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Lepiota is a little-known mushroom of the Champignon family, the genus Lepiota. Differs in small size and scaly hat. Another name is the small thyroid / thyroid umbrella.
What do lepiots look like?
A young specimen has a blunt bell-shaped hat, on a whitish surface there is a cotton-like cover consisting of small, woolly scales. In the center, a smooth, separating tubercle of a darker color – brown or brown is clearly visible. As it grows, the cap becomes prostrate, the scales are ocher-brownish or reddish-brown, standing out sharply against the background of whitish flesh, larger towards the middle. Along the edge there is an edge hanging in the form of small patches from the remains of a bedspread. The cap diameter is from 3 to 8 cm.
The plates are white or cream, frequent, freely located, different in length, slightly convex.
The flesh is white, soft, with a fruity aroma and sweetish taste.
Spore powder whitish. Spores are medium in size, colorless, oval.
The leg is cylindrical, hollow inside, expanding towards the base. It is supplied with a small soft, flaky, light, quickly disappearing ring. Above the cuff, the stalk is white and smooth, covered with yellowish or brownish scales and a flaky whitish coating, brown or rusty at the base. Leg length – from 6 to 8 cm, diameter from 0,3 to 1 cm.
Where do lepiots grow
Settles in deciduous and mixed forests, on litter or soil rich in humus. The fungus is distributed in the Northern Hemisphere in the temperate zone.
Is it possible to eat corymbose lepiotas
Information about the edibility of the mushroom is different. Some experts classify it as conditionally edible with low taste. Others believe that it is unfit for human consumption.
Taste qualities of lepiot mushroom
The thyroid umbrella is little known, quite rare and not popular with mushroom pickers. There is almost no information about its taste.
Benefits and harm to the body
There is no information. The fungus has been little studied.
False doubles
Lepiota corymbosa and similar species are not well studied. It has many similarities with small representatives of its kind, including poisonous ones, and it is not easy to find the difference between them.
- Lepiota chestnut. Inedible poisonous mushroom. Differs in smaller sizes. The cap diameter is 1,5-4 cm. In young mushrooms, it is ovoid, then it becomes bell-shaped, convex, prostrate and flat. The color is whitish or cream, the edges are uneven, with flakes. In the center there is a dark tubercle, on the surface there are felt scales of chestnut, brown or brick hue. The plates are frequent, wide, first white, then fawn or yellowish. Leg length – 3-6 cm, diameter – 2-5 mm. Outwardly, it is almost the same as that of the shield lepiota. The pulp is creamy or yellowish, soft, brittle, thin, has a pronounced and rather pleasant mushroom smell. Most often found along forest roads from July to August.
- Lepiota narrow spore. It can only be distinguished under a microscope: the spores are smaller and have a different shape. There is no information about edibility.
- Lepiota is bloated. It is poisonous, but in some sources it is referred to as an edible mushroom. It is very difficult to distinguish with the naked eye from other representatives of the genus. One of the signs is a strong scaly edge of the cap and legs. Rarely found in small groups in mixed and deciduous forests.
- Lepiota large spore. Microscopically reliably determined by larger spores. Of the external differences – a loose, abundant velum (the cover of a young mushroom), giving it a shaggy appearance, a pinkish color of the tissue between the scales, a fleecy annular zone on the stem without the formation of a cuff. It grows in groups or singly on fertile soils in forests of any type. Can be found from August to October. There is no information on edibility.
- Lepiota goronostaya. The snow-white mushroom grows on litter or soil in pastures, meadows, lawns. Found in the city. The flesh turns red when broken. The diameter of the cap is from 2,5 to 10 cm. The height of the stem is from 5 to 10 cm, the diameter is from 0,3 to 1 cm. It is distinguished by a very light color and size. There is no edibility data.
Collection rules
Lepiota corymb is not common, grows in small groups of 4-6 pieces. Fruiting from mid-summer to September, especially active from late July to August.
Use
Little is known about the preparation methods. The mushroom is poorly understood and may contain hazardous substances, so it should not be eaten.
Conclusion
Lepiota is a rare mushroom. It is very similar to its other relatives, and it is almost impossible to distinguish it from many of them with the naked eye, including poisonous ones.