similar species

Within the genus, it can resemble Stropharia aeruginosa , S. coronilla , ^[4] S. riparia , ^[2] and S. semiglobata . ^[4] Leratiomyces percevalii is another potential lookalike. ^[5]

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. ^[6] It has frequently been found in disturbed areas, such as where wood was handled. ^[1] The species will colonize outdoor mushroom beds after wood chips have been decomposed by a primary saprotroph. ^[7] It favors a cold and damp environment. ^[3]

Edibility

Alexander Hanchett Smith and Nancy S. Weber state that the species is not poisonous. ^[1] Contrarily, one source regards it as possibly poisonous. ^[8] 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] [9]}

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 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. Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 686. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
6. Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. pp. 377–78. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
7. Stamets, Paul (2000). Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Ten Speed Press. p. 12. ISBN   978-1-58008-175-7.
8. 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.
9. 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.

External links

• Media related to Stropharia ambigua at Wikimedia Commons
• Stropharia ambigua