Image © Joey Spatafora
|
Stropharia ambigua
The "ambiguous" Stropharia Morphology Cap: 3-15 cm broad, yellow to buff to sometimes nearly white; viscid when wet; thick, soft flesh; cottony white veil remnants clinging to the cap margin. Gills: close, pale gray turning purplish gray to black in age, usually adnate, but occasionally separating from the stalk. Veil: soft, white, cottony leaving remnants on the margin and sometimes leaving a ring or ragged zone near the top of the stalk. Stalk: 6-18 cm long, 0.5-2 cm thick; more or less uniform thickness; hollow or stuffed; silky white above the veil; delicate cottony scales below that sometimes wear off; often yellowish at the base with white threads of mycelia attached. Spores: spore print is dark purple to black. Basidiospores 11-14 x 6-7.5 microns, elliptical and smooth. Chrysocystidia (cystidia with a highly refractive golden content in KOH) on gills. Ecology Stropharia ambigua is definitely not ambiguous. Standing alone or in groups this medium-sized fungal inhabitant of cool dark locations is an attention grabber. The genus Stropharia is saprophytic, living in humus rich soil. Stropharia sends out cord-like rhizinae and forages for woody food sources. It is thought that Stropharia uses a "phalanx" strategy, where broad-fronted mycelial margins forage an abundant, regularly dispersed food source over short distances. Mycelial cords are important routes for nutrient translocation and have a major role in forest nutrient distribution and recycling. References:
|
|
Learn more about this fungus
Query the OSU Mycology Herbarium Database |
Mail Comments Dr. Joseph Spatafora |
