Species flashcards

Description

Cap: 5-10 (15) cm in diameter. hemispherical when young, then flattening; white, the center becoming ochre with age; more or less brownish spotted; surface matte, bare.

Gills: Densely standing, free, initially white, then becoming pinkish.

Stem: 5-12 cm long, 0.6-1.5 cm thick; cylindrical and slender, the base more or less bulbous; whitish, may brown spot. Wears a simple, thin ring.

Flesh: Soft in the cap, fibrous in the stem; white, does not discolor when cut, but becomes dirty brownish when dried.

Spore: Initially white, then pink, 7-9 x 4.5-5 µm, oval, smooth.

Occurrence: From May to November, in gardens, grassy places, forest edges, common species. Prefers shrubberies and headlands.

Edibility: Edible. Its smell is pleasant.

Confusion: Similar to the poisonous death cap, the yellow stainer and the edible sticky volvopluteus. Also confused with the white amanita.

Note: There are white related species, but their gills are white, not pink. Leucoagaricus comes from the Greek Leuco - white and Agaricus as the genus name for mushrooms. So Leucoagaricus refers to a group of white mushrooms that are similar in most respects to the Agaricus species. The meaning of the suffix -thites I could not find a reference for.

Species description: Described as a robust field mushroom in 1835 by the Italian physician and naturalist Carlo Vittadini (1800-1865), who also gave it the scientific name Agaricus leucothites. In 1977, the Ukrainian mycologist Salamon P Wasser (b. 1946) transferred this species to the Leucoagaricus genus, so the currently accepted scientific name is Leucoagaricus leucothites.

Taxonomy

1. PhylumBasidiomycota
2. ClassAgaricomycetes
3. OrderAgaricales
4. FamilyAgaricaceae
5. GenusLeucoagaricus

• Species: leucothites
• Described by: (Vittad.) Wasser
• Hungarian name: tarló-őzlábgomba
• Lifestyle: soil saprotroph
• Edibility: not edible