''Marasmius'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as ''

Marasmius oreades ''Marasmius oreades'', also known as the fairy ring mushroom or fairy ring champignon, is a mushroom native to North America and Europe. Its common names can cause some confusion, as many other mushrooms grow in fairy rings, such as the edible ' ...

'', are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressive brown mushrooms. Their humble appearance contributes to their not being readily distinguishable to non-specialists, and they are therefore seldom collected by

mushroom hunters Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for culinary use. This practice is popular throughout most of Europe, Australia, Japan, ...

. Several of the species are known to grow in the characteristic fairy ring pattern. Marasmius rotula - Lindsey

The author of the genus was

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 ...

, who in 1838 classified white-spored agarics having a tough central stipe in this taxon if they were

marcescent Marcescence is the withering and persistence of plant organs that normally are shed, and is a term most commonly applied to plant leaves. The underlying physiological mechanism is that trees transfer water and sap from the roots to the leaves t ...

, i.e. they could dry out but later revive when moistened. For Fries, marcescence — by contrast with the " putrescent" (decomposing) nature of most mushrooms — was an important character for

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

, which he used to separate this group from genus ''

Collybia ''Collybia'' (in the strict sense) is a genus of mushrooms in the family Tricholomataceae. The genus has a widespread but rare distribution in northern temperate areas, and contains three species that grow on the decomposing remains of other mus ...

'' (which has now been split into many newer genera). The name ''Marasmius'' itself comes from the Greek word ''marasmos'', meaning "drying out". Modern

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 ...

s no longer consider the marcescence/putrescence distinction a reliable criterion for taxonomy, but Fries's definition of the genus is still roughly applicable.

Species

Below is a list of more prominent species (for a complete list see List of ''Marasmius'' species). Note that some well-known former members of ''Marasmius,'' such as '' M. alliaceus'', have been moved into the new genus ''

Mycetinis ''Mycetinis'' is a genus of fungus in the Omphalotaceae family, containing about eight species formerly classified in ''Marasmius''. General This group of mushrooms was long known as a section (''Alliacei'') within the more familiar genus ''Maras ...

''; a few others have been reclassified as ''

Rhizomarasmius ''Rhizomarasmius'' is a genus of fungi in the family Physalacriaceae, containing about five species. General The genus was created in 2000 by R. H. Petersen to accommodate two species then classified in Marasmius (''M. pyrrhocephalus'' and ''M. ...

'' or ''

Gloiocephala ''Gloiocephala'' is a genus of fungi in the family Physalacriaceae. The genus is widespread, though mainly known from tropical and sub-tropical areas, and contains about 30 species. The mushrooms of this group are very small and grow on stems an ...

''. Former ''M. androsaceus'' is now considered to belong to genus '' Gymnopus''. *'' M. amazonicus'' *'' M. anomalus'' *'' M. atrocastaneus'' *'' M. auklandicus'' *'' M. aurantiobasalis'' *'' M. bambusinus'' *'' M. bellus'' *'' M. bulliardii'' *'' M. buxi'' - box parachute *'' M. caperatus'' *'' M. capillaris'' *'' M. caricis'' *'' M. chordalis'' *'' M. cladophyllus'' *'' M. cohaerens'' *'' M. collinus'' *'' M. corbariensis'' *'' M. crinis-equi'' *'' M. croceus'' *'' M. curranii'' *'' M. curreyi'' *'' M. cylindraceocampanulatus'' *'' M. delicatus'' *'' M. delectans'' *'' M. elegans'' - velvet parachute *'' M. epiphylloides'' *'' M. epiphyllus'' - leaf parachute *'' M. exocarpi'' *'' M. exustoides'' *'' M. favrei'' *'' M. fishii'' *'' M. fulvoferrugineus'' *'' M. funalis'' *'' M. galbinus'' *'' M. gelatinosipes'' *'' M. graminum'' *'' M. haematocephalus'' *'' M. hudsonii'' - holly parachute *'' M. indopurpureostriatus'' *'' M. insititius'' *'' M. kanukaneus'' *'' M. koae'' *'' M. kroumirensis'' *'' M. limosus'' *'' M. masonii'' *''

M. meridionalis ''Mammuthus meridionalis'', or the southern mammoth, is an extinct species of mammoth native to Europe and Central Asia from the Gelasian stage of the Early Pleistocene, living from 2.5–0.8 mya. Taxonomy The taxonomy of extinct elephant ...

'' *'' M. micraster'' *'' M. midnapurensis'' *'' M. minutus'' *'' M. nigripes'' *'' M. oreades'' - fairy ring mushroom *'' M. otagensis'' *'' M. pallenticeps'' *'' M. palmivorus'' *'' M. perforans'' *'' M. perpusillus'' *'' M. phalaricola'' *'' M. podocarpicola'' *'' M. prasiosmus'' *'' M. pulcherripes'' *'' M. pyrrhocephalus'' *'' M. pusillissimus'' *'' M. pusio'' *'' M. quercophilus'' *'' M. resinosus'' *'' M. rhombisporus'' *'' M. rhopalostylidis'' *'' M. rimuphilus'' *'' M. rosulatus'' *'' M. rotula'' - collared parachute or pinwheel mushroom *'' M. sacchari'' *'' M. saccharinus'' *'' M. sasicola'' *'' M. semiustus'' *'' M. setosus'' *'' M. siccus'' *'' M. spaniophyllus'' *'' M. splachnoides'' *'' M. subsupinus'' *'' M. stenophyllus'' *'' M. strictipes'' (edible) *'' M. sullivantii'' *'' M. tageticolor'' *'' M. tenuiparietalis'' *'' M. tenuissimus'' *'' M. tinctorius'' *'' M. torquescens'' *'' M. unilamellatus'' *'' M. wettsteinii'' *'' M. wynneae'' - pearly parachute

References

External links

*
Genus ''Marasmius''
at Mushroom Expert.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q1520016 Agaricales genera Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Bioluminescent fungi

Species

See also

References

External links