Shaggy parasol is the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for three closely related species of mushroom, ''Chlorophyllum rhacodes'' (or ''rachodes''), ''C. olivieri'' and ''C. brunneum'', found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, Europe and Southern Africa (the latter species is also found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Taxonomy

''Chlorophyllum rhacodes'', ''C. olivieri'' and ''C. brunneum'' were formerly known as ''Macrolepiota rhacodes'' or ''Lepiota rhacodes'', but the name was changed on the basis of

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

evidence demonstrating a closer relationship to '' Chlorophyllum molybdites'' than to ''

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 ...

''. The subspecies ''Macrolepiota rhacodes'' var. ''brunneum'' was also elevated to species status as ''Chlorophyllum brunneum''. ''Chlorophyllum olivieri'' is a closely related species that is also eaten as the "Shaggy Parasol". Many reference works spell the epithet "''rachodes''" rather than "''rhacodes''". The spelling "rachodes" was used by Vittadini when he first published the species in 1835, but was erroneous as the Greek word ''rhakos'' 'piece of cloth' should be transcribed as ''rhacos''. Index Fungorum keeps to the original author's spelling, "''rachodes''".

Description

The shaggy parasol is a large and conspicuous agaric, with thick brown scales and protuberances on its fleshy white cap. The gills and spore print are both white in colour. Its stipe is slender, but bulbous at the base, is coloured uniformly and bears no patterns. It is fleshy, and a reddish, or

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

discoloration occurs and a pungent odour is evolved when it is cut. The

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

-shaped caps become wider and flatter as they mature. The stipe of ''C. brunneum'' grows to tall and has a diameter of 2 to 3 centimetres. The cap grows to across.

Edibility

The shaggy parasol is popularly praised as an

edible mushroom Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye). They can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground ...

. However, it contains

toxins A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1 ...

which can cause

gastric upset Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

s and some individuals show a strong allergic response even after cooking. Furthermore, young shaggy parasols look identical to the poisonous '' Chlorophyllum molybdites'' (the mushroom that causes the most poisonings in North America yearly).Chlorophyllum molybdites
(MushroomExpert.com) Checking for a white spore print is essential as ''C. molybdites'' print is green (older specimens having slightly green gills). As a result, this mushroom is not recommended for inexperienced hunters.

Similar species

The shaggy parasol is similar in appearance to the similarly edible

parasol mushroom ''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 ...

, ''Macrolepiota procera''. The latter grows considerably larger however, and is more likely to be found in the open than ''C. rhacodes'' which prefers more shade and dislikes open

pastures Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

and fields. Another distinguishing feature is that ''C. rhacodes'' lacks the brown bands that are on the stem of ''M. procera''.

Taxonomy

Description

Edibility

Similar species

References

Further reading