The genus ''Stropharia'' (sometimes known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

roundheads) is a group of medium to large agarics with a distinct membranous

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 ...

on the stipe. Well-known members of this genus include the edible '' Stropharia rugosoannulata'' and the blue-green

verdigris Verdigris () is a common name for any of a variety of somewhat toxic copper salt (chemistry), salts of acetic acid, which range in colour from green to a blue-green, bluish-green depending on their chemical composition.H. Kühn, Verdigris and Cop ...

agarics ('' Stropharia aeruginosa'' and allies). ''Stropharia'' are not generally regarded as good to eat and there are doubts over the edibility of several species. However the species ''Stropharia rugosoannulata'' is regarded as prized and delicious when young and is now the premier mushroom for outdoor bed culture by mycophiles in temperate climates.

Taxonomy

The scientific name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

'στροφος/strophos' meaning "belt", in reference to the annulus present on the stipe.

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. ...

color is generally medium to dark purple-brown with a white edge at maturity, except for a few species that have rusty-brown spores. There is a great deal of variation, however, since this group as presently delimited is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. Members of the core clade of ''Stropharia'' are characterized by crystalline

acanthocytes Acanthocyte (from the Greek word ἄκανθα ''acantha'', meaning 'thorn'), in biology and medicine, refers to an abnormal form of red blood cell that has a spiked cell membrane, due to thorny projections. A similar term is spur cells. Often ...

among the

hyphae 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 ...

of the mycelium that make up the rhizoids at the base of the mushroom, and in one species, '' Stropharia acanthocystis'', also occur in the

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

Description

Recent

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, ...

work shows the core group of the genus most closely related to '' Hypholoma'' and '' Pholiota''. Others such as '' S. semiglobata'' are more distantly related. ''Stropharia'' had been divided into 'sections' by

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German mycologist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist of gilled mushrooms (agarics). He wrote the book "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy". He fled to various countries d ...

among others, although some 'sections' were only informally named.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

ally, some 'sections' have now been classified as separate genera by some authors for species lacking acanthocytes. Two examples of the reclassification of sections into genera are: '' Leratiomyces'' in 2008 in part replacing

Section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Stropholoma'' and '' Protostropharia'' in 2013 in part replacing section ''Stercophila''. The psychedelic mushroom formerly known as ''Stropharia cubensis'' was reclassified into the genus ''Psilocybe'' by mycologist

and subsequently, this classification was supported by modern phylogenetic analyses based upon DNA sequence comparison. It bears a superficial resemblance to ''Stropharia'' with its relatively large size, well-developed annulus, and dark spores, hence in some references it is referred to as '' Stropharia cubensis'',O. T. Oss, O. N. Oeric
''Psilocybin: magic mushroom grower's guide: a handbook for psilocybin Enthusiasts''
Quick American Archives, 2nd ed. (1993), However, it is simply a large-size example of the bluing ''Psilocybe'' and hence is not a close relative of ''Stropharia''.

Species

*'' Stropharia acanthocystis'' *'' Stropharia aeruginosa'' *'' Stropharia agaricoides'' *'' Stropharia agrocyboides'' *'' Stropharia albivelata'' *'' Stropharia albonitens'' *'' Stropharia albosulphurea'' *'' Stropharia ambigua'' *'' Stropharia araucariae'' *'' Stropharia aurantiaca'' * Mycomorphbox Inedible

'' Stropharia caerulea'' *'' Stropharia chrysocystidia'' – China *'' Stropharia cifuentesii'' – Mexico *'' Stropharia coronilla'' *'' Stropharia farlowiana'' *'' Stropharia formosa'' *'' Stropharia halophila'' * Mycomorphbox Inedible

'' Stropharia hornemannii'' *'' Stropharia inuncta'' *'' Stropharia kauffmanii'' *'' Stropharia lepiotiformis'' *'' Stropharia luteonitens'' *'' Stropharia mammillata'' *'' Stropharia melanosperma'' *'' Stropharia pseudocyanea'' *'' Stropharia rubrobrunnea'' – Western Ghats, India * Mycomorphbox Choice

'' Stropharia rugosoannulata'' *'' Stropharia squamulosa'' *'' Stropharia variicolor'' *'' Stropharia venusta''

Gallery

Image:Docs019.jpg, '' Stropharia aeruginosa'' Image:Stropharia ambigua 4.JPG , '' Stropharia ambigua'' File:Stropharia inuncta 77505.jpg , '' Stropharia inuncta'' File:2011-05-19 Stropharia rugosoannulata Farl. ex Murrill 183478.jpg , '' Stropharia rugosoannulata''

Legal status

United States

Louisiana

Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing ''Stropharia'' spp. is prohibited by Louisiana State Act 159.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1634915 Strophariaceae