Parasola plicatilis

Description

Parasola plicatilis is a small mushroom that lives off decaying matter and is found in Europe and North America. It has a folded cap that can be up to 50 mm wide. This mushroom grows in grassy areas, often alone or in small groups, and appears after rain at night. It decomposes itself once it releases its spores or dries up in the morning sun. These mushrooms are short-lived and develop, spread spores, and decay within a day. To see it at its best, you should look in the morning, as the stem tends to bend under the cap's weight later in the day.

The Parasola plicatilis isn't edible due to its size and thin flesh. There's no real interest in eating this mushroom because of its lack of substance.

Pleated inkcap mushrooms are not psychoactive like magic mushrooms. They don't contain significant amounts of compounds that induce hallucinogenic effects.

Some people believe that dogs won't eat toxic mushrooms because they can identify toxins by scent. Unfortunately, this is not true. Pleated inkcap mushrooms are not known to be poisonous for dogs, but in any case, you should advise your local veterinary clinic.

Common names: Pleated Inkcap, Japanese Umbrella Toadstool, German (Gemeiner Scheibchentintlin).

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   Starts small (10-50 mm) and oval, then becomes flat or bell-shaped, grooved deeply from the edge to the center, changes color from young yellowish-brown to gray with time, without any veil remains.

2. Gills

   Hang freely from the stem, close together or somewhat apart, start off white and turn dark gray and eventually black.

3. Stem

   Can be 35-100 mm long, up to 2 mm thick, mostly even with a slightly swollen base, easily breaks, hollow inside, white and smooth, no ring.

4. Flesh

   Very thin, whitish.

5. Odor and Taste

   No noticeable scent or taste.

6. Spore Print

   Black.

7. Habitat

   Lives on decaying matter, grows alone or scattered in grassy areas with sunlight, appears in summer and fall (or throughout winter in warmer places), found widely in North America and Europe.

8. Microscopic Features

   Spores 10-15 x 8-11 µ; angular-ovoid to limoniform or rarely subellipsoid; with a prominent, eccentric pore; smooth; dark reddish brown in KOH. Basidia 4-sterigmate. Pleurocystidia utriform or widely cylindric; to about 100 x 35 µ. Cheilocystidia utriform to widely fusoid-ventricose or rarely subsaccate; to about 90 x 30 µ. Pileipellis hymeniform; composed of sphaeropedunculate elements with tapered bases. Clamp connections present.

Look-Alikes

1. Parasola auricoma

   Displays a slightly larger size and a darker cap coloration. Its cap cells are adorned with minute hairs, and it thrives in woodland environments and on woodchip mulch.

2. Parasola kuehnerii

   Exhibits a predominantly orange-brown hue, yet shares a remarkably similar macroscopic appearance with P. plicatilis. This particular species primarily inhabits woodland edges.

3. Parasola leiocephala

   Boasts free gills, while P. plicatilis, more frequently encountered, features gills attached to a collar encircling the stem.

History

In 1777, British scientist William Curtis discovered this Inkcap and called it Agaricus plicatilis. Back then, most similar mushrooms were put in the Agaricus group, but this changed over time.

In 1838, Swedish scientist Elias Magnus Fries moved this mushroom to the Coprinus group, naming it Coprinus plicatilis. This name stuck for almost 200 years.

In 2001, scientists Redhead, Vilgalys & Hopple used DNA to rearrange the Coprinus group. The Pleated Parasol, along with similar mushrooms, was moved to the Parasola group. So, its new name became Parasola plicatilis.

The name "plicatilis" refers to the cap's grooves. Differentiating between Parasola species needs a microscope and experience.

Synonyms and Varieties

• Agaricus plicatilis Curtis (1781), Flora londinensis, 1(3), p. 70, tab. 200/215 (Basionyme) Sanctionnement : Fries (1821)

• Agaricus semistriatus Vahl (1794), Flora danica, 19, p. 8, tab. 1134, fig. 2

• Coprinus pulcher Persoon (1797), Tentamen dispositionis methodicae fungorum, p. 63

• Agaricus pulcher var. ß subsimilis Persoon (1801), Synopsis methodica fungorum, p. 405

• Agaricus pulcher (Persoon) Persoon (1801), Synopsis methodica fungorum, p. 404

• Coprinus plicatilis (Curtis) Gray (1821), A natural arrangement of British plants, 1, p. 634

• Agaricus plicatilis var. b major Weinmann (1836), Hymeno et Gastero-mycetes hucusque in imperio Rossico observatos recensuit, p. 278

• Ephemerocybe plicatilis (Curtis) Fayod (1889), Annales des sciences naturelles, botanique, série 7, 9, p. 380

• Coprinus hemerobius ss. Ricken (1911), Die Blätterpilze, p. 66, pl. 23, fig. 1 o

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