Rhodocybe mundula

[Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Entolomataceae > Rhodocybe . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Rhodocybe mundula is fairly easily recognized. It has a whitish-grayish cap that develops a central depression and distinctive, more or less concentric cracks. Its gills run down the stem, and its spore print is pink. A drop of KOH applied to any surface on the mushroom turns red--though this test is probably not needed to identify Rhodocybe mundula with certainty.

Species of Rhodocybe are closely related to species of Entoloma, and are separated by their warted, rather than angular, spores.

Edibility is not known for Rhodocybe mundula; do not experiment.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing scattered or gregariously under hardwoods or conifers; summer and fall; probably widely distributed east of the Great Plains.

Cap: 3-7 cm; convex with an inrolled margin, becoming flat or centrally depressed, with a wavy margin; dry; smooth or very finely suedelike; whitish to grayish or brownish; developing distinctive, more or less concentric cracks with maturity.

Gills: Running down the stem; close or crowded; often forked; whitish at first, then brownish or pinkish.

Stem: 3-7 cm long; up to about 1.5 cm thick; equal, or tapering to base; fairly smooth; dry; colored like the cap; discoloring brownish basally.

Flesh: White; not discoloring when sliced.

Odor and Taste: Odor mealy; taste mealy and quite bitter.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on all surfaces red to brownish red.

Spore Print: Pink.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4-6 x 3.5-5 µ; subglobose to elliptical; tuberculate. Cystidia absent. Pileipellis a cutis with encrusted elements 2.5-6 µ wide; reddish brown in KOH.

REFERENCES: (Lasch, 1829) Singer, 1951. (Lincoff, 1992; Breitenbach & Kränzlin, 1995; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006.) Herb. Kuo 07260405, 10270701.

Rhodocybe popinalis is either a synonym or a very similar species. According to Breitenbach & Kränzlin (1995): "Despite many attempts to clarify the Rhodocybe mundula-popinalis species-complex, no useful and unequivocal differentiating features have been found. Overlapping or contradictory features are mingled in all the descriptions of these two species."

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2008, January). Rhodocybe mundula. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/rhodocybe_mundula.html