''Deconica'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

-forming

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

in the family Strophariaceae. It was formerly considered synonymous with ''

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the ...

'' until molecular studies showed that genus to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

, made of two major clades: one containing bluing, hallucinogenic species, the other non-bluing and non-hallucinogenic species. ''Deconica'' contains species formerly classified in the sections ''Deconica'' and ''Coprophila'' of ''Psilocybe''.

Taxonomy

Until recently, ''Deconica'' was generally considered to be synonymous with ''

'', and was originally named as a subgenus of '' Agaricus'' by Worthington George Smith in 1870. It was later raised to generic level by

Petter 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. However, several molecular studies published in the 2000s demonstrated that ''Psilocybe'', as it was defined then, was

. The studies supported the idea of dividing the genus into two clades, one consisting of the bluing, hallucinogenic species, and the other made of the non-bluing, non-hallucinogenic species. However, the generally accepted lectotype (a specimen later selected when the original author of a taxon name did not designate a

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) of the genus as a whole was ''

Psilocybe montana ''Deconica montana'', commonly known as the mountain moss Psilocybe, is a common species of mushroom that usually grows in mossy and montane regions around the world. The appearance is that of a typical "little brown mushroom" with a small, brow ...

'', a non-hallucinogenic species; if those forms of the species in the study were to be segregated, it would leave the hallucinogenic clade without a valid name. To resolve this taxonomical dilemma, it was proposed in 2005 to conserve the name ''Psilocybe'', with ''P. semilanceata'' as the type, leaving the option to use ''Deconica'' as the name for the non-hallucinogenic clade. The proposal was accepted unanimously by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi in 2009. Recently, it has been reported that the non-bluing '' Psilocybe fuscofulva'' does not produce hallucinogenic compounds. Thus, non-hallucinogenic species are also covered by the genus ''

'', not only ''Deconica''. ''Deconica'' had previously been recognized as a separate genus by several authors, including Rolf Singer in 1951, Dennis and Orton in 1960, and Horak in 1979.

Species

Many species in ''Deconica'' were transferred there by mycologist

Machiel Noordeloos Machiel Evert Noordeloos (born 16 April 1949) is a Dutch mycologist. He is known for his contributions to the taxonomy of European mushrooms and especially his expertise on the genus ''Entoloma''. Noordeloos is an assistant professor at the Nat ...

in a 2009 publication.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5249581 Agaricales genera Strophariaceae