Volvariella volvacea (also known as paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom) is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia and used extensively in Asian cuisine. They are often available fresh in regions they are cultivated, but elsewhere are more frequently found canned or dried. Worldwide, straw mushrooms are the third-most-consumed mushroom.[2]
| Volvariella volvacea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Straw mushrooms, some still veiled, others opened—showing the cap inside | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Pluteaceae |
| Genus: | Volvariella |
| Species: | V. volvacea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Volvariella volvacea | |
| Synonyms | |
Volvariella volvacea | |
|---|---|
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is conical or umbonate |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe has a volva |
 | Spore print is salmon |
 | Ecology is saprotrophic |
 | Edibility is choice |
Description
editIn their button stage, straw mushrooms resemble poisonous death caps, but can be distinguished by several mycological features, including their pink spore print (spore prints of death caps are white). The two mushrooms have different distributions, with the death cap generally not found where the straw mushroom grows natively, but immigrants, particularly those from Southeast Asia to California and Australia, have been poisoned due to misidentification.[3][4]
Uses
editStraw mushrooms are grown on rice straw beds and are most commonly picked when immature (often labelled "unpeeled"), during their button or egg phase, and before the veil ruptures.[5] They are adaptable, taking four to five days to mature, and are most successfully grown in subtropical climates with high annual rainfall. No record has been found of their cultivation before the 19th century.[6]
Nutrition
editOne cup (182 grams or 6.4 ounces) of straw mushrooms is nutritionally dense and provides 240 kilojoules (58 kilocalories) of food energy, 27.7 μg selenium (50.36% of RDA), 699 mg sodium (46.60%), 2.6 mg iron (32.50%), 0.242 mg copper (26.89%), 69 μg vitamin B9 (folate) (17.25%), 111 mg phosphorus (15.86%), 0.75 mg vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) (15.00%), 6.97 g protein (13.94%), 4.5 g total dietary fiber (11.84%), and 1.22 mg zinc (11.09%).[7]
References
edit- ^ "Species Fungorum - GSD Species". www.speciesfungorum.org.
- ^ "Straw Mushrooms".
- ^ Money NP. (2004). Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard: The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists. Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-517158-7.
- ^ Gardiner, Stephanie (3 January 2012). "Two die after eating death cap mushrooms". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Chang, S. T.; Chang, Shu-ting; Quimio, T. H. (9 January 1982). Tropical Mushrooms: Biological Nature and Cultivation Methods. Chinese University Press. ISBN 9789622012646 – via Google Books.
- ^ Hsiung, Deh-Ta (2006). The Chinese Kitchen. London: Kyle Cathie Ltd. pp. 186–87. ISBN 1-85626-702-4.
- ^ "Straw Mushroom facts and health benefits". Health Benefits Times. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
External links
edit
- Straw Mushroom
- http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=307802 Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=307802
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2019.09.008
Media related to Volvariella volvacea at Wikimedia Commons