Catathelasma Imperiale
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''Catathelasma imperiale'', also known as ''Catathelasma imperialis'', and commonly known as the imperial mushroom, Hutsul mushroom, or korban, is a species of
agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...
(gilled mushroom) in the family Biannulariaceae.
Basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do no ...
s (fruit bodies) are stocky, with a double annulus (ring), and a tapering to rooting stipe (stem). The species is
ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...
l with conifers and is found in continental Europe and Asia. Reports from North America are unconfirmed and may refer to '' Catathelasma evanescens'' or similar species. The fruit bodies are edible and collected for food in China and elsewhere. The species is widespread but uncommon and is assessed as globally "near threatened" on the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...
.


Taxonomy

''Catathelasma imperiale'' was first described from Sweden in 1845 by Norwegian botanist Nicolai Lund as ''Agaricus imperialis'', but this name is
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
since two earlier (and different) fungi had already been described under the same name. The species was first legitimately described, as ''Armillaria imperialis'', by Finnish
mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finland, Finnish mycology, mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merim ...
in 1879. In 1922 the Austrian botanist
Günther Beck von Mannagetta und Lerchenau Günther Ritter Beck von Mannagetta und Lerchenau (25 August 1856 in Pressburg, modern Bratislava – 23 June 1931 in Prague) was an Austrian botanist. Life Ritter Beck-Mannagetta, son of a state prosecutor, studied at the University of Vienna, ...
created the new genus ''Biannularia'' for this species, making it ''Biannularia imperialis''. In 1940, Singer transferred it to the existing genus ''Catathelasma'', considering the two genera to be synonymous. Recent DNA research confirms this synonymy. The epithet "''imperiale''", meaning "imperial" refers to the (at times) imposing size of the fruit bodies.


Description

The fruit bodies are
agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...
oid with a pileus (cap) that is convex and sticky at first becoming flat or slightly depressed and dry, in diameter, orange brown to hazel brown, with darker patches. The
lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...
(gills) are whitish to cream,
decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...
, crowded, and sometimes forked. The stipe (stem) is compact, long, tapering to the base, often rooting and partly buried, pale brown with a double ring. The fruit body has a mealy or cucumber-like smell. The
spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...
is white. Microscopically, the spores are subcylindrical, often fusoid, 12.5–16.0 × 5.0–6.5 
μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...
, smooth, and
amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...
. The
hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...
e have
clamp connections A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), recei ...
.


Habitat and distribution

''Catathelasma imperiale'' is an
ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...
l species, forming an association with
conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
s, particularly
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
. Originally described from Scandinavia, it has been recorded from most northern countries in continental Europe as far south as Italy. It has also been recorded in Asia from China, Korea, and Japan. Records from North America are uncertain, since
DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...
of specimens determined as "''C. imperiale''" have (to date) proven to belong to '' C. evanescens'' or '' C. ventricosum''.


Conservation

The species is legally protected in Poland and is included in the Red Lists of 15 European countries. It is considered declining everywhere due to forest
eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...
, habitat destruction, and habitat change. ''Catathelasma imperiale'' has consequently been assessed as "near threatened" on the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...
.


Edibility

Although it can be discouragingly tough, the species is edible and collected for food in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. In
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, it is known as ''korban'', or the ''Hutsul mushroom'', because it is common among the
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administratively designated a subgro ...
who are said to be experts at finding it. In the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
, it grows in coniferous and spruce forests at an altitude of In the Hutsul culinary tradition, it is often dried, powdered, and used as a spice in gravies, kulish, stews, and bakes. It is also used as a meat substitute in patties during
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q973516 Fungi of Europe Fungi of Asia Fungi described in 1879 Taxa named by Petter Adolf Karsten Fungus species