Chlorophyllum rhacodes

Description

Chlorophyllum rhacodes, also known as the shaggy parasol or the shaggy mane mushroom, is a large, edible mushroom. Chlorophyllum rhacodes has a distinctive appearance with a large, umbrella-shaped cap that can reach up to 30cm (12 inches) in diameter when fully mature. The cap and stem is covered in shaggy, brown scales that give it a rough, scaly appearance. The shaggy parasol mushroom is found in many parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia. It prefers to grow in grassy areas, such as lawns and meadows, during the late summer and fall months.

It is considered a choice edible mushroom by many people. However, some individuals may experience gastrointestinal distress if they consume this mushroom raw or undercooked. It is important to cook the mushroom thoroughly before eating it to avoid any potential health risks. Shaggy parasol mushrooms are low in calories but high in protein and various minerals and vitamins, including potassium, copper, and vitamin B-6.

The shaggy parasol mushroom has been used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, more research is needed to fully understand its potential health benefits. It is often grows in rings, which are called fairy rings and have been part of European folklore.

Common names: Shaggy Parasol, German (Safran-Riesenschirmpilz).

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   1.97 to 12 inches (5 to 30 cm); convex to nearly round when young, becoming broadly convex, flat, or very broadly bell-shaped; dry; soft; bald and brown to orangish brown when in the button stage, but soon breaking up so that the center remains smooth (or cracked) and brown but the rest of the surface consists of shaggy scales with brownish tips over a whitish, fibrillose background.

2. Gills

   Free from the stem; close or nearly crowded; short-gills frequent; white or, in maturity, pale brownish; often with brownish edges.

3. Stem

   2.36 to 7.87 inches (6 to 20 cm) long; 0.59 to 1.38 inches (1.5 to 3.5 cm) thick; club-shaped, with a basal bulb that is gradually swollen; bald; whitish above the ring, brownish below; bruising and discoloring brown to brownish; with a high, whitish, double-edged, moveable ring that features a brownish edge on the underside; basal mycelium white.

4. Flesh

   Whitish to pale brownish; staining pinkish-orange to reddish, then slowly brownish when sliced (especially near the apex of the stem); thick.

5. Spore Print

   White.

6. Habitat

   Saprobic; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously - often in troops or fairy rings - in lawns and disturbed-ground areas like roadsides, gardens, the edges of fields, and so on; often appearing in the vicinity of conifers (especially spruces); spring through fall; widely distributed in North America, but more commonly from the Rocky Mountains eastward.

7. Microscopic Features

   Spores 8–12 x 5–8 µm; ellipsoid, subamygdaliform, or ellipsoid with a truncated end; smooth; hyaline in KOH; dextrinoid. Cheilocystidia 15–50 x 10–17.5 µm; subsphaeropedunculate or occasionally clavate; hyaline in KOH; thin-walled. Pleurocystidia not found. Pileipellis a trichoderm (center of cap, or scales) or cutis (whitish, fibrillose surface).

Look-Alikes

1. Agaricus augustus

   It is almost identical but has dark brown or purplish-brown spores compared to the shaggy parasol’s pale cream spores.

2. Macrolepiota procera

   Has a brown and white pattern on the stem similar to snakeskin, and smaller scales.

3. Chlorophyllum brunneum

   Looks remarkably similar and is now considered poisonous. The base of the C. brunneum stem abruptly turns into a swollen bulb, whereas the bulbous base of the Shaggy Parasol is more graduated at the base of the stem.

Recipe: Shaggy Parasol and Potato Soup

Ingredients

1. 2 slices chopped bacon

2. 3 T butter

3. 1 large thinly sliced leek, white part only

4. 4 C potatoes, cut in ½" cubes

5. 2 C chopped shaggy parasol mushroom

6. 3-1/2 C stock (chicken or vegetable)

7. 1/8 t ground nutmeg

8. 1/8 t ground white pepper

9. ½ t salt

10. 1-1/2 C cream

11. chopped fresh chives for garnish

How to cook

1. Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over a medium flame until almost crisp.

2. Add the butter and saute the leek until it is limp and turning yellow.

3. Add the potatoes and mushrooms.

4. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

5. Add the stock and spices.

6. Turn the heat up, bring to a boil for one minute, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are quite tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from stove.

