Lepiota Cristata
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''Lepiota cristata'', commonly known as the stinking dapperling, brown-eyed parasol, or the stinking parasol, is an
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) ...
mushroom in the family
Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...
. It produces
fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
characterized by the flat, reddish-brown concentric scales on the
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
, and an unpleasant odour resembling burnt rubber. Similar ''Lepiota'' species can sometimes be distinguished from ''L. cristata'' by differences in cap colour, stipe structure, or odour, although some species can only be reliably distinguished through the use of microscopy. A common and widespread species—one of the most widespread fungi in the genus ''
Lepiota ''Lepiota'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. All ''Lepiota'' species are ground-dwelling saprotrophs with a preference for rich, calcareous soils. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are agaricoid with whitish spores, typica ...
''—it has been reported from Europe, northern Asia, North America, and New Zealand. It fruits on the ground in disturbed areas, such as lawns, path and road edges, parks, and gardens. It may be
poisonous A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
.


Taxonomy

''Lepiota cristata'' was first described as ''Agaricus cristatus'' by the British
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
James Bolton James Bolton (1735 – 7 January 1799) was an English naturalist, botanist, mycologist, and illustrator. Background James Bolton was born near Warley in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1735, the son of William Bolton, a weaver. James initiall ...
in his 1788 work ''An History of Fungusses, Growing about Halifax''. The
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. * ...
collection was made from a garden in
Warley Town Warley Town is a settlement near Halifax, in the Calderdale district, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Warley is a ward of Calderdale. The population of this ward as taken at the 2011 Census was 12,215. History Warley Town was listed i ...
(England) in 1787. This name remained until 1871 when German mycologist
Paul Kummer Paul Kummer (22 August 1834 – 6 December 1912) was a Minister (Christianity), minister, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological botanical nomenclature, nomenclature. Earlier Taxonomy (biology), ...
moved the species into the genus ''Lepiota'', where it gained its current name, ''Lepiota cristata''.
MycoBank MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screene ...
lists several varieties of ''Lepiota cristata''. These are: *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''adextrinoidea'' E.Valenz. & G.Moreno (1994) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''congolensis'' Beeli (1927) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''cristata'' P.Kumm.(1871) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''exannulata''
Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...
(1981)
*''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''felinoides'' Bon (1981) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''macrospora'' (Zhu L.Yang) J.F.Liang & Zhu L.Yang (2011) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''pallidior'' Boud. ex Bon (1981) *''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''viridispora'' Kyde & J.L.Peterson (1986) ''Lepiota cristata'' var. ''sericea'', described from the Netherlands in 1922, is now considered synonymous with '' Leucoagaricus sericifer''. ''L. cristata'' var. ''exannulata'', ''L. cristata'' var. ''felinoides'' and ''L. cristata'' var. ''pallidior'' may be of an uncertain taxonomic status, as despite being listed as varieties of ''L. cristata'' the same databases also include these three taxa as synonyms of ''L. cristata''. '' Lepiota castaneidisca'' was once considered a synonym of ''L. cristata'' until
molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...
analysis showed it to be a distinct species. The
specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
''cristata'' means "crested". Vernacular names for the mushroom include "malodorous lepiota", ""brown-eyed parasol", the "burnt-rubber lepiota", and the "stinking dappling".


