''Conocybe apala'' is a

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basid ...

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

and a member of the genus ''

Conocybe ''Conocybe'' is a genus of mushrooms with '' Conocybe tenera'' as the type species and at least 243 other species. There are at least 50 different species in North America. Most have a long, thin fragile stipe and are delicate, growing in grass ...

''. The species has been taxonomically reclassified a number of times. Until recently, it was also commonly called ''Conocybe lactea'' or ''Conocybe albipes'' and is

colloquially Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...

known as the white dunce cap or the milky conecap. It is a fairly common fungus, both in North America and Europe, found growing among short green

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

Taxonomy

The basionym ''Agaricus apalus'' was described by the Swedish mycologist

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. He is sometimes called the Mycology, "Linnaeus of Mycology". In his works he described and assigned botanical names to hundreds of fungus and li ...

in 1818. It was placed in the genus '' Bolbitius'' as ''B. albipes'' by G.H. Otth (1871), then reclassified as ''Pluteolus apalus'' by the French mycologist

Lucien Quélet Lucien Quélet (; 14 July 1832 – 25 August 1899) was a French natural history, naturalist and mycologist. Quélet discovered several species of fungi and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycological ...

in 1886. This was reclassified as ''Galera hapala'' (or ''Galera apala'') in 1887 by

Pier Andrea Saccardo Pier Andrea Saccardo (23 April 1845 in Treviso, Province of Treviso, Treviso – 12 February 1920 in Padua, Italy, Padua) was an Italian botany, botanist and mycology, mycologist. His multi-volume ''Sylloge Fungorum'' was one of the first attempt ...

, then as ''Bolbitius apalus'' in 1891 by

Julien Noël Costantin Julien Noël Costantin (16 August 1857 – 17 November 1936) was a French botanist and mycologist who was a native of Paris. He studied at École Normale Supérieure on the Rue d'Ulm. In 1881 he received his license in natural history and two year ...

and

Léon Jean Marie Dufour Léon Jean Marie (or Jean-Marie Léon) Dufour (10 April 1780, Saint-Sever – 18 April 1865) was a French medical doctor and naturalist. Between 1799 and 1806 he studied medicine in Paris then returned to Saint-Sever in the Landes. He participa ...

and finally as ''Derminus apalus'' in 1898 by

Paul Christoph Hennings Paul Christoph Hennings (November 27, 1841 – October 14, 1908) was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevente ...

. It was reclassified as ''Conocybe apala'' in 2003 by Everhardus Johannes Maria Arnolds.

Description

The

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

ranges from in diameter. It has a pale cream to silvery-white colour and may sometimes have a darker yellow to brown coloration towards the central umbo. Its trademark hood-shaped conical cap expands with age and may flatten out, the surface being marked by minute radiating ridges. The stem is cap-coloured, elongated, thin, hollow and more or less equal along its length with a height up to and diameter of 1–3 mm. It may bear dust and/or small hairs. The

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

are close and tan before darkening to brown. They are adnexed or free and produce a rusty-brown

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. ...

. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

are elliptical and brown to reddish-brown. Very easily missed due to their very small size, the fruit bodies are otherwise quite easy to identify. The flesh has no discernible taste or smell and is extremely fragile to the touch. File:Conocybe_apala_gill_edge.jpg, Gill edge 400x File:Conocybe_apala_spores_1000x.jpg, Spores 1000x

Similar species

Similar species include ''

Conocybe tenera ''Conocybe tenera'', commonly known as the brown dunce cap or common cone head, is a widely distributed member of the genus ''Conocybe'', for which it serves as the type species. Description ''Conocybe tenera'' is a small saprotrophic mushroom ...

'', '' C. deliquescens'', '' Bolbitius lacteus'' (which has a flatter, slippery cap), '' Candolleomyces candolleanus'' (which is sturdier), and '' Pholiotina rugosa''.

Habitat and distribution

''Conocybe apala'' is a

saprobe Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

found in areas with rich soil and short grass such as

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

s, playing fields,

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

s as well as rotting

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nut ...

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

, fruiting single or sparingly few

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

bodies. It is commonly found fruiting during humid, rainy weather with generally overcast skies. It will appear on sunny mornings while there is

dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation, radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate grea ...

but will not persist once it evaporates. In most cases, by midday the delicate fruiting bodies shrivel, dry and bend from sight. The fruiting season begins in spring and ends in autumn. It is distributed across Europe and North America.

Edibility

Edibility is unknown, with one study finding

phalloidin Phalloidin belongs to a class of toxins called phallotoxins, which are found in the death cap mushroom ''( Amanita phalloides)''. It is a rigid bicyclic heptapeptide that is lethal after a few days when injected into the bloodstream. The major s ...

in the caps.

References

External links

Mushroom Expert - Conocybe albipes

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1632206 Bolbitiaceae Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi described in 2003 Fungus species