Leucoagaricus leucothites

Description

Leucoagaricus leucothites is a common and globally distributed mushroom, often found in urban parks, gardens, and grassy areas, though it occasionally makes an appearance in forests. This mushroom has a distinctive elegance, with a smooth, white to pale gray-brown cap that starts convex and may look slightly lumpy in its young stage.

⚠️ Look-Alike Alert: Leucoagaricus leucothites closely resembles the poisonous Amanita species (such as the Destroying Angel), which also have white gills. This similarity can be dangerous, so general guidelines recommend avoiding all white-gilled mushrooms unless you are highly confident in your identification.

🌎 Distribution & Habitat: Leucoagaricus leucothites enjoys a worldwide presence, favoring human-influenced environments but also found in natural areas. It thrives in lawns and parks, especially in the fall, though it may also pop up in spring and summer.

🍽️ Edibility: While some sources say it’s edible, others caution against eating it due to potential stomach-upsetting toxins. Given its similarity to toxic Amanitas, many experts advise leaving this mushroom to its natural habitat rather than the dinner plate.

🧬 Taxonomy & Naming:

• Species: Leucoagaricus leucothites

• Family: Agaricaceae

• First Described: As Agaricus leucothites by Carlo Vittadini in 1835

Originally named Agaricus leucothites, this mushroom was later reclassified by mycologist Solomon Wasser in 1977 to Leucoagaricus leucothites, its current name.

📜 Meaning Behind the Name:

• Genus Name (Leucoagaricus): Derived from Greek, "Leuco-" means "white," and "Agaricus" refers to the true mushrooms, like Field Mushrooms, highlighting its white appearance and similarity to Agaricus species.

• Species Name (leucothites): Also rooted in Greek, "leucos" means "white," while "thites" refers to the lowest social class, hinting at it being an edible, but not especially prized, mushroom.

Common names: White Dapperling, White Agaricus Mushroom, Ma'am on Motorcycle, Smooth Parasol, Woman-on-motorcycle.

Mushroom Identification

🍄 Cap

• Size: 1.97 to 4.33 inches (5 to 11 cm), occasionally reaching 5.91 inches (15 cm)

• Shape: Convex when young, becoming broadly convex to flat with age

• Surface: Soft, sometimes scaly or smooth; white or grayish-white, may stain yellowish or brownish

• Texture: Silky and smooth, occasionally with fine scales

🍂 Gills

• Attachment: Free from the stem

• Color: White when young, often turning pale pink or flesh-colored with age

• Spacing: Crowded with shorter gills mixed in

🌱 Stem

• Size: 2.36 to 3.94 inches (6 to 10 cm) long; 0.39 to 0.59 inches (1 to 1.5 cm) thick

• Shape: Club-shaped with a bulbous base

• Surface: Smooth above the ring, finely fibrous below

• Color: White, bruising yellowish or brownish

• Ring: White, usually persistent but may fall off

🧬 Flesh

• Color: White

• Reaction: May turn yellowish in the stem base when cut or bruised

🌍 Habitat & Ecology

• Type: Saprobic (feeds on decaying organic matter)

• Location: Grassy areas, parks, gardens, pastures, roadsides, and sometimes woods

• Season: Late summer through fall (sometimes in spring)

• Distribution: Widely found in North America, especially around conifers

🔬 Spores

• Spore Print: White

• Shape: Elliptical (8-11 x 5-6.5 µm), thick-walled, with a small pore

• Microscopic Reaction: Dextrinoid (stains with iodine)

👃 Odor and Taste

• Odor: Mild or not distinctive

• Taste: Mild

Look-Alikes

1️⃣ Amanita virosa

Key Differences: Vulva (cup at base of the stem), skirt-like ring.

Caution: Highly toxic and potentially lethal.

2️⃣ Agaricus campestris

Key Differences: Gills start pink and turn brown as spores mature, while Leucoagaricus leucothites has consistently white gills.

Often grows in similar environments, leading to frequent confusion.

3️⃣ Chlorophyllum molybdites

Key Differences: Green spore print, cap scales, and sometimes the buttons stain.

Caution: Known to cause gastrointestinal distress if ingested.

4️⃣ Other Leucoagaricus Species

Key Differences: Some have a more fibrillose (fibrous) surface on the cap and may stain red upon bruising.

5️⃣ Leucocoprinus Species with White Cap

Key Differences: Generally smaller, with a distinctly plicate (wrinkled) margin on the cap.

6️⃣ Limacella Species

Key Differences: Sticky or viscid cap when moist (can dry smooth), inverse lamellar trama, non-amyloid spores without a germ pore, often lacks an annulus (ring on stem).

Synonyms

• Agaricus pudicus Bulliard (1793)

• Hypophyllum scissum Paulet (1808) [1793]

• Agaricus pudicus var. a alba Mérat (1821)

• Agaricus excoriatus Lasch (1828)

• Agaricus leucothites Vittadini (1835)

• Agaricus sphaerophorus Krombholz (1836)

• Agaricus naucinus Fries (1838) [1836-38]

• Lepiota naucina (Fries) P. Kummer (1871)

• Lepiota pudica (Bulliard) Quélet (1886)

• Lepiota naucina var. leucothites(Vittadini) Saccardo (1887)

• Mastocephalus naucinus (Fries) Kuntze (1891)

• Leucocoprinus pudicus (Fries) Locquin (1945)

• Leucoagaricus naucinus (Fries) Singer (1951) [1949]

• Lepiota leucothites (Vittadini) P.D. Orton (1960)

• Leucoagaricus carneifolius var. leucothites(Vittadini) Bon (1977)

• Leucoagaricus pudicus (Bulliard) M.M. Moser ex Bon (1981)

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Ron Pastorino (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: walt sturgeon (Mycowalt) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Chase G. Mayers (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Chase G. Mayers (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 5 - Author: Ericsteinert at German Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)