''Lepiota ignivolvata'', sometimes known commonly as the orange-girdled parasol, is a fairly rare member of the gilled

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 ...

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, typically ...

''. It is among the larger species in this group, growing in coniferous or

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 leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

woodland during autumn; it has a primarily European distribution. Being inedible, and perhaps poisonous, it should not be gathered for culinary use. Many of the species in this genus are deadly.

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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

is between in diameter. It is convex, later flat, and with a raised central boss (umbo). The centre of the cap is reddish brown, or orange-brown, breaking into small scales, which are fewer, and lighter towards the margin. The best identification aid is the orange (somewhat indented)

ring Ring 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 :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, which is low on the white, slightly bulbous to club-shaped

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushr ...

, which often has an orange flush at its base. 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 white to cream, giving a white

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 pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

. They are free of the stem, and are fairly crowded together. 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, but ...

is white throughout, and has an unpleasant chemical smell, similar to that which is produced when cutting metal; the odor has also been compared to rubber. ''L. ignivolvata'' has an unpleasant, rancid taste. The spores are spindle (

fusiform Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an aneurysm on a ...

) or almond (amygdaloid) in shape, with dimensions of 9–13 to 5–7; µm. The similar species ''Lepiota ventriosospora'' and ''Lepiota cristata'' lack the orange colouring on the ring. ''Lepiota ignivolvata'' belongs to the section ''Fusisporae'' within genus ''Lepiota'', whose members are characterized by long spindle-shaped spores and a fluffy stem beneath the ring.

Naming history

This species was originally described by

Marcel Josserand Marcel Josserand (5 October 1900 – 28 March 1992) was a French mycologist. Biography Marcel Josserand was born in Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and se ...

and M. Bousset in 1948 in the French language in the quarterly bulletin of the French Mycological Society. However at that time the nomenclatural rules demanded a description in Latin, and so the species did not officially exist until when in 1972 the same two authors republished with a short Latin text in the monthly bulletin of the "Société linnéenne de Lyon" (Linnaean Society of Lyon). For this reason the full correct author designation is "Bousset & Joss. ex Joss."

Distribution and habitat

''Lepiota ignivolvata'' is widespread across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, its stronghold being in central to southern Europe. In

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

it is rare, and resides on the British Red Data list. It appears in

, and coniferous woods, in autumn, and seems to favour

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3914308 Inedible fungi Fungi of Europe ignivolvata Fungi described in 1948

Description

Naming history

Distribution and habitat

See also

References