''Entoloma abortivum'', commonly known as the aborted entoloma or shrimp of the woods, is an

edible 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 mushroo ...

mushroom in the

Entolomataceae The Entolomataceae, also known as Rhodophyllaceae, are a large family of pink-spored terrestrial gilled mushrooms which includes the genera ''Entoloma'', '' Rhodocybe'', and ''Clitopilus''. The family collectively contains over 1500 species, the ...

family of

fungi 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 ...

. Caution should be used in identifying the species before eating (similar species such as ''

Entoloma sinuatum ''Entoloma sinuatum'' ( commonly known as the livid entoloma, livid agaric, livid pinkgill, leaden entoloma, and lead poisoner) is a poisonous mushroom found across Europe and North America. Some guidebooks refer to it by its older scientific ...

'' being poisonous). First named ''Clitopilus abortivus'' by

Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at R ...

and

Moses Ashley Curtis Moses Ashley Curtis (11 May 1808 – 10 April 1872) was a noted American botanist. Biography Curtis was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and educated at Williams College in Massachusetts. After graduating, he became a tutor for the children of ...

, it was given its current name by the Dutch mycologist

Marinus Anton Donk Marinus Anton Donk (14 August 1908 – 2 September 1972) was a Dutch mycologist. He specialized in the taxonomy and nomenclature of mushrooms. Rolf Singer wrote in his obituary that he was "one of the most outstanding figures of contemporary myc ...

in 1949. It was believed that the honey mushroom, ''

Armillaria mellea ''Armillaria mellea'', commonly known as honey fungus, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus ''Armillaria''. It is a plant pathogen and part of a cryptic species complex of closely related and morphologically similar species. It causes Armilla ...

'', was parasitizing the entoloma. But research has indicated that the inverse may be true—the entoloma may be parasitizing the honey mushroom. There is still some disagreement by mushroom collectors about this since it is common to see both the aborted and unaborted forms of the entoloma on wood and in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

, whereas Armillaria generally only fruits on wood. Both versions of the entoloma have also been observed when there are no ''Armillaria'' fruiting.

References

External links

* Entolomataceae Edible fungi Fungi described in 1859 Fungi of North America Taxa named by Miles Joseph Berkeley Fungus species {{Agaricales-stub

See also

References

External links