Leucopaxillus gentianeus

Leucopaxillus gentianeus is a bitter-tasting, inedible mushroom[2] commonly known as the bitter false funnelcap, or the bitter brown leucopaxillus. A common synonym is Leucopaxillus amarus. The bitter taste is caused by a triterpene called cucurbitacin B.[3] The species was first described in 1873 as Clitocybe gentianea by French mycologist Lucien Quélet. František Kotlaba transferred it to Leucopaxillus in 1966.[4]

Leucopaxillus gentianeus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Tricholomataceae
Genus: Leucopaxillus
Species:
L. gentianeus
Binomial name
Leucopaxillus gentianeus
(Quél.) Kotl. (1966)
Synonyms[1]

Clitocybe gentianea Quél. (1873)

Leucopaxillus gentianeus
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is convex or flat
Hymenium is adnate
Stipe is bare
Spore print is white
Ecology is mycorrhizal
Edibility is inedible

The pileus ranges from 4–12 centimetres (1.6–4.7 in) wide and the stipe from 4–6 centimetres (1.6–2.4 in) long.[5] This mushroom has an unpleasant smell, and a bitter taste.[6]

References

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Unequivocally inedible—it smells like "creepy crawlers" and tastes like a mildewed army tent. If you're lost in the woods and have nothing to eat, you'd do better to follow the example of Charlie Chaplin and stew your boots before venturing to make a meal of this mushroom.

David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified
  1. ^ "Leucopaxillus gentianeus (Quél.) Kotl., Ceská Mykologie 20 (4): 230 (1966)". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  2. ^ Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.
  3. ^ Clericuzio M, Mella M, Vita-Finzi P, Zema M, Vidari G (2004). "Cucurbitane triterpenoids from Leucopaxillus gentianeus". Journal of Natural Products. 67 (11): 1823–8. doi:10.1021/np049883o. PMID 15568769.
  4. ^ "Distribution of Leucopaxillus gentianeus (Quél.) comb. nov. in Czechoslovakia and notes on its nomenclature". Ceská Mykologie. 20 (4): 229–36. 1966.
  5. ^ Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
  6. ^ Thiers, Harry D.; Arora, David (September 1980). "Mushrooms Demystified". Mycologia. 72 (5): 1054. doi:10.2307/3759750. ISSN 0027-5514.
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