Infundibulicybe geotropa
Encyclopedia
Infundibulicybe geotropa, also known as the trooping funnel or monk's head, is a funnel
-shaped toadstool widely found in Europe and (less commonly) in North America. A large sturdy cream- or buff-coloured funnel-shaped mushroom, it grows in mixed woodlands, often in troops or fairy rings, one of which is over half a mile wide. Although edible, it could be confused with some poisonous species of similar colouration and size.
initially described the trooping funnel as Agaricus geotropus in 1792, before Lucien Quélet
renamed it Clitocybe geotropa (a name by which it was long known) in 1872. Its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek
words /gē "earth", and τρόπος/tropos "turn".
Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja proposed I. geotropa and twelve other Clitocybe species be split off into a new genus Infundibulicybe, thus the new binomial name is Infundibulicybe geotropa.
-coloured mushroom, the cap
may reach 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. It has a prominent boss and looks small in relation to the large stem in young specimens. As the mushroom ages, the cap changes from convex with inrolled margins to more funnel shaped. The decurrent gills are the same colour as the cap. The stipe
is bulbous, larger at the base and 10–20 cm (4–8 in) high. The spore print
is white. There is a sweet smell, which has been likened to the odour of bitter almonds. The white flesh is firm in young specimens.
It can be mistaken for the similar-coloured and also edible miller (Clitopilus prunulus
), but the latter species has pink spores. However there are a number of similar white or pale mushrooms which are poisonous; young specimens of Entoloma sinuatum
can be distinguished by their sinuate gills and mealy smell. The unpleasant-tasting Melanoleuca grammopodia is similar, but has a more pale brownish cap and musky odour.
s, and has a complex mycelium. It is abundant and widespread in Europe, and less common in North America.
One fairy ring in France has been reported at over half a mile in diameter and estimated at 800 years of age. It is thought to be the largest fairy ring known.
Funnel
A funnel is a pipe with a wide, often conical mouth and a narrow stem. It is used to channel liquid or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening. Without a funnel, spillage would occur....
-shaped toadstool widely found in Europe and (less commonly) in North America. A large sturdy cream- or buff-coloured funnel-shaped mushroom, it grows in mixed woodlands, often in troops or fairy rings, one of which is over half a mile wide. Although edible, it could be confused with some poisonous species of similar colouration and size.
Taxonomy and naming
French mycologist Pierre BulliardJean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard
Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard was a French physician and botanist....
initially described the trooping funnel as Agaricus geotropus in 1792, before Lucien Quélet
Lucien Quélet
thumb|Lucien QuéletLucien Quélet was a French mycologist and naturalist who discovered several species and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycological studies....
renamed it Clitocybe geotropa (a name by which it was long known) in 1872. Its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words /gē "earth", and τρόπος/tropos "turn".
Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja proposed I. geotropa and twelve other Clitocybe species be split off into a new genus Infundibulicybe, thus the new binomial name is Infundibulicybe geotropa.
Description
A cream- or buffBuff (colour)
Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...
-coloured mushroom, the cap
Pileus (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...
may reach 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. It has a prominent boss and looks small in relation to the large stem in young specimens. As the mushroom ages, the cap changes from convex with inrolled margins to more funnel shaped. The decurrent gills are the same colour as the cap. The stipe
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
is bulbous, larger at the base and 10–20 cm (4–8 in) high. The 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...
is white. There is a sweet smell, which has been likened to the odour of bitter almonds. The white flesh is firm in young specimens.
It can be mistaken for the similar-coloured and also edible miller (Clitopilus prunulus
Clitopilus prunulus
Clitopilus prunulus, commonly known as the miller or the sweetbread mushroom, is an edible pink-spored basidiomycete mushroom found in grasslands in Europe. It has a grey to white cap and decurrent gills.-Description:...
), but the latter species has pink spores. However there are a number of similar white or pale mushrooms which are poisonous; young specimens of Entoloma sinuatum
Entoloma sinuatum
Entoloma sinuatum is a poisonous mushroom found across Europe and North America. Some guidebooks refer to it by its older scientific names of Entoloma lividum or Rhodophyllus sinuatus...
can be distinguished by their sinuate gills and mealy smell. The unpleasant-tasting Melanoleuca grammopodia is similar, but has a more pale brownish cap and musky odour.
Distribution and habitat
The ivory funnel is found in mixed woodlands, especially grassy clearings, in autumn. Often gregarious, it can form fairy ringFairy ring
A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow to over in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but...
s, and has a complex mycelium. It is abundant and widespread in Europe, and less common in North America.
One fairy ring in France has been reported at over half a mile in diameter and estimated at 800 years of age. It is thought to be the largest fairy ring known.