Lepiota comb (Umbrella comb) (Lepiota cristata) photo and description

Lepiota cristata (Lepiota cristata)

• Crested agaricus

Lepiota cristata Lepiota cristata

Hat 2-5 cm in ∅, in young mushrooms, then, with a reddish-brown tubercle, whitish, covered with concentric brownish-reddish scales.

The flesh, when broken and reddened when touched, has an unpleasant taste and a sharp rare smell.

The plates are free, frequent, white. Spore powder is white. Spores are rounded-triangular.

Leg 4-8 cm long, 0,3-0,8 cm ∅, cylindrical, slightly thickened towards the base, hollow, even, smooth, yellowish or slightly pinkish. The ring on the stem is membranous, white or with a pinkish tinge, disappearing when ripe.

It grows in coniferous, mixed and broad-leaved forests, meadows, pastures, vegetable gardens. Fruiting from July to October. It is also found in North America. It grows from June to September October in meadows, forest edges and lawns, pastures. It has a sharp, rare smell and an unpleasant taste.

The comb umbrella is a bright representative of the agaric family. These representatives of the forest flora are distinguished by their tendency to accumulate not only several types of toxic substances, but also radionuclides that affect the human body in a separate perspective.

Inexperienced pickers may confuse it with the edible lepiota mushroom.

A distinctive feature is the location on the outer side of the cap of peculiar growths that form scales in the form of a scallop. It is for this reason that the fungus received the name comb.

With age, the ring becomes completely indistinguishable. In individuals that have reached the final stage of development, the hat can be fully extended in the form of a concave saucer.

The flesh quickly turns red after any damage. Thus, poisons and toxins interact with the oxygen in the surrounding air.

The mushroom, when cut and broken, has an extremely unpleasant odor that resembles rotten garlic.