''Infundibulicybe geotropa'', also known as the trooping funnel or monk's head, is a large

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

-shaped

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

with a sturdy cream or buff colour. It grows widely in Europe and (less commonly) in North America in mixed woodlands, often in troops or fairy rings, one of which is over half a mile wide. Although edible, it could be confused with some poisonous species of similar colouration and size.

Taxonomy

French mycologist Pierre Bulliard initially described the trooping funnel as ''Agaricus geotropus'' in 1792, before

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 ...

renamed it ''Clitocybe geotropa'' (a name by which it was long known) in 1872. Its specific epithet derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words /''gē'' "earth", and τρόπος/''tropos'' "turn". Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja proposed ''I. geotropa'' and twelve other ''Clitocybe'' species be split off into a new genus ''Infundibulicybe'', thus the new binomial name is ''Infundibulicybe geotropa''.

Description

A cream- or

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...

-coloured mushroom, 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 ...

may reach in diameter. It has a prominent boss and looks small in relation to the large stem in young specimens. As the mushroom ages, the cap changes from convex with inrolled margins to more funnel shaped. The decurrent

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 the same colour as the cap. The stipe is bulbous, larger at the base and high. 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. There is a sweet smell, which has been likened to the odour of bitter almonds. The white flesh is firm in young specimens.

Similar species

It can be mistaken for the similar-coloured and also edible miller (''

Clitopilus prunulus ''Clitopilus prunulus'', commonly known as the miller or the sweetbread mushroom, is a basidiomycete mushroom. It has a grey to white cap, decurrent gills, and pink spores. It is found in grasslands in Europe and North America. Growing solitary ...

''), but the latter species has pink spores. However, there are a number of similar white or pale mushrooms which are poisonous; young specimens of ''

Entoloma sinuatum ''Entoloma sinuatum'' (common name, commonly known as the livid entoloma, livid agaric, livid pinkgill, leaden entoloma, and lead poisoner) is a poisonous mushroom found across Europe and North America. Some guidebooks refer to it by its older ...

'' can be distinguished by their sinuate gills and mealy smell. The unpleasant-tasting ''

Melanoleuca grammopodia ''Melanoleuca privernensis'' is a species of fungus in the Pluteaceae The Pluteaceae are a family of small to medium-sized mushrooms which have free gill attachment and pink spores. Members of Pluteaceae can be mistaken for members of Entolo ...

'' is similar, but has a more pale brownish cap and musky odour.

Distribution and habitat

Trooping funnel is found in mixed woodlands, especially grassy clearings, in autumn. Often gregarious, it can form

fairy ring A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by ...

s, and has a complex mycelium. It is abundant and widespread in Europe (August to November), and less common in North America. One fairy ring in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

, eastern France, has been reported at over half a mile in diameter and estimated at 800 years of age. It is thought to be the largest known

Edibility

Only young mushrooms are recommended for eating, as older ones lose their pleasant taste, and the flesh becomes leathery in consistency. The stipes of all aged specimens are generally discarded. The fungus is popular in northern Italy, where it is roasted or cooked in stews and frittatas, or preserved in oil.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1478465 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungi found in fairy rings