''Gymnopilus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of gilled
mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the na ...
within the
fungal
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 ...
family
Strophariaceae
The Strophariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Under an older classification, the family covered 18 genera and 1316 species. The species of Strophariaceae have red-brown to dark brown spore prints, while the spores themselves a ...
containing about 200
rusty-orange spored mushroom species formerly divided among ''
Pholiota
''Pholiota'' is a genus of small to medium-sized, fleshy mushrooms in the family Strophariaceae. They are saprobes that typically live on wood. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in temperate regions, and contains about 150 spe ...
'' and the defunct genus ''Flammula''. The
fruit body
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is typically reddish brown to rusty orange to yellow, medium to large, often with a well-developed
veil
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
. Most members of ''Gymnopilus'' grow on wood but at times may appear terrestrial if the wood is buried or decomposed. Members of ''Pholiota'' and ''
Cortinarius
''Cortinarius'' is a globally distributed genus of mushrooms in the family Cortinariaceae. It is suspected to be the largest genus of agarics, containing over 2,000 widespread species. A common feature among all species in the genus ''Cortinariu ...
'' are easy to confuse with ''Gymnopilus''. ''Pholiota'' can be distinguished by its viscid
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
and duller (brown to cinnamon brown)
spores
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 ...
, and ''Cortinarius'' grows on the ground. Beginners can confuse ''Gymnopilus'' with ''
Galerina
''Galerina'' is a genus of small brown-spore saprobic fungi (colloquially often ''mushrooms''), with over 300 species found throughout the world from the far north to remote Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean. The genus is most noted for some ...
'', which contains deadly poisonous species.
The genus ''Gymnopilus'' has over 200 species worldwide.
[
The name means ''naked pileus''.
]
Psychoactive species
Fourteen members of ''Gymnopilus'' contain psilocybin
Psilocybin ( , ) is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi. The most potent are members of the genus ''Psilocybe'', such as '' P. azurescens'', '' P. semilanceata'', and '' P.&nbs ...
, although their bitter taste often deters recreational users. These species include '' G. aeruginosus'', '' G. braendlei'', '' G. cyanopalmicola'',[ '' G. dilepis'' ,'' G. intermedius'', '' G. junonius'', '' G. luteofolius'', '' G. luteoviridis'', '' G. luteus'', '' G. purpuratus'',][ '' G. subearlei'',][ '' G. subpurpuratus'',][ '' G. validipes'' and '' G. viridans''. Subspecies of ''G. junonius'' from ]Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
are reported to contain psilocybin, while some western North American members are inactive.
Several species of ''Gymnopilus'' contain bis-noryangonin -hydroxy-6-(4-hydrostyryl)-2-pyroneand hispidine -hydroxy-6-(3,4-dihydroxystyryl)-2-pyrone which are closely related to the alpha-pyrones found in kava
Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi), ...
.
Phylogenetics
A 2003 phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek language, Greek wikt:φυλή, φυλή/wikt:φῦλον, φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary his ...
study identified five well-supported clades within ''Gymnopilus'':monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
, the phylogenetically related groups do not support the traditional infrageneric classifications based on morphology.
References
*C.J. Alexopolous, Charles W. Mims, M. Blackwell et al., ''Introductory Mycology, 4th ed.'' (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken NJ, 2004)
* Hesler, L. R. (1969). North American species of ''Gymnopilus''. New York: Hafner. 117 pp.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1498027
Agaricales genera