Lepiota ignivolvata

Description

Lepiota ignivolvata is a rare member of the gilled mushroom genus Lepiota. It is among the larger species in this group, growing in coniferous or deciduous woodland during autumn; it has a primarily European distribution. The center of the cap is reddish-brown, or orange-brown, breaking into small scales, which are fewer, and lighter towards the margin. The best identification aid is the orange (somewhat indented) ring, which is low on the white, slightly bulbous to club-shaped stem, which often has an orange flush at its base.

This mushroom is inedible, and perhaps poisonous, it should not be gathered for culinary use. Many of the species in this genus are deadly.

Common names: Orange-girdled Parasol.

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   4 to 10cm in diameter, the delicate cap of this whitish dapperling mushroom has light tan scales, more crowded and darker towards the center. The cap flesh is creamy-white and very soft.

2. Gills

   The free, crowded gills are white, sometimes becoming cream with age.

3. Stem

   A distinctive feature of this parasol mushroom is the bold red-brown or orange banded double-ring fairly low down on the stem.

   The stem itself is white and smooth or finely scaly; it is parallel with a diameter of 0.6 to 1.5cm.

4. Spores

   Ellipsoidal, smooth, 9-12 x 5-6µm; dextrinoid.

5. Spore Print

   White.

6. Odor and Taste

   Smell reminiscent of rubber, and has an unpleasant rancid taste.

7. Habitat & Ecological Role

   On soil under conifers and broad-leaf trees.

Look-Alikes

1. Lepiota cristata

   Looks and smells very similar, but it lacks the distinctive red-brown ring mark.

2. Lepiota magnispora

   Lack the orange coloring on the ring.

History

The basionym of this species dates from as recently as 1948, when French mycologists M. Bousset and Marcel Josserand (1900 - 1992) described this dapperling and gave it the binomial scientific name Lepiota ignivolvata by which it is still generally known today.

Lepiota, the genus name, comes from the Latin word lepis, meaning scale, and is a reference to the scaly surfaces of caps of members of this group of agarics.

The specific epithet ignivolvata means 'wrapped with fire' - a reference to the orange (flame-colored) band in the center of the stem ring.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Strobilomyces (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Dr. Hans-Günter Wagner (CC BY-SA 2.0)