''Kuehneromyces mutabilis'' (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

: ''Pholiota mutabilis''), commonly known as the sheathed woodtuft, is a species of fungus that grows in clumps on dead wood. It is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

but strongly resembles the deadly poisonous ''

Galerina marginata ''Galerina marginata'', known colloquially as funeral bell, deadly skullcap, autumn skullcap or deadly galerina, is a species of extremely poisonous mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae of the order Agaricales. Before 2001, th ...

''.

Description

The clustered shiny convex caps grow up to in diameter. They are very

hygrophanous The adjective hygrophanous refers to the color change of mushroom tissue (especially the pileus surface) as it loses or absorbs water, which causes the pileipellis The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fr ...

; in a damp state they are shiny and greasy with a deep orange-brown colour towards the rim; often there is a disc of lighter (less sodden) flesh in the middle. In a dry state they are cinnamon-coloured. 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 initially light then brown and are sometimes somewhat decurrent. 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 rusty brown. The stipe is 4–9 cm long and under 1 cm in diameter with a ring which separates the bare, smooth light cinnamon upper part from the darker brown shaggily scaly lower part. This type of stem is sometimes described as "booted".

Similar species

It resembles the deadly poisonous ''

''. Although a typical ''K. mutabilis'' is easily distinguished from a typical ''G. marginata'' by the "booted" stipe which is shaggy below the ring, this character is not reliable and ''G. marginata'' can also have scales. The main differences are: *While they are both hygrophanous, ''K. mutabilis'' dries from the centre outwards (so having a lighter colour in the centre) and ''G. marginata'' dries from the edge inwards. *the stem below the ring is scaly below the ring in ''K. mutabilis'', but normally fibrously silky in ''G. marginata''. *''K. mutabilis'' has a pleasant mushroom smell and mild taste, whereas ''G. marginata'' tastes and smells mealy. Also similar are '' K. lignicola'', '' K. marginellus'', '' Pholiota angustipes'' and '' P. terrestris''.

Distribution and habitat

''Kuehneromyces mutabilis'' is found in North America, Australia, Asia (in the Caucuses, Siberia, and Japan), and Europe. In Europe, it can be found from Southern Europe to Iceland and Scandinavia. This species always grows on wood, generally on stumps of broad-leaved trees (especially beech, birch and alder), and rarely on conifers. It is found from April to late October, and also in the remaining winter months where conditions are mild. It is often seen at times when there are few other fungi in evidence.

Edibility

Some guides caution that ''K. mutabilis'' is not safe to consume as it could be confused with the deadly poisonous ''Galerina marginata'', even by people who are quite knowledgeable. The caps of this mushroom can be fried or used for flavouring in sauces and soups (the stems being too tough to eat). The flavour is best after cooking.

References

Sources

*This article is partly translated from the German page. *Marcel Bon : ''The Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and North-Western Europe'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1987). *Régis Courtecuisse, Bernard Duhem : ''Guide des champignons de France et d'Europe'' (Delachaux & Niestlé, 1994–2000).

External links

Pholiota mutabilis
from Smith AH & Hesler LR. (1968). The North American Species of ''Pholiota''. (Archived at ''Mykoweb.com''.)
''Pholiota mutabilis''
by Michael Kuo, ''MushroomExpert.Com'', November, 2007.
Kuehneromyces mutabilis
by Roger Philips, ''RogersMushrooms'' (website).

by Robert Sasata, ''Healing-Mushrooms.net'', February, 2008. {{Taxonbar, from=Q732640 Edible fungi Fungi described in 1871 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Strophariaceae Taxa named by Jacob Christian Schäffer Fungi of Iceland Fungus species