Inocybe geophylla

''Inocybe geophylla'', commonly known as the earthy inocybe, common white inocybe or white fibercap, is a poisonous mushroom of the genus ''Inocybe''. It is widespread and common in Europe and North America, appearing under both conifer and deciduous trees in summer and autumn. The fruiting body is a small all-white or cream mushroom with a fibrous silky umbonate cap and adnexed gills. An all- lilac variety ''lilacina'' is also common.

Taxonomy and naming

It was first described in 1799 as ''Agaricus geophyllus'' by English naturalist James Sowerby in his work ''Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms''. Christiaan Hendrik Persoon spelt it ''Agaricus geophilus'' in his 1801 work ''Synopsis methodica fungorum''. Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek terms ''geo-'' "earth", and ''phyllon'' "leaf". It was given its current binomial name in 1871 by Paul Kummer.

A lilac form is known as var. ''lilacina''; it was originally described as ''Agaricus geophyllus'' var. ''lilacinus'' by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1872, who came across it in Bethlehem, New York. It was given its current name by Claude Casimir Gillet in 1876. It was classified as a separate species in 1918 by Calvin Henry Kauffman, who felt that it was consistently different and grew in different locales. A 2005 study of nuclear genes found that ''I. geophylla'' was closely related to '' I. fuscodisca'', while ''I. lilacina'' came out as in a lineage with '' I. agglutinata'' and '' I. pudica''.

Description

The cap is in diameter and white or cream-coloured with a silky texture, at first conical before flattening out to a more convex shape with a pronounced umbo (boss). The cap margins may split with age. The thin stipe is high and 0.3–0.6 cm thick and lacks a ring. It has a small bulb at the base, and often does not grow straight. The crowded gills are adnexed and cream early, before darkening to a brownish colour with the developing spores. The spore print is brown. The almond-shaped spores are smooth and measure around 9 × 5 μm. The faint smell has been likened to meal, damp earth, or even described as spermatic. The white or cream flesh has an acrid taste and does not change colour when cut or bruised.

Similar species

Larger mushrooms can be confused with members of the genus ''Tricholoma'' or the edible '' Calocybe gambosa'', though these have a mealy smell and gills that remain white. In Israel, it is confused with edible mushrooms of the genus ''Tricholoma'', particularly '' Tricholoma terreum'', and '' Suillus granulatus'', all of which grow in similar habitat. In North America it resembles mushrooms of the genus '' Camarophyllus''.

The variety ''lilacina'' is similar in shape but tinted lilac all over, with an ochre-brown flush on the cap umbo and the base of the stem. It has a strong mealy or earthy odour. This variety could be mistaken for the edible amethyst deceiver (''Laccaria amethystina''), although the latter species has a fibrous stipe, a fruity smell and lacks the ochre-coloured umbo. It is a similar coloration to the wood blewit, although mushrooms of that species generally grow much larger.

''I. pudica'' and ''Clitocybe nuda'' are also similar.

Distribution and habitat

''Inocybe geophylla'' is common and widespread across Europe and North America. In western North America it is found under live oak, pine and Douglas fir. Both varieties are found in the Canadian Arctic regions of northern Manitoba and North West Territories, with the nominate form found in dryish tundra heath communities composed of American dwarf birch ('' Betula glandulosa''), Arctic willow (''Salix arctica''), dwarf willow ('' S. herbacea''), polar willow ('' S. polaris'' ssp. ''pseudopolaris''), snow willow ('' Salix reticulata''), bog bilberry (''Vaccinium uliginosum'' var. ''alpinum''), lingonberry ('' V. vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus''), alpine bearberry (''Arctostaphylos alpina''), alpine bistort ('' Persicaria vivipara''), Arctic bell-heather (''Cassiope tetragona'') and northern white mountain avens ('' Dryas integrifolia'') and var. ''lilacina'' in moist mossy tundra heaths, alongside such plants as American dwarf birch, snow willow, Arctic bell-heather and northern white mountain avens. It is mycorrhizal, the fruiting bodies are found in deciduous and coniferous woodlands in summer and autumn. Within these locations, fruiting bodies may be found in grassy areas and near pathways, or often on rich, bare soil that has been disturbed at roadsides, and near ditches.

In Israel, ''I. geophylla'' grows under Palestine oak (''Quercus calliprinos'') and pines, with mushrooms still appearing in periods of little or no rain as they are mycorrhizal.

In Western Australia, Brandon Matheny and Neale Bougher (2005) pointed to collections of what was referred to as ''I. geophylla'' var. ''lilacina'' by some Australian taxonomists, as a misapplication of the name ''I. geophylla'' var. ''lilacina''; the specimens have been reclassified as the species '' Inocybe violaceocaulis''.

Toxicity

Like many fibrecaps, ''Inocybe geophylla'' contains muscarine. The symptoms are those of muscarine poisoning, namely, greatly increased salivation, perspiration (sweating), and lacrimation (tear flow) within 15–30 minutes of ingestion. With large doses, these symptoms may be followed by abdominal pain, severe nausea, diarrhea, blurred vision, and labored breathing. Intoxication generally subsides within two hours. Delirium does not occur.
The specific antidote is atropine. Inducing vomiting to remove mushroom contents is also prudent due to the speed of onset of symptoms.Benjamin, p. 346–49. Death has not been recorded as a result of consuming this species. It is often ignored by mushroom hunters because of its small size.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1333853

geophylla
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Poisonous fungi
Fungi described in 1799
Taxa named by James Sowerby