Lepiota and Satellite Genera

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

If you are the kind of person who resists change, you're not going to like what's happening to the genus "Lepiota" these days. The genus used to consist of saprobic gilled mushrooms with white spore prints, gills that are free from the stem, partial veils that typically leave a ring on the stem--and, under the microscope, smooth, dextrinoid spores.

But today's Lepiota is not your grandmother's Lepiota. Microscopic analysis and, more recently, DNA studies, have wreaked havoc on the former genus, leaving us with a fairly small cluster of mushrooms (like Lepiota cristata) that are "really" species of Lepiota--and a host of new genus names (Macrolepiota, Leucoagaricus, Leucocoprinus, Chlorophyllum . . .) for the rest. In fact, seemingly diverse mushrooms like the brown-spored Agaricus campestris and the black-spored, gill-digesting Coprinus comatus have been shown to be closely related to the lepiotas, indicating that spore print color may be a poor indicator of genetic groupings. See The Lepiotoid Clade for more information.

But while ascertaining the evolution and speciation of mushrooms is fascinating and important, it does not have to be handcuffed to the identification process, and your grandmother's "Lepiota" is the best thing going for grouping the mushrooms involved into a manageable lot. The time is coming (in fact it may already have come) when we will have to take it for granted that our identification keys do not reflect natural groups of mushrooms. We will have to use a key that arrives at, say, Leucoagaricus americanus--and then discover that the mushroom is closely related to Agaricus arvensis, even though we would have needed a completely different key to identify the second species.

There are some very good edible mushrooms in the genus formerly known as "Lepiota," but they should be avoided by beginners, since they are easily confused with potentially deadly Amanita species. In fact, some of the smaller lepiotas are reported to have the same lethal toxins as the deadly Amanitas. Other toxins can be found in Chlorophyllum molybdites (which is hard to distinguish from the best edible lepiotas) and in Leucocoprinus birnbaumii. In short: Experience required!

I have not yet developed a key to Lepiota and its satellites. Species pages are listed below, and an extensive references list follows.

Lepiota experts Helen Smith, Walter Sundberg, and Else Vellinga are pictured below.

Helen Smith with Harold Burdsall and husband Alexander Smith

Walter Sundberg examines a mushroom while I get ticks

Else Vellinga in an awesome Leucocoprinus birnbaumii shirt

References

Akers, B. P. & W. J. Sundberg (1998). Lepiotaceae of Florida, I. Lepiota s. str., section Ovisporae. Mycotaxon 69: 429-436.

Akers, B. P. & W. J. Sundberg (1999). Lepiotaceae of Florida, II. Lepiota s. str., section Fuscovinacae. Mycotaxon 70: 453-460.

Akers, B. P. & W. J. Sundberg (2000). Lepiotaceae of Florida, III. Lepiota s. str., section Lepiota. Mycotaxon 75: 137-145.

Akers, B. P., S. A. Angels & J. W. Kimbrough (2000). Leucoagaricus viridiflavoides, a new species from Florida, with notes on related taxa. Mycotaxon 76: 39-50.

Akers, B. P. & W. J. Sundberg (2001). Lepiotaceae of Florida, IV. Stenosporic species of Lepiota s. str.. Mycotaxon 80: 469-479.

Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms demystified: A comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. 959 pp.

Bon, M. (1981). Cle monographique des “lepiotes” d’Europe. Documents Mycologiques 11: 1-78.

Burlingham, G. S. (1945). Noteworthy species of Lepiota and Lactaria. Mycologia 37: 53-64.

Johnson, J. & Vilgalys, R. (1998). Phylogenic systematics of Lepiota sensu lato based on nuclear large subunit rDNA evidence. Mycologia 90: 971-979.

Johnson, J. (1999). Phylogenetic relationships within Lepiota sensu lato based on morphological and molecular data. Mycologia 91: 443-458.

Kauffman, C. H. (1924). The genus Lepiota in the United States. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters 4: 311-344.

Kyde, M. M. & J. L. Peterson (1986). A variant of Lepiota cristata. Mycologia 78: 851-853.

Montoya, L. & V. M. Bandala (2005). A new species and a new record of Lepiota occurring in the Gulf of Mexico area. Mycotaxon 94: 111-125.

Moreno, G., A. Banares & M. Heykoop (1995). Macrolepiota molybdites (Meyer: Fr.) comb. nov., new to the Canary Islands. Mycotaxon 55: 467-471.

Morgan, A. P. (1906, 1907). North American species of Lepiota. The Journal of Mycology 12: 154-159, 195-203, 242-248; 13: 1-18.