Description

The
fruit body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
produced by ''Lepiota cristata'' has a
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 ...
with a white to cream base colour, covered with concentrically arranged reddish-brown scales; at maturity the cap diameter ranges from across. The center of the cap is a darker reddish-brown than the rest of the cap. The cap is initial bell-shaped to convex, then later flattens out and develops an umbo. The crowded
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 ...
of ''Lepiota cristata'' are white to cream, free from attachment to the stipe, and darken/become brownish as the mushroom ages and the spores mature. The stipe is usually between , and thick. With a stipe which is nearly smooth and a pale white-tinged flesh colour, ''L. cristata'' also has a transient
ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
, which is
membranous A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. B ...
and
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
. The
flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, ...
is thin and white. The dorsal spur on 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 ...
of ''Lepiota cristata'' gives them a triangular or wedge shape; they measure 7–8.5 by 3–4 
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 ...
. These spores are slightly
dextrinoid In mycology a tissue or feature is said to be amyloid if it has a positive amyloid reaction when subjected to a crude chemical test using iodine as an ingredient of either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, producing a blue to blue-black staini ...
, meaning they stain deep red to reddish brown with the application of
Melzer's reagent Melzer's reagent (also known as Melzer's iodine reagent, Melzer's solution or informally as Melzer's) is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi, and by phytopathologists for fungi that are plant pathogens ...
. The
cystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...
on the gill edge (cheilocystidia) in ''L. cristata'' are club-shaped and measure about 15–25 by 8–14 Î¼m; there are no cystidia on the gill face (
pleurocystidia A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are oft ...
); the pileipellis is a hymeniform layer of
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 ...
l cells about 30–50 by 10–25 Î¼m. When the spores fall onto a surface, the powdery deposit they leave behind (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, apart from in ''L. cristata'' var. ''viridispora'' where the spore print is greyish green, similar to that of false parasol (''
Chlorophyllum molybdites ''Chlorophyllum molybdites'', commonly known as the green-spored parasol, false parasol, green-spored lepiota and vomiter, is a common species of mushroom found in temperate and subtropical meadows and lawns. The species is poisonous and produ ...
''). ''Lepiota cristata'' has been described as having a strong, distinctive and unpleasant odour; it has been described as rubbery, fishy, pungent, foul, fungusy, fruity, mealy and sweet. Despite this, ''L. cristata'' has been described as having a mild and pleasant taste.


Similar species

Several have been described—in North America, Europe, and Asia—that are similar in appearance and morphology to ''Lepiota cristata''. Biogeographical evidence suggests that ''L. cristata'' and similar species may form a widespread
species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
with a wide range of variation. It can be confused with other ''Lepiota'' species, such as '' L. ignivolvata'', though ''L. ignivolvata'' can be distinguished from ''L. cristata'' as it has a ring, bright orange or red-brown in colour, low down on the stipe. The rare, toxic species '' L. lilacea'' has a morphology similar to ''L. cristata'' but has purple to purple-brown colours. The lookalike '' L. saponella'', found on the west coast of France, is distinguished from ''L. cristata'' by its soapy smell, dingy
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 gills, and smaller scales on the cap surface. Microscopically, its spores are more triangular than those of ''L. cristata''. '' Lepiota cristatanea'', a southwestern Chinese species named for its similarity to ''L. cristata'', has smaller fruit bodies and smaller spores, typically measuring 4.0–5.5 by 2.5–3.0 Î¼m.


Ecology, habitat and distribution

''Lepiota cristata'' is a
saprobic 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 ...
species, deriving nutrients through
decomposing Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is essen ...
dead or decayed organic material. saprobic behaviour by ''L. cristata'' has been observed on the soil of broadleaved and conifer (
Pinopsida Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...
) trees. ''L. cristata'' can be found growing either singly or in small groups and in multiple habitats including
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
s, gardens (especially shady and damp ones), garden waste, short grass,
leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
, paths, ditches, and other areas of disturbed ground. ''Lepiota cristata'' is one of the most widely distributed ''Lepiota'' species, and can be found in North America (north of Mexico), throughout Europe, and northern Asia. It is also found in New Zealand.


Toxicity

Whilst it is unknown for sure whether the species is poisonous to humans or not, mycologists at least regard it as suspect. This suspicion comes from the fact that many other small species of ''Lepiota ''are poisonous. It has been said that ''L. cristata'' causes
gastrointestinal symptom Gastrointestinal diseases (abbrev. GI diseases or GI illnesses) refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum; and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver, ...
s. Up until recently, there was a potentially injurious confusion pertaining to the toxicity of ''L. cristata'', as in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
dapperlings were commonly referred to as parasols. A parasol mushrooms is one from the parasol family (''
Macrolepiota ''Macrolepiota'' is a genus of white spored, gilled mushrooms of the family Agaricaceae. The best-known member is the parasol mushroom (''M. procera''). The widespread genus contains about 40 species. Taxonomy ''Macrolepiota'' was circu ...
'', or sometimes used specifically to refer to '' Macrolepiota procera'') and these are, unlike ''L. cristata'', edible. This frequent misidentification may have added to the incidence of poisoning.


See also

* List of ''Lepiota'' species


References


External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q855482 cristata Fungi described in 1788 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Fungus species