Conocybe albipes
Encyclopedia
Conocybe apala is a basidiomycete fungus
and a member of Conocybe
. It is a fairly common fungus, both in North America and Europe, found growing among short green grass
. Until recently, the species was also commonly known as Conocybe lactea and Conocybe albipes. Other common synonyms such as Bolbitius lacteus J.B.E. Lange 1940 and Bolbitius albipes G.H. Otth 1871, place the fungus in the genus Bolbitius
.
has a pale cream to silvery-white colour and may sometimes have a darker yellow to brown coloration towards the central umbo
. Its trademark hood-shaped conical cap expands with age and may flatten out, the surface being marked by minute radiating ridges. The cap can be up to 3 cm in diameter. The gills may be visible through the thin cap and these are coloured rust or cinnamon brown and quite dense. They are adnexed or free and release brown to reddish-brown elliptical spores producing a spore print
of the same colour. The stem is cap-coloured, elongated, thin, hollow and more or less equal along its length with a height up to 11 cm and diameter 0.1 to 0.3 cm. It can bear minuscule striations or hairs. The flesh of C. apala has no discernible taste or smell.
It must be stressed that all parts of this small, light fungus are extremely delicate and fragile. The slender stem enables the mushroom to compete with vegetation for access to air currents for spore
dispersal.
s, playing fields, lawn
s, meadow
s as well as rotting manure
d straw
, fruiting single or sparingly few ephemeral
bodies. It is commonly found fruiting during humid, rainy weather with generally overcast skies. It will appear on sunny mornings while there is dew
but will not persist once it evaporates. In most cases, by midday the delicate fruiting bodies shrivel
, dry and fade from sight. C.apalas fruiting season begins in spring and ends in autumn. It is distributed across Europe
and North America
.
genus, like Conocybe filaris
, are toxic.
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large 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, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
and a member of Conocybe
Conocybe
The genus Conocybe is a genus of mushrooms consisting of Conocybe tenera and at least 243 other species, with at least 50 species in North America....
. It is a fairly common fungus, both in North America and Europe, found growing among short green grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
. Until recently, the species was also commonly known as Conocybe lactea and Conocybe albipes. Other common synonyms such as Bolbitius lacteus J.B.E. Lange 1940 and Bolbitius albipes G.H. Otth 1871, place the fungus in the genus Bolbitius
Bolbitius
Bolbitius is a genus of small mushrooms in the Bolbitiaceae family.- Taxonomic details :The genus Bolbitius is defined as small thin Mycena-like mushrooms, with an hymenoderm pileipellis, a glutinous cap surface, and spores which are brown in deposit...
.
Appearance
Easily missable due to their very small size, C. apala fruitbodies are otherwise quite easy to identify. The capPileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
has a pale cream to silvery-white colour and may sometimes have a darker yellow to brown coloration towards the central umbo
Umbo
Umbo may refer to:*A shield boss* umbo , at the top of some mushrooms*The Umbo of tympanic membrane - a part of the human body*Umbo is the part of a Bivalve shell which was formed when the animal was a juvenile...
. Its trademark hood-shaped conical cap expands with age and may flatten out, the surface being marked by minute radiating ridges. The cap can be up to 3 cm in diameter. The gills may be visible through the thin cap and these are coloured rust or cinnamon brown and quite dense. They are adnexed or free and release brown to reddish-brown elliptical spores producing a spore print
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
of the same colour. The stem is cap-coloured, elongated, thin, hollow and more or less equal along its length with a height up to 11 cm and diameter 0.1 to 0.3 cm. It can bear minuscule striations or hairs. The flesh of C. apala has no discernible taste or smell.
It must be stressed that all parts of this small, light fungus are extremely delicate and fragile. The slender stem enables the mushroom to compete with vegetation for access to air currents for spore
Spore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
dispersal.
Habitat
C. apala is a saprobe found in areas with rich soil and short grass such as pasturePasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
s, playing fields, lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s, meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
s as well as rotting manure
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
d straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
, fruiting single or sparingly few ephemeral
Ephemeral
Ephemeral things are transitory, existing only briefly. Typically the term is used to describe objects found in nature, although it can describe a wide range of things....
bodies. It is commonly found fruiting during humid, rainy weather with generally overcast skies. It will appear on sunny mornings while there is dew
Dew
[Image:Dew on a flower.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Some dew on an iris in Sequoia National Park]]Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening...
but will not persist once it evaporates. In most cases, by midday the delicate fruiting bodies shrivel
Shrivel
Shrivelling is a natural phenomenon where an object, with an attached sub-elastic covering, has its interior volume reduced in some way. The covering, which cannot contract any further, is then obliged to wrinkle and buckle, in order to preserve surface area while containing the lesser volume.For...
, dry and fade from sight. C.apalas fruiting season begins in spring and ends in autumn. It is distributed across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Edibility
C. apala does not bear a distinctive taste or smell. While it is widely quoted as inedible and worthless due to its small size and mass, it is suspect for toxicity according to at least one author. Other members of the ConocybeConocybe
The genus Conocybe is a genus of mushrooms consisting of Conocybe tenera and at least 243 other species, with at least 50 species in North America....
genus, like Conocybe filaris
Conocybe filaris
Conocybe filaris is a common lawn mushroom which is widely distributed and especially common in the pacific northwest. It contains the same mycotoxins as the death cap. It is also known as Pholiotina filaris.- Description :...
, are toxic.