''Paralepistopsis amoenolens'' is an

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the

Tricholomataceae The Tricholomataceae are a large family of mushrooms within the Agaricales. Originally a classic "wastebasket taxon", the family included any white-, yellow-, or pink-spored genera in the Agaricales not already classified as belonging to e.g. the ...

family. It is commonly known as the paralysis funnel.

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1975 by the French mycologist

Georges Jean Louis Malençon Georges Jean Louis Malençon (3 November 1898, Paris – 31 July 1984, Valognes) was a French mycologist known for his investigations of fungi native to North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. He studied mycology in Paris with Narcisse Théoph ...

from a specimen found in Morocco and classified as ''Clitocybe amoenolens.'' In 2012, following DNA analysis, Vizzini and Ercole assigned this species to the new genus ''Paralepistopsis'', which forms a separate clade from other ''Clitocybe''s.See . The authors provide a phylogram which indicates the evidence that ''Paralepistopsis'' forms a separate clade. This change has been accepted by

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names ( scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and the Institute of M ...

and the

Global Biodiversity Information Facility The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

and so the correct name is currently ''Paralepistopsis amoenolens''.

Toxicity

It was discovered to be poisonous after several people had consumed specimens all found in the alpine

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

valley in the

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

over three years. They had mistaken it for the edible common funnel cap (''

Infundibulicybe ''Infundibulicybe'' is a genus of fungi that is robustly placed incertae sedis as sister group to the Tricholomatoid clade. It has previously been part of the family of Tricholomataceae, but recent molecular phylogeny has shown it to take an isol ...

sp.'') or ''

Paralepista flaccida ''Paralepista flaccida'' (also called ''Clitocybe flaccida'', ''Clitocybe inversa'', ''Lepista flaccida'' and ''Lepista inversa'', or in English tawny funnel cap) is a species of mushroom found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is known to form f ...

'' (formerly ''Lepista inversa''). The resulting syndrome of fungus-induced

erythromelalgia Erythromelalgia or Mitchell's disease (after Silas Weir Mitchell) is a rare vascular peripheral pain disorder in which blood vessels, usually in the lower extremities or hands, are episodically blocked (frequently on and off daily), then become ...

lasted from 8 days to 5 months, although one person exhibited symptoms for three years. This species contains acromelic acids including Acromelic acid A which is a potent neurotoxin with a chemical formula of C₁₃H₁₄N₂O₇ and is associated with causing paralysis and seizures

Similar species

Paralepistopsis acromelalga ''Paralepistopsis acromelalga'' is a basidiomycete fungus in the Tricholomataceae family. It was formerly classified as ''Clitocybe'' ''acromelalga''. Taxonomy It was first described in 1918 by the mycologist T. Ichimura and classified as ''C ...

'' is a poisonous species known from Japan, commonly called the poison dwarf bamboo mushroom. It had been discovered to be poisonous in 1918.

References

Poisonous fungi Tricholomataceae Paralepistopsis Fungi of Europe {{Tricholomataceae-stub