Melanoleuca short-legged (Melanoleuca brevipes)
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Tricholomataceae (Tricholomovye or Ryadovkovye)
- Genus: Melanoleuca (Melanoleuca)
- Type: Melanoleuca brevipes (Melanoleuca short-legged)
:
- Agaricus brevipes
- Gymnopus brevipes
- Tricholoma brevipes
- Gyrophila brevipes
- Gyrophila grammopodia var. brevipes
- Tricholoma melaleucum subvar. short pipes
In a genus filled with hard-to-identify mushrooms, this melanoleuca stands out (or should I say “crouches”? In general, stands out) from the crowd with its gray hat and seemingly truncated stem, which seems disproportionately short for such a wide hat, much shorter than most members of the genus Melanoleuca. Of course, there are differences at the microscopic level as well.
head: 4-10 cm in diameter, according to various sources – up to 14. Convex in young mushrooms, quickly becomes prostrate, sometimes with a small central bulge. Smooth, dry. Dark gray to almost black in young specimens, becoming grey, pale grey, eventually fading to a dull brownish gray or even light brownish.
plates: adherent, as a rule, with a tooth, or almost free. White, frequent.
Leg: 1-3 cm long and 1 cm thick or slightly more, whole, dense, longitudinally fibrous. Sometimes twisted, in young mushrooms often in the form of a club, it evens out with growth, a slight thickening may remain at the base. Dry, the color of the hat or a little darker.
Pulp: Whitish in the cap, brownish to brown in the stalk.
Smell and taste: Weak, almost indistinguishable. Some sources describe the taste as “pleasant floury”.
spore powder: White.
Microscopic features: spores 6,5-9,5 * 5-6,5 microns. More or less elliptical, decorated with amyloid protrusions (“warts”).
Ecology: probably, saprophytic.
It bears fruit in summer and autumn, some sources indicate – from spring, and even from early spring. It occurs in grassy areas, pastures, edges and soils with disturbed structure, often in urban areas, parks, squares. It is noted that the fungus is widespread in Europe and North America, probably not rare in other regions of the planet.
A little-known edible mushroom with average taste. Some sources classify it as an edible mushroom of the fourth category. It is recommended to boil before use.
It is believed that due to such a disproportionately short leg, Melanoleuca short-legged is simply impossible to confuse with any other mushrooms. At least not with any spring mushrooms.
Photo: Alexander.