Hygrophorus persoonii

Description

Hygrophorus persoonii is a species of Fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is 3-8 cm in diameter, at first hemispherical or slightly conical with a tucked edge, then spreads out, a small tubercle remains in the center. Covered with abundant mucus, not hygrophanous, olive-brown, gray-brown with a dark brown center, brightens as it grows to olive or light gray-brown, ocher-brown, especially closer to the edge.

Grows in autumn in deciduous forests, mycorrhiza forming with oak, beech, and hornbeam. Usually found in groups. A rather rare species, known in Europe, the Far East, the North Caucasus, Southwest Asia (Turkey). The distribution of the species is poorly studied.

Common names: Olijfkleurige slijmkop (Dutch), Olivbraungestiefelter Schneckling (German), Olajszínű csigagomba (Hungarian), Vitbrun vaxskivling (Swedish).

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   3 - 8 cm, initially hemispherical or conical, with a turned edge, later convex, convex-spread, with a wide obtuse tubercle in the middle, with an outstretched edge. The surface of the cap is covered with a thick viscous mucous layer, especially dense in the center, smooth, brown, gray, gray-brown, olive-brown, darker in the center, lighter at the edge. Upon reaction with ammonia, the mucous layer becomes blue-green.

2. Gills

   Hymenophore lamellar. The gills are broad, thin, arched, with intermediate plates, whitish-gray, often with olive spots.

3. Spores

   9-12 (13.5) * 6.5-8 μm, ovoid, with a smooth surface, hyaline.

4. Spore Print

   White.

5. Stem

   5 - 12 cm high, 0.5 - 1.5 cm in diameter, cylindrical, slightly thinned at the base, solid, sometimes slightly hollow with age, covered with a thick layer of mucus, white, at the bottom with brown or dark olive-brown sticky fibrous scales, with a pseudo ring at the top formed by scales and mucus.

6. Flesh

   The flesh is at first elastic, later a little fibrous, white, slightly sweet, without a pronounced odor.

Look-Alikes

1. Hygrophorus latitabundus

   Has larger fruiting bodies, forms mycorrhiza with pine.

2. Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus

   Is a mycorrhizal former with conifers.

3. Hygrophorus mesotephrus

   Lives in deciduous forests but has a smaller size, a light hat, and a leg without belts.

4. Hygrophorus korhonenii

   Differs in a radially striped less slimy cap, grows in spruce forests.

5. Hygrophorus olivaceonitens

   Lives in deciduous forests, differing in a lighter color.

Hygrophorus persoonii Medical Properties

1. Antifungal activity

   Although all of the hygrophorones have some antifungal activity, 4-O-acetyl hygrophorone A12 was the most active against the test pathogen Cladiosporium cucumerinum (Lubken et al., 2004).

2. Antitumor activity

   Polysaccharides extracted from the mycelial culture of H. persoonii and administered intraperitoneally into white mice at a dosage of 300 mg/kg inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers by 100% and 90%, respectively (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).

Synonyms

1. Agaricus limacinus Schaeff.

2. Hygrocybe persoonii (Arnolds) X.L. Mao

3. Hygrophorus dichrous sensu NCL (1960); fide Checklist of Basidiomycota of Great Britain and Ireland (2005)

4. Hygrophorus limacinus sensu auct.; fide Checklist of Basidiomycota of Great Britain and Ireland (2005)

5. Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus sensu Lange; fide Checklist of Basidiomycota of Great Britain and Ireland (2005)

6. Limacium olivaceoalbum sensu Lange [Fl. Dan. 5, pl. 162A]

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: James K. Lindsey (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Photo 2 - Author: James K. Lindsey (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Photo 3 - Author: Strobilomyces (CC BY-SA 3.0)