Armillaria cepistipes
🏷️ Description
Armillaria cepistipes is a wood-rotting mushroom commonly found in European forests, especially around decaying or stressed deciduous trees. Known for its bioluminescent mycelium, this conditionally edible fungus has a fascinating history, once used as a natural laxative. While it can be enjoyed when properly prepared, it requires careful handling due to its potential to cause digestive discomfort in sensitive individuals.
🔎 Identification
🍄 Cap
Size: 0.79 to 7.09 inches (2 to 18 cm) wide.
Shape: Initially hemispherical, becoming open and flat with age.
Color: Yellowish to light brown, darker in the center.
Surface: Scaly, with easily detachable scales; margin grooved and hairy when young.
📏 Stem
Height: 0.79 to 3.15 inches (2 to 8 cm), thickness 0.59 to 1.18 inches (1.5 to 3 cm).
Shape: Cylindrical with a club-shaped base, longitudinally fibrous.
Color: Whitish to light brown, yellowish towards the base, often streaked with wipeable scales.
Ring: Thick and transient, often leaving filamentous remnants.
🍂 Gills
Color: Whitish to light brown, becoming rust-brown with age.
Attachment: Adnate or slightly decurrent.
Special Feature: Wavy edges, often home to beetles! 🐞
🍖 Flesh
Color: Whitish to yellowish or light brown.
Texture: Watery in wet weather.
Odor: Musty, soapy.
Taste: Tart, scratchy, soapy (avoid raw tasting!).
🦠 Spore Print
Color: White.
Microscopy: Spores are elliptic or apple-seed-shaped, 7–10 × 4–7 µm.
🌲 Habitat & Ecology
Found at the base of deciduous trees (e.g., stumps, large wood remains).
Common in autumn (September–November) in Central Europe.
Roles: Weak pathogen or saprophyte, usually colonizing trees stressed by other agents.
Mycelium: Bioluminescent! ✨ A subtle glow illuminates its underground network.
🍽️ Edibility & Precautions
Conditionally edible (with care):
Must be boiled for 20 minutes (discard the water).
Stems: Too tough, discard them.
Older or frost-exposed specimens: Toxic and intolerable to many.
Reactions: May cause flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, or allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.
No fatalities or organ damage reported, but use cautiously!
Not suitable for drying; can be used sparingly as fresh mushroom powder.
Photo sources:
Photo 1 - Author: Tim Parker (CC BY 4.0)
Photo 2-3 - Author: Nina Filippova (CC BY 4.0)
Photo 4 - Author: Nina Filippova (CC BY 4.0)
