''Panaeolus semiovatus'' var. ''semiovatus'', also known as ''Panaeolus semiovatus'' and ''Anellaria separata'', is a medium-sized buff-colored
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 ...
/toadstool that
grows on horse dung, and has black spores. Though nonpoisonous,
it is generally regarded as inedible,
and a few people experience gastric upset after consumption. Its common names are the shiny mottlegill, or egghead mottlegill.
Description
The
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
is up to 8 cm across, dark buff to white, parabolic to nearly convex in maturity. It is sticky when wet, and often wrinkles when dry. The
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
is 15 cm by 20 mm, solid and smooth, with an annulus (ring) that is white, but is often found blackened by falling spores. The
gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
are
adnexed
In mycology, a lamella, or gill, is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal, and are important for species identification. The atta ...
, being wider in the middle, and narrowing at both ends, they are brown to black. The flesh is white, or straw-colored.
This is a buff, or whitish-colored mushroom that grows in horse dung. It is widely distributed and is present in many
temperate zones
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
of the world.
The very similar ''
Panaeolus semiovatus var. phalaenarum'' (
Fr.) Ew. Gerhardt. 1996 syn. ''Panaeolus phalaenarum'' (Bull.) Quel. is more slender (cap 2–4 cm), and lacks the ring.
:As seen below, this mushroom varies from white to dark buff in coloration.
Pansemivarsemi3.jpg, Wild ''Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus''
Pan.semi (2).jpg, ''Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus'' on horse manure.
Panaeolus semiovatus (1 of 1).jpg, Close up of cap and gills. Note the black spores.
See also
*
List of ''Panaeolus'' species
References
Further reading
*
External links
First Nature - ''Panaeolus semiovatus''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus
semiovatus var. semiovatus
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Inedible fungi