Moser, M. (1983). Keys to Agarics and Boleti (Polyporales, Boletales, Agaricales, Russulales). Ed. Kibby, G. Transl. Plant, S. London: Roger Phillips. 535 pp.

Reid, D. A. (1989). Notes on some Leucocoprinoid fungi from Britain. Mycological Research 93: 413-423.

Sieger, R. E. (2003). Trial key to Pacific Northwest Lepiota and allies. Retrieved from the Pacific Northwest Key Council Web site: http://www.svims.ca/council/Lepiota.htm

Smith, A. H. & P. M. Rea (1944). Fungi of southern California: II. Mycologia 36: 125-137.

Smith, A. H., Smith, H. V. & Weber, N. S. (1979). How to know the gilled mushrooms. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown. 334 pp.

Smith, H. V. (1954). A revision of the Michigan species of Lepiota. Lloydia 17: 307-328.

Smith, H. V. (1966). Contributions toward a monograph on the genus Lepiota, I. Type studies in the genus Lepiota. Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 29: 97-117.

Smith, H. V. & Sundberg, W. J. (1979). Studies on the Lepiotaceae of the Pacific Coast region. I. Two new species. Mycotaxon 8: 446-452.

Smith, H. V. (1981). Some species of Leucocoprinus which grow in greenhouses. Michigan Botanist 20: 45-52.

Smith, H. V. & N. S. Weber. (1982). Selected species of Leucocoprinus from the southeastern United States. Contributions to the University of Michigan Herbarium 15: 297-309.

Sundberg, W. J. (1967). The family Lepiotaceae in California. Master’s Thesis, San Francisco State Univ. 219 p.

Sundberg, W. J. (1971). A new species of Lepiota. Mycologia 63: 79-82.

Sundberg, W. J. (1971). The genus Chlorophyllum (Lepiotaceae) in California. Madrono 21: 15-20.

Sundberg, W. J. (1976). Lepiota sensu lato in California. II. Type studies of Lepiota cupressa and Lepiota marginata. Mycotaxon 3: 381-386.

Vellinga, E. C. & H. A. Huijser (1998). Studies in Lepiota. I. Species with a hymeniform pileus covering. Belgian Journal of Botany 131: 191-210.

Vellinga, E. C., A. E. Franco-Molano & C. Bas (1998). Studies in Lepiota II. - Lepiota rubella. Sydowia 50: 272-277.

Vellinga, E. C. (2000). Notes on Lepiota and Leucoagaricus. Type studies on Lepiota magnispora, Lepiota barsii, and Agaricus americanus. Mycotaxon 76: 429-438.

Vellinga, E. C. (2001). Studies in Lepiota III. Some species from California, U.S.A. Mycotaxon 80: 285-295.

Vellinga, E. C. (2001). Studies in Lepiota IV. Lepiota cristata and L. castaneidisca. Mycotaxon 80: 297-306.

Vellinga, E. C. (2002). New combinations in Chlorophyllum. Mycotaxon 83: 415-417.

Vellnga, E. C. (2003). Phylogeny of Lepiota (Agaricaceae)-–Evidence from nrITS and nrLSU sequences. Mycological Progress 2: 305-322.

Vellinga, E. C., R. P. J. de Kok & T. D. Bruns (2003). Phylogeny and taxonomy of Macrolepiota (Agaricaceae). Mycologia 95: 442-456. This paper is available online here, at the Mycologia Web site.

Vellinga, E. C. (2004). Genera in the family Agaricaceae: evidence from nrITS and nrLSU sequences. Mycological Research 108: 354-377.

Vellinga, E. C. (2006). Chlorophyllum. Retrieved from the University of California at Berkeley Web site: http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ev/CHLOROPHYLLUM.pdf

Vellinga, E. C. (2007). Key to the Cystolepiota species in western North America. Retrieved from the University of California at Berkeley Web site: http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ev/vellinga_2007_cystolep_key.pdf

Vellinga, E. C. (2007). Nomenclatural overview of Lepiotaceous fungi. Version 4.3. Retrieved from the University of California at Berkeley Web site: http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ev/vellinga_june2007_nomencl_v43.pdf

Vellinga, E. C. (2007). Nomenclatural overview of the genera in the Agaricaceae. Version 2.6. Retrieved from the University of California at Berkeley Web site: http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ev/vellinga_genera_v.2.6_mar2007.pdf

Vellinga, E. C. (2007). Bibliography of North American “Lepiota” species. Version 2.0. Retrieved from the University of California at Berkeley Web site: http://plantbio.berkeley.edu/~bruns/ev/vellinga_2007_americanliterature_v2.pdf

Zeller, S. M. (1934). A new species of Lepiota. Mycologia 26: 210-211.

Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2007, October). Lepiota and satellite genera. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lepiota.html