''Volvariella'' is a
genus of
mushrooms with deep salmon pink
gills and
spore prints.
Description
They lack a
ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
, and have an Amanita-like
volva at 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 ...
base. Some species of
Amanita look similar, but
Amanita has white
spore
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, f ...
s and often have a ring. Since the gills of young ''Volvariella'' are white at first, they are more easily mistaken for ''
Amanita''. The genus is estimated to contain about 50 species.
[
]
Species
Many sources list ''Volvariella'' as a member of the Pluteaceae family, but recent DNA studies have revealed that '' Pluteus'' and ''Volvariella'' evolved separately and have very different DNA. These studies show that ''Volvariella'' is very closely related to "schizophylloid" mushrooms like '' Schizophyllum commune''.edibles
An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushro ...
in Europe, accounting for 16% of total production of cultivated mushrooms in the world.
Cultivation and edibility
'' Volvariella volvacea'', well known as the "paddy straw mushroom", is cultured in rice straw in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. This species also favors wood chip piles. Unfortunately, it is easy to mistake the death cap mushroom (''Amanita phalloides
''Amanita phalloides'' (), commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus ''Amanita''. Widely distributed across Europe, but now sprouting in other parts of the world, ''A. phalloides ...
''), as well as some other '' Amanita'' species, for this edible species due to similarities in appearance. This mistake is the leading cause of lethal mushroom poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by ...
in the United States. ''Volvariella'' and ''Amanita'' cannot be distinguished in the early "button stage", that, for many, is considered the best stage to collect ''Volvariella'' for consumption. Like ''Amanita'', the paddy straw mushroom has a ''volva'', or universal veil, so called because it is a membrane that encapsulates the entire mushroom when it is young. This structure breaks apart as the mushroom expands, leaving parts that can be found at the base of the stalk as a cup-like structure.
List of species
References
* Key to the genus Volvariell
Pluteaceae
Edible fungi
Agaricales genera
Taxa named by Carlo Luigi Spegazzini
{{Agaricales-stub