7. Puree ½ the soup in a blender. Return all to the stove and add the cream.

Recipe: Cornmeal Fried Shaggy Parasols

Ingredients

1. 8 shaggy parasol mushrooms, harvested before the caps open, brushed clean, stems peeled

2. Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

3. 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, or more to taste

4. 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or more to taste

5. 2 cups fine cornmeal

6. 2 cups coarse cornmeal (polenta)

7. Unsalted butter, as needed for frying the mushrooms

8. 4 large eggs

9. 1 tablespoon water

10. Wedges of lemon, to serve, (optional)

How to cook

1. Beat the eggs with the water and reserve. Mix the corn meals, paprika, pepper, and garlic powder and reserve.

2. Halve the mushrooms.

3. Melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a cast iron skillet or a wide saute pan on medium heat, when it’s hot, place the mushrooms in the beaten egg to coat. then dredge thoroughly in the cornmeal. Tap off excess cornmeal from the mushrooms, then place in the pan. Season the mushrooms with salt, then fry until golden and crisp. Flip the mushrooms and caramelize the other side.

4. When the mushrooms are fully cooked and hot throughout, about 5-10 minutes, remove them and place on paper towels to drain excess fat, then serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side.

History

The classification of a type of mushroom called the Shaggy Parasol has changed recently because of studies done on its DNA. In 2003, it was moved to a different group of mushrooms called Chlorophyllum, which includes other poisonous mushrooms.

The Shaggy Parasol was first described in 1835 and has been classified under different names over time. Its scientific name is now Chlorophyllum rhacodes, but some sources may use the older name Chlorophyllum rachodes.

The name comes from a Greek word meaning rag, which fits because the mushroom looks ragged. The name Chlorophyllum means "with green gills" but not all species in the genus have green gills.

Synonyms and Varieties

• Agaricus procerus rhacodes (Vittad.) Rabenh. 1844

• Agaricus procerus var. b rhacodes(Vittadini) Rabenhorst (1844), Deutschlands kryptogamen-flora, 1, p. 574

• Agaricus procerus var. c subtomentosusRabenhorst (1844), Deutschlands kryptogamen-flora, 1, p. 574

• Agaricus procerus var. rhacodes (Vittad.) Rabenh. 1844

• Agaricus procerus var. ß tepidarius(Weinmann) Weinmann (1836), Hymeno et Gastero-mycetes hucusque in imperio Rossico observatos recensuit, p. 8

• Agaricus rhacodes Vittadini (1835), Descrizione dei funghi mangerecci più comuni dell'Italia e de'velenosi che possono co'medesimi confondersi, p. 158, tab. 20

• Agaricus subtomentosus Krombholz (1836), Naturgetreue abbildungen und beschreibungen der essbaren, schädlichen und verdächtigen schwämme, 4, p. 9, tab. 24, fig. 15-16

• Agaricus tepidarius Weinmann (1824), Sylloge plantarum novarum itemque minus congnitarum, 1, p. 69

• Chlorophyllum brunneum

• Hypophyllum columella Paulet (1808) [1793], Traité des champignons, 2, p. 288, tab. 135, fig. 1-3

• Lepiota procera var. rhacodes(Vittadini) Quélet (1886), Enchiridion fungorum in Europa media et praesertim in Gallia vigentium, p. 5

• Lepiota rhacodes (Vittadini) Quélet (1872), Mémoires de la Société d'Emulation de Montbéliard, série 2, 5, p. 70(32)

• Lepiota rhacodes var. rhacodes (Vittad.) Quél. 1872

• Lepiotophyllum rhacodes (Vittadini) Locquin (1942), Bulletin mensuel de la Société linnéenne de Lyon, 11, p. 40

• Lepiotophyllum rhacodes var. rhacodes (Vittad.) Locq. 1942

• Leucocoprinus rhacodes (Vittadini) Patouillard (1900), Essai taxonomique sur les familles et les genres des hyménomycètes, p. 171

• Macrolepiota rhacodes (Vittadini) Singer (1951) [1949], Lilloa, 22, p. 417

• Macrolepiota rhacodes forma rhacodes (Vittad.) Singer 1951

• Macrolepiota rhacodes var. rhacodes (Vittad.) Singer 1951

• Macrolepiota rhacodes var. venenata (Bon) Gminder 2003

• Macrolepiota venenata Bon 1979

• Mastocephalus rhacodes (Vittadini) Kuntze (1891), Revisio generum plantarum, 2, p. 860

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Jörg Hempel (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Agnes Monkelbaan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Dr. Hans-Günter Wagner (CC BY-SA 2.0)