''Lepiota'' 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
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing 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 name "mushroom" is t ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Agaricaceae
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae.
Taxonomy
The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...
. All ''Lepiota'' species are ground-dwelling
saprotrophs with a preference for rich,
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...
soils.
Basidiocarps
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...
(fruit bodies) are
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 "mushroom ...
oid with whitish
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, ...
, typically with scaly
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
and a
ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
on the
stipe. Around 400 species of ''Lepiota'' are currently recognized worldwide. Many species are
poisonous
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
, some lethally so.
Taxonomy
History
''Agaricus''
section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sig ...
''Lepiota'' was originally published in 1797 by South African-born
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...
Christian Hendrik Persoon
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1 February 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a German mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy.
Early life
Persoon was born in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, the third child of an imm ...
.
It was subsequently raised to the rank of genus by
Samuel Frederick Gray
Samuel Frederick Gray (10 December 1766 – 12 April 1828) was a British botanist, mycologist, and pharmacologist. He was the father of the zoologists John Edward Gray and George Robert Gray.
Background
He was the son of Samuel Gray, a London s ...
. As originally conceived, the genus was a mix of agarics with rings on their stems, including species now placed in ''
Armillaria
''Armillaria'' is a genus of fungi that includes the '' A. mellea'' species known as honey fungi that live on trees and woody shrubs. It includes about 10 species formerly categorized summarily as ''A. mellea''. ''Armillarias'' are long-l ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', and ''
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 ...
''.
[ In 1822, however, the influential Swedish mycologist ]Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist.
Career
Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö.
He acquired ...
restricted ''Lepiota'' to white-spored, ringed agarics.[
Based on macro- and micromorphology, later authors gradually refined the generic concept of ''Lepiota''. Some unrelated genera, such as '']Cystoderma
''Cystoderma'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae or Cystodermataceae. Its family position is in doubt and the family "Cystodermataceae" and tribe "Cystodermateae" have been proposed to include this group following recent molecular wo ...
'' ( Fayod 1889) and ''Limacella
''Limacella'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Amanitaceae in order Agaricales. Some of the species have been classified as members of genus ''Lepiota''. ''Limacella'' was described by mycologist Franklin Sumner Earle in 1909.
...
'' ( Earle 1909), were removed from the genus whilst several related genera, including ''Leucocoprinus
''Leucocoprinus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Its best-known member is the distinctive yellow mushroom '' Leucocoprinus birnbaumii'', which is found in plant pots and greenhouses worldwide. The type species is '' Leucocoprinus ...
'' ( Patouillard 1888), ''Macrolepiota
''Macrolepiota'' is a genus of white spored, gilled mushrooms of the family Agaricaceae. The best-known member is the parasol mushroom (''M. procera''). The widespread genus contains about 40 species.
Taxonomy
''Macrolepiota'' was circumscr ...
'' and ''Leucoagaricus
''Leucoagaricus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Several fungus-growing ants cultivate multiple species for food. The genus contains approximately 90 species.
Taxonomy
This group of mushrooms was first defined as a subgenus of ' ...
'' (Singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
1948), ''Cystolepiota
''Cystolepiota'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Agaricaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1952, who originally included three species: ''Cystolepiota brunneotin ...
'' (Singer 1952), and '' Echinoderma'' (Bon
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
1991) were separated off. These segregated genera, together with ''Lepiota'' itself, are still often grouped together as ''Lepiota s.l.'' (''sensu lato
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...
'' = "in the wide sense") or as the "lepiotoid" fungi.
The secotioid
Secotioid fungi are an intermediate growth form between mushroom-like hymenomycetes and closed bag-shaped gasteromycetes, where an evolutionary process of gasteromycetation has started but not run to completion. Secotioid fungi may or may not ...
species ''Amogaster viridiglebus'', described in 1996 and initially placed in the order Boletales
The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. T ...
, was later determined to be a member of ''Lepiota'', and officially transferred to the genus in 2013.
