''Agaricus litoralis'', also known as the coastal mushroom, is a species of mushroom in the genus '' Agaricus''. It was first described by

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

and A. Pearson as ''

Psalliota ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom (''Agaricus bisp ...

litoralis'' in 1946. It occurs throughout Europe including Scandinavia and Great Britain. While it may be quite common locally, such as on

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

island, it is rarely found in most areas except for southern Europe. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

in Sweden is "near threatened".

Description

''A. litoralis'' is a white or grey-white mushroom with a compact cap that may reach a width of up to . The cap is often depressed when older and rests of the

annulus Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to: Human anatomy * ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure * Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus com ...

may occur on the outer rim. While rose-coloured at a young age, the gills become dark brown as the mushroom grows older. The stem is tall and wide. It is often remarkably shorter than the cap is wide. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual 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 plants, algae, f ...

s are dark brown and egg-shaped. The mushroom is

saprotrophic 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 (f ...

, i.e. it feeds on decaying matter. It prefers herbaceous dry grasslands, heaths and

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

References

litoralis Fungi of Europe {{fungi-stub