Volvariella taylori

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Pluteaceae > Volvariella . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

The illustrated collections are a good match for Volvariella taylori, a European species recorded in North America by several Volvariella experts (Shaffer, 1957; Monoson, Methven & Sundberg, 1993). Distinguishing features include the finely hairy, grayish cap; the gray volva; the terrestrial habitat; and the fairly small spores (see below).

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously on the ground; found in woods, often near brush piles and woody debris, or in urban areas in grassy waste places; usually described as appearing in summer and fall (though the illustrated collections were both made in spring, during morel season); widely distributed from the Great Plains eastward.

Cap: 2-6 cm; convex or broadly conic, becoming broadly convex to nearly flat; dry; finely hairy; grayish to brownish gray; the margin not lined.

Gills: Free from the stem; whitish becoming pink; close or almost distant.

Stem: 3-6.5 cm long; 3-7 mm thick; tapering gradually to apex, with a slightly swollen base; dry; whitish or grayish; smooth or, at the apex, finely hairy; the base encased in a thick, gray to brownish, sack-like volva.

Flesh: White.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive--or, in my collection, strong but hard to describe . . . like a combination of radish and bleach.

Spore Print: Salmon pink.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5-9 x 4-6 µ; more or less elliptical, or somewhat ovoid; smooth. Pleuro- and cheilocystidia mostly fusoid-ventricose; to about 75 x 30 µ. Pileipellis elements not gelatinized. Clamp connections absent.

REFERENCES: (Berkeley & Broome, 1854) Singer, 1951. (Saccardo, 1887; Shaffer, 1957; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Hansen & Knudsen, 1992; Monoson, Methven & Sundberg, 1993; Seok et al., 2002.) Herb. Kuo 04140401, 04280802 (S. Hamilton).

According to the Index Fungorum, "Volvariella taylorii" (with two I's) is the correct spelling for this taxon.

© MushroomExpert.Com

Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2008, November). Volvariella taylori. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/volvariella_taylori.html