Current status
Following some discussion over the type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
, ''Lepiota'' has now been conserved under the , typified by ''Agaricus colubrinus'' Pers. (= ''Lepiota clypeolaria
Lepiota clypeolaria, commonly known as the shield dapperling or the shaggy-stalked Lepiota, is a common, eat mushroom in the genus ''Lepiota''. It is widely distributed in northern temperate zones, where it grows in deciduous and coniferous fore ...
''). Recent molecular
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
research, based on cladistic
Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...
analysis of DNA sequences
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usua ...
, suggests that the morphological concept of ''Lepiota s.s.'' (''sensu stricto'' = in the strict or narrow sense) is soundly based.[
The name "Lepiota" is derived from the ]Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
λεπις (= "scale") + οὖς (= "ear").[
]
Description
Fruit bodies of ''Lepiota'' species are almost all 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 "mushroom ...
oid ('' Lepiota viridigleba'' is the sole sequestrate
Sequestrate may refer to:
*pertaining either to secotioid or gasteroid
*to sequester
Sequestration or sequester may refer to:
Law and government
* Sequestration (law), the seizure of property for creditors or the state. See also Committee for C ...
species in the genus), most (but not all) having comparatively small caps (less than in diameter) and slender stems. The cap cuticle (surface skin) typically splits as the cap expands, breaking up into concentric rings of scales towards the margin. The gills beneath the cap are white to cream (rarely yellow) and are free (not joined to the stem). The gills are covered by a partial veil when young, which typically ruptures to leave a cuff-like ring (sometimes ephemeral) often with additional scaly remains on the stem. Several species have a distinct, often rubbery, smell. The spore print is white to cream. The spores are usually (but not always) dextrinoid
In mycology a tissue or feature is said to be amyloid if it has a positive amyloid reaction when subjected to a crude chemical test using iodine as an ingredient of either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, producing a blue to blue-black staini ...
(turning red-brown in an iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
-based reagent).[
]
Habitat and distribution
Most if not all ''Lepiota'' species are nitrophilic Nitrophily is a botanical term that indicates a preference of certain plant species for a habitat rich in nitrate. This term was first introduced by George Fuller during the 1930s. The word is a contraction of the Greek words νἰτρον (nitro ...
, with a preference for calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...
soils. They typically occur in rich humus in broadleaf or conifer woodland, in northern Europe often among nettles (''Urtica dioica
''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...
'') or dog's mercury (''Mercurialis perennis
''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
, but with a preference for warm areas, meaning there are fewer species in colder climates. Around 400 species are currently recognized worldwide.
Toxicity
Several species contain amatoxins Amatoxin is the collective name of a subgroup of at least nine related toxic compounds found in three genera of poisonous mushrooms (''Amanita'', ''Galerina'' and ''Lepiota'') and one species ( Conocybe filaris) of the genus '' Conocybe''. Amatoxins ...
and are lethally poisonous, if consumed. Those known to have caused fatalities include '' Lepiota brunneoincarnata'', '' L. brunneolilacea'', '' L. castanea'', '' L. helveola'', and '' L. subincarnata'' (synonym ''L. josserandii'').[ No ''Lepiota'' species is recommended as edible.][
]
Literature
No comprehensive monograph of the genus has yet been published. In Europe, however, species of ''Lepiota'' were illustrated and described in a regional guide by Candusso & Lanzoni (1990)[ and more briefly in descriptive keys by Bon (1993).][ Dutch species were illustrated and described by Vellinga (2001).] No equivalent modern guides have been published for North America, but Vellinga (2008) has published an online bibliography of the relevant literature. In Australia, a guide to the ''Lepiota'' species of south-eastern Queensland was published by Aberdeen (1992). In Asia, a study of ''Lepiota'' diversity in northern Thailand revealed 73 species.
