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Leucocoprinus

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Leucocoprinus
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
arising in a flowerpot
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Agaricaceae
Genus: Leucocoprinus
Pat. (1888)
Type species
Leucocoprinus cepistipes
(Sowerby) Pat. (1889)
Synonyms[1]

Leucocoprinus is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Its best-known member is the distinctive yellow mushroom Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, which is found in plant pots and greenhouses worldwide. The type species is Leucocoprinus cepistipes. The genus has a widespread distribution[2] and contains over 80 recognised species,[3] however many of these species are very scarcely recorded and little known with only a small number of Leucocoprinus species which are commonly observed. The majority of the species in this genus are exclusive to tropical environments however numerous species have become a common sight in plant pots and greenhouses resulting in them becoming well known worldwide.

Taxonomy

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The genus was created in 1888 by the French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard.[4]

Due to the superficially similar features which many Leucocoprinus, Leucoagaricus and Lepiota species have these genera and the species within them have been subject to a great deal of reclassification over the years. One example of this is Leucoagaricus leucothites which has numerous synonyms formerly belonging to all three genera.[5]

These genera along with Cystolepiota, Chlorophyllum and Macrolepiota are often referred to as Lepiotoid mushrooms. Typical macroscopic characteristics include white spore prints, the presence of a stem ring formed from the partial veil and gills which are free from the stem. There are always exceptions to these details however. Flaky or woolly scales on the cap or stem of these mushrooms and a distinctly coloured central disc are common features amongst many species but are likewise observed in many other genera. Reliable identification of Lepiotoid mushrooms at the species level can be notoriously difficult. Many species can only reliably be distinguished by microscopic details and chemical reagent tests.[6]

Species

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Main article: List of Leucocoprinus species

Commonly known species include:

Many of these species have been documented growing in plant pots and greenhouses[7][8] and so may have a worldwide distribution in captivity with introduction into the wild being possible where temperatures are suitable for these tropical species. Several of the best known species were originally described from greenhouses before ever being recorded in the wild.[9][10][11]

  • Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
    Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
  • Leucocoprinus cretaceus
    Leucocoprinus cretaceus
  • Leucocoprinus cepistipes
    Leucocoprinus cepistipes

Habitat and distribution

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Many Leucocoprinus species originate from tropical climates where they thrive in the hot and humid conditions of rainforests however species have now spread all over the world due to human activity. Numerous species in this genus were introduced to Europe by early explorers bringing exotic plants back from tropical climates which carried unseen fungal hitchhikers in the soil. As a result, new and unknown species of mushrooms began appearing in greenhouses and hothouses all over Europe which piqued the interest of budding new mycologists who sought to classify these strange new 'plants', as mushrooms were then considered to be.[12] Some Leucocoprinus species were observed in Europe in the 18th century before ever being found in the wild.

Leucocoprinus birnbaumii was first described in 1788 from an observation in a hothouse in Halifax, England.[9] In 1793 British botanist James Sowerby observed it growing at Wormleybury manor,[13] likely in the hothouses and greenhouses which contained plants from the East Indies and India.[14] Its specific epithet is named for Mr Birnbaum, a gardener who found the yellow mushrooms growing in greenhouses amongst pineapples in the Salmovský gardens in Prague in the 1830s.[15][16][17]

Leucocoprinus cretaceus was also first classified in 1788 by Pierre Bulliard from observations made in greenhouses and in planters under cold frames in France[10] however as Bulliard's illustration more closely matched that of L. cepistipes it caused confusion in the identification of these two species.[18] In 1871 the German botanist Otto Kuntze stated that the mushrooms grew in large numbers in gardens and greenhouses but did not appear too often.[19]

Leucocoprinus cepistipes has a more complicated history as it was routinely conflated with L. cretaceus due to the similarly white appearance or even considered to simply be a white version of L. birnbaumii before species classifications were better established. James Sowerby's detailed illustrations from 1796,[13] made from specimens found in bark beds around London, depict both a white and yellow species side by side which he considered to be 'undoubtedly the same species' saying that they 'differ in nothing but colour'.[20]


James Sowerby's illustrations of Leucocoprinus mushrooms, 1796

These species are still commonly found in greenhouses and plant pots in Europe and all over the world. Centuries of buying and selling tropical plants has created an effective distribution network for Leucocoprinus species as the conditions of greenhouses and indoor plant pots can mimic the warm and humid tropical conditions which these mushrooms require. Collecting exotic plants in botanical gardens may also help to spread these species.[7]

Other Leucocoprinus species such as L. ianthinus are also commonly observed growing in plant pots with this species being described from a barkbed in a hothouse in Kew Gardens in 1888.[21] Observations of this species are largely limited to plant pots[22] and it is unclear where it is native to. In some regions it may be warm enough for introduced Leucocoprinus species to survive in the wild or grow outside but in regions with cold winter temperatures their distribution is generally limited to plant pots and greenhouses. There are however also common Leucocoprinus species which grow in temperate climates like L. brebissonii which can be found outside in Europe and is especially common on the West coast of the United States[23] whereas L. fragilissimus is uncommon in Europe but common on the East coast of the United States.[24]



Emile Boudier's illustrations of Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, 1901

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Synonymy: Leucocoprinus Pat". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  2. ^ "Leucocoprinus Pat., 1888". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  3. ^ "Species Fungorum - Leucocoprinus". www.speciesfungorum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  4. ^ Journal de botanique. Vol. 2. Paris: Bureau de journaux. 1888. p. 16.
  5. ^ "Species Fungorum - Leucoagaricus leucothites (Vittad.) Wasser, Ukr. bot. Zh. 34(3): 308 (1977)". speciesfungorum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  6. ^ Kuo, M. (October 2020). "Lepiotoid Mushrooms - (mushroomexpert.com)". www.mushroomexpert.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  7. ^ a b Szczepkowski, Andrzej; Gierczyk, Błażej; Kujawa, Anna (2014-08-01). "Greenhouses of botanical gardens as a habitat of alien and native macrofungi: a case study in Poland". Open Life Sciences. 9 (8): 777–795. doi:10.2478/s11535-014-0310-5. ISSN 2391-5412. S2CID 17510324.
  8. ^ Smith, Helen V. (1981). "Some Species of Leucocoprinus which Grow in Greenhouses". Michigan botanist. National Agricultural Library U. S. Department of Agriculture. Ann Arbor : Michigan Botanical Club. pp. 45–52.
  9. ^ a b Bolton, James (1788). An history of fungusses, growing about Halifax ... Vol. 1. [Huddersfield, Eng.]: Printed for the author and sold in Halifax by him. p. 50.
  10. ^ a b Bulliard, Pierre (1887–1888). Herbier de la France; ou, Collection complette des plantes indigenes de ce royaume; avec leurs proprie´te´s, et leurs usages en medecine. Vol. 337. Paris: Chez l'auteur, Didot, Debure, Belin. p. Plate 374.
  11. ^ Sowerby, James (1797). Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms. London: Printed by J. Davis. p. 1 – via www.biodiversitylibrary.org.
  12. ^ Vidyasagar, Aparna (2016-02-05). "Facts About the Fungus Among Us". livescience.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  13. ^ a b Sowerby, James (1797). Coloured Figures of English Fungi Or Mushrooms. J. Davis.
  14. ^ Rowe, Anne (2007). Hertfordshire Garden History: A Miscellany. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. ISBN 978-1-905313-38-9.
  15. ^ Corda, August Carl Joseph (1837). Icones fungorum hucusque cognitorum (in German). J. G. Calve.
  16. ^