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The white cap is a mushroom little known to a wide range of amateur mushroom pickers. This is due to the fact that it is not suitable for eating. In Latin, the name sounds like Conocybe albipes. Belongs to agaric mushrooms. Included in the Bolbitiev family, genus Konocybe.
What do white caps look like?
The white cap is small. The diameter of the cap barely reaches 3 cm. It is conical in shape, as the fruiting body grows, it changes to a bell-shaped, sometimes convex. The edges are thin, raised. A characteristic feature is the presence of a high tubercle.
From above, the hat is slightly wrinkled, matte. The color varies from gray-white to yellowish. In conditions of high humidity, the color changes to grayish brown, and the characteristic tubercle remains yellowish.
The pulp is thin and tender. Emits a slight unpleasant odor. The color of the pulp is white, with a yellow tinge.
The plates are grown, wide. In young specimens, they are gray-brown, in adults – a rusty shade and brown-brown.
The legs are cylindrical, smooth, thin and long. Reach 8-10 cm in height. Their diameter is about 2 cm. Hollow inside, with a pronounced nodule at the base. The color of the legs is white.
Where white caps grow
Favorite growing places are wide, open spaces. Mushrooms can be found on soil and in grass. They often grow along roadsides and even on lawns.
There are single specimens. Often mushrooms form small groups.
The fruiting period is July, August and September. Sometimes fruiting bodies appear a little earlier, at the end of June. It occurs quite rarely.
Is it possible to eat white caps
There is no exact data on whether white caps are safe to eat. Edibility is unknown. For this reason, experts attribute the mushroom to inedible varieties, and they do not recommend tasting it.
How to distinguish white caps
The white cap is not always easy to distinguish from the “relatives”: large-headed conocybe and milky-white conocybe:
- Conocybe large-headed – inedible appearance of miniature size. The conical cap reaches a diameter of 1-2 cm. Its color is brown, with a reddish tinge. The hat is ribbed, with translucent plates. Sits on a dark brown leg. Most often found in the grass, likes abundant irrigation. But the life span of the fruiting body is short.
- Milky white conocybe also not edible. Hat with an uneven edge, whitish, with a yellow tint. It differs in small size – up to 2,5 cm. In young specimens it is closed, in the shape of an egg. Then it becomes bell-shaped, never fully opens. The leg is straight, very thin and rather long, about 5 cm. The pulp is tender, with yellowness. The leg ring is missing. Fruits all summer, found in the grass. The life of the fruiting bodies is no more than 2 days.
Conclusion
It is not so easy to find a rare and, moreover, a miniature white cap mushroom. His life span is short. And for lovers of “silent hunting” it is of no value. Known mainly to specialists.