File:Lepiota subincarnata 117620.jpg,
File:Lepiota magnispora 39264.jpg,
File:Lepiota castanea 70848.jpg,
File:Lepiota cristata 20070819w.jpg,
File:Lepiota_castaneidisca_AlanRockefeller.JPG,
File:Lepiota lilacea.jpg,
List of species
The following species have individual entries:
*''Lepiota ananya
''Lepiota ananya'' is a gilled mushroom of the genus ''Lepiota'' in the order Agaricales. Known only to come from Kerala State, India, it was described as new to science in 2009.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in a 2009 issue of the ...
''
*'' Lepiota anupama''
*'' Lepiota babruka''
*'' Lepiota babruzalka''
*''Lepiota bengalensis
''Lepiota bengalensis'' is a species of the fungal family Agaricaceae. It was the first generic report for Bangladesh, described as a new species to science in 2016. It is only known from Bangladesh.
See also
*List of Lepiota species, List of '' ...
''
*'' Lepiota brunneoincarnata''
*'' Lepiota castanea''
*''Lepiota clypeolaria
Lepiota clypeolaria, commonly known as the shield dapperling or the shaggy-stalked Lepiota, is a common, eat mushroom in the genus ''Lepiota''. It is widely distributed in northern temperate zones, where it grows in deciduous and coniferous fore ...
''
*'' Lepiota harithaka''
*'' Lepiota helveola''
*''Lepiota ignivolvata
''Lepiota ignivolvata'', sometimes known commonly as the orange-girdled parasol, is a fairly rare member of the gilled mushroom genus ''Lepiota''. It is among the larger species in this group, growing in coniferous or deciduous woodland during a ...
''
*'' Lepiota nirupama''
*'' Lepiota shveta''
*'' Lepiota spheniscispora''
*''Lepiota subincarnata
''Lepiota subincarnata'' is a gilled mushroom of the genus ''Lepiota'' in the order Agaricales. It is known to contain amatoxins and consuming this fungus can be potentially lethal. The species is found in Asia, Europe, and North America, in wo ...
'' (synonym ''L. josserandii'')
*'' Lepiota zalkavritha''
The following species have individual entries, but are now placed in different genera:
*''Lepiota aspera'' = '' Echinoderma asperum''
*''Lepiota lutea'' = ''Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
''Leucocoprinus birnbaumii'' is a species of gilled mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. It is common in the tropics and subtropics. However, in temperate regions, it frequently occurs in greenhouses and flowerpots, hence its common names of flowe ...
''
*''Lepiota molybdites'' = ''Chlorophyllum molybdites
''Chlorophyllum molybdites,'' which has the common names of false parasol, green-spored Lepiota and vomiter, is a widespread mushroom. Poisonous and producing severe gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, it is commonly conflated wi ...
''
*''Lepiota naucina'' = ''Leucoagaricus leucothites
''Leucoagaricus leucothites'', the white dapperling, or white Agaricus mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus. The species was originally described as ''Agaricus leucothites'' by Carlo Vittadini in 1835, and bears similarity to species of that g ...
''
*''Lepiota procera'' = ''Macrolepiota procera
''Macrolepiota procera'', the parasol mushroom, is a basidiomycete fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body resembling a parasol. It is a fairly common species on well-drained soils. It is found solitary or in groups and fairy rings in pas ...
''
*''Lepiota rhacodes'' = ''Chlorophyllum rhacodes
Shaggy parasol is the common name for three closely related species of mushroom, ''Chlorophyllum rhacodes'' (or ''rachodes''), ''C. olivieri'' and ''C. brunneum'', found in North America, Europe and Southern Africa (the latter species is als ...
''
See also
*List of Agaricaceae genera
This is a list of genus, genera in the mushroom-forming fungus family Agaricaceae.
Genera
See also
* List of Agaricales families
* List of Agaricales genera
References
;Notes
;References
Cited texts
*{{cite book , vauthors ...
*List of Agaricales genera
This is a list of mushroom-forming fungi genera in the order Agaricales.
Genera
*
See also
* List of Agaricales families
References
Notes
References
{{reflist, 2, refs=
{{cite journal , last=Agerer , first=R. , year=1983 , title=Beitrag zur ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1090886
Agaricales genera
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon