''Mycetinis alliaceus'' ( syn. ''Marasmius alliaceus''), commonly known as the garlic parachute, is one of the larger

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 formerly in the genus ''

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 ...

'', having a beige cap of up to 4 cm and a long tough slender stipe. It emanates a strong smell of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, and this is the significance of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

species name, ''alliaceus''. It is distributed throughout Europe, being fairly common in some areas and quite rare in others.

Description

The species can be described as follows: *The cap is beige, ochre or flesh-coloured and is 2–4 cm in diameter, sometimes wrinkled, somewhat domed in the middle. *The gills are whitish and narrowly attached to the stem. *The spore powder is white. *The tough dark-coloured stem can be 15 cm tall but is only up to 3 mm in diameter. *The stem is velvety (

pruinose Pruinescence , or pruinosity, is a "frosted" or dusty-looking coating on top of a surface. It may also be called a pruina (plural: ''pruinae''), from the Latin word for hoarfrost. The adjectival form is pruinose . Entomology In insects, a "blo ...

) and black below, though it may be brown near the top. The strong taste and smell of garlic is a product of the separation of γ-glutamyl-marismin. This mushroom is found in European woods (especially

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

woods) from early summer to autumn, growing on fallen leaves and rotting wood.

Related species and naming

This species was originally documented by Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin in 1773 and subsequently it was long known as ''Marasmius alliaceus'', a designation established by

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 ...

. It gave its name to the section ''Alliacei'' of genus ''Marasmius'' until following a 2005 paper it was decided to separate this group off into 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 ...

'' (see that page for more details). The most likely species to be confused is the fairly common '' Mycetinis scorodonius'', which is distinguished by a bare shiny red-brown stem. '' Mycetinis querceus'' (once wrongly identified with: ''M. prasiosmus'') has a velvety stem like ''M. alliaceus'', but the colour is purple-brown. Related garlic-smelling species also occur in America; examples are '' Marasmius perlongispermus'' and '' Mycetinis copelandii''.

Edibility

The cap of ''M. alliaceus'' is edible, but of limited culinary value due to its meagre flesh. It can be added to dishes to give a garlic flavour, which could be useful for people who are allergic to real garlic.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q42184 alliaceus Fungi of Europe Edible fungi Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin