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Floccularia Ricken (Floccularia rickenii) is an agaric fungus of the Champignon family, has a limited habitat, partially covering the territory of the Rostov region. The species is protected as rare and little studied, and work is underway to find new populations. It has no other names.
What does Ricken’s floccularia look like?
Floccularia rickenii is a medium-sized mushroom with a sweetish flesh that has a pleasant mushroom smell. The structure of the fruiting body is dense, the flesh is white, when interacting with air, the color does not change at the break.
Cap Description
The average cap diameter is from 3 to 8 cm, some specimens reach 12 cm. At a young age, the cap is fleshy, thick, hemispherical. As it grows, it opens, becoming prostrate-convex. The surface of the cap is dry, without gloss, with characteristic small warts. These are the remains of the velum (common cover) that protects the fruiting body at a young age. Each wart has from three to eight faces, the diameter varies from 0,5 to 5 mm. When dried, warty growths are easily exfoliated.
The edges of the cap are first curved, then straight, often with fragments of a veil. The color of the cap changes from white to cream with age. The center is much darker than the edges and is colored in a straw-grayish or gray-lemon shade.
The reverse side is covered with thin white plates located close to each other and descending onto the stem. In older mushrooms, the plates acquire a lemon-cream color.
Microscopic spores are colorless, shaped like a wide oval or ball. The surface of the spores is smooth, sometimes with an oil droplet.
Description of the leg
The color of the stem is the same as the color of the cap. Height – an average of 2 to 8 cm, diameter – 15-25 mm. The foot of Ricken’s floccularia is cylindrical, with a very noticeable thickening in the lower part. At the base, the leg is covered with small layered warts – about 0,5-3 mm. The top is bare. Young specimens have a ring that quickly disappears as they grow.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Ricken’s floccularia is edible. The data on taste qualities are contradictory: in some sources, the species is characterized as tasty, in others – with low taste qualities.
Where and how to grow
Floccularia Rikena is a rare mushroom listed in the Red Book of the Rostov Region. On the territory of Our Country, it can only be found in the suburbs of Rostov-on-Don (in the forest belt of the Chkalov farm), in the vicinity of the Ulyashkin farm in the Kamensky district and in the Shchepkinsky forest area of the Aksai district. Also recorded cases of finding this species in the Volgograd region.
Floccularia Rickena also grows in other countries:
- Ukraine;
- Czech Republic;
- Slovakia;
- Hungary.
Prefers to settle in artificial plantings of white acacia, thickets of honey locust and common locust. Fruiting bodies are located on the soil, often in sandy massifs of broad-leaved forests, grow in small groups. Floccularia Rikena loves the neighborhood with Tatar maple and pine, but does not form mycorrhiza with them. Fruiting from May to October.
Twins and their differences
In some cases, Ricken’s floccularia can be confused with its closest relative, straw yellow floccularia (Floccularia straminea). Another name is straminea floccularia. The main difference between the two species is the yellow color of the cap. Flocculia straminae is an edible mushroom with mediocre taste, it grows mainly in the coniferous forests of Western Europe.
Conclusion
Ricken’s floccularia is a species rarely found in forests, more interesting for specialists than for ordinary mushroom pickers. In order to preserve and further spread this representative of Champignon, one should refrain from collecting in favor of more familiar and tasty varieties.