Yet another mushroom from Franklin Park Zoo

[urbpan]

I found a group of these charming mushrooms in the mulch outside the bongo antelope exhibit at Franklin Park Zoo. I took one and examined it: the gills were free from the stem--a rare trait. I took it away for a spore print to verify what I suspected: the spores were white in color (actually slightly off-white on the white paper). There was a fragile ring (or annulus) on the stem and the base of the stem was somewhat club-like. Taken together, these traits suggested a mushroom in the Amanita genus. But it didn't seem right to me for some reason. For one thing, Amanitas are mycorrhizal, they grow in symbiotic association with trees, not out of mulch.



The pattern of scales on the tops of the mushrooms didn't look like any picture of any Amanita I've seen. They are either bare, or have whitish "warts," remnants of the universal veil the mushroom was wrapped in as it formed. I knew I'd seen the pattern in pictures before, but on what mushroom group? Another thing: the mushroom I picked had an odor to it, a non-mushroomy odor, almost like a cleaning product. One of the Amanitas in the field guide was described as smelling like bleach, so maybe that was it, but the description of the cap wasn't right.


Flipping through my guides, I came to realize that the genus Lepiota can have free gills, a fragile ring (which usually disappears, as these did), and a bulb-or-club-like base. They are also commonly known to grow in mulch beds.

I sent the pics and the description to a couple mycologist friends, hopefully they can get me a more specific identification. I didn't intend to eat them, but some Lepiotas are edible, while others are poisonous.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

*nodnodnod* i don't know this area's lepiotas well, but it definitely looks like one to me. amanita has a real volva as opposed to just a club-shaped base.

i'd try "mushrooms demystified" for keying it out, if you have a copy?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's my main book, but I didn't land on any particular species very hard.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i own v 2 (which i believe is national) but i cut my teeth on v 1. L procera is one of my all-time favorite edibles. raw, the gills have a clean delicate texture that struck me as the way feathers should taste (but of course they don't :) and the whole thing grills up amazing with a little salt :)