''Marasmius elegans'', commonly known as the velvet parachute, is a species of

fungus 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 ...

in the family

Marasmiaceae The Marasmiaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi which have white spores. They mostly have tough stems and the capability of shrivelling up during a dry period and later recovering. The widely consumed edible fungus ''Lentinula edodes'', the ...

. It has a reddish-brown cap, and a whitish stipe with white hairs at the base. It can be found in eucalypt forests in Australia.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as ''Collybia elegans'' by the Australian mycologist

John Burton Cleland Sir John Burton Cleland CBE (22 June 1878 – 11 August 1971) was a renowned Australian naturalist, microbiologist, mycologist and ornithologist. He was Professor of Pathology at the University of Adelaide and was consulted on high-level po ...

in 1933. Cheryl Grgurinovic transferred it to ''

Marasmius ''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'', are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressive ...

'' in a 1997 publication.

References

elegans Fungi of Australia Fungi described in 1933 Taxa named by John Burton Cleland {{Marasmiaceae-stub

Taxonomy

See also

References