''Turbinellus kauffmanii'' ( syn. ''Gomphus kauffmanii''), is a species of

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 ...

native to North America.

Description

The cap is generally in diameter, though rarely can be up to across. The cap is olive to brown, with the surface splitting into olive- to clay-coloured scales as it ages, with white flesh between. The overall shape of the fruitbody is vase-shaped. The flesh is thick and white. The spore-bearing surface is yellow when young and ages to a buff-pink, and stains wine-coloured when bruised in younger specimens. The hymenium is decurrently attached to the stipe. The stipe is generally high and wide, though can be as tall as . The

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is ochre-coloured. Younger specimens also have a pungent smell, and the

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

can have an acrid taste. Laboratory experiments have shown that ''T. kauffmanii'' contains norcaperatic acid, though at lower concentrations than ''T. floccosus''. Norcaperatic acid increases tone of guinea pig smooth muscle of the small bowel (ileum), and that when given to rats, leads to mydriasis, skeletal muscle weakness, and central nervous system depression. It is likely the agent responsible for toxic (gastrointestinal) symptoms that occur in ''T. floccosus''.

Taxonomy

It was described in 1947 as ''Cantharellus kauffmanii'' by

Alexander H. Smith Alexander Hanchett Smith (December 12, 1904 – December 12, 1986) was an American mycologist known for his extensive contributions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of the higher fungi, especially the agarics. Early life Smith, born in Crandon, Wi ...

, who treated the members of ''Gomphus'' as two

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

s—''Gomphus'' and ''Excavatus''—within ''Cantharellus'' in his 1947 review of chanterelles in western North America, as he felt there were no consistent characteristics that distinguished the genera. ''T. kauffmanii'' was placed in the latter section due to its scaly

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 ...

, lack of

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rec ...

s and rusty

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

E. J. H. Corner Edred John Henry Corner FRS (12 January 1906 – 14 September 1996) was an English mycologist and botanist who occupied the posts of assistant director at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1929–1946) and Professor of Tropical Botany at the Uni ...

placed it in the genus '' Gomphus'' in 1966. The genus ''Gomphus'', along with several others in the Gomphaceae, was reorganized in the 2010s after molecular analysis confirmed that the older

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

-based classification did not accurately represent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationships. Thus, ''Turbinellus floccosus'' was made the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the genus ''

Turbinellus ''Turbinellus'' is a genus of five species of fungi in the family Gomphaceae. Taxonomy ''Turbinellus'' was circumscribed by Franklin Sumner Earle in 1909. Of the three species originally placed in the genus he remarked "They constitute a strikin ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Turbinellus kauffmanii'' is native to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

and northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where it is found in coniferous forests on soil rich in humus, with fruitbodies more common in warm wet summers. It has also been recorded from

Amanalco Amanalco is a municipality, in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipal seat is the town of Amanalco de Becerra and includes several larger towns including San Juan, San Jerónimo, San Bartolo, and San Mateo. The municipality covers an area of 219 ...

municipality in central Mexico.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q56556387, from2=Q10507195 Gomphaceae Fungi of North America Inedible fungi Fungi described in 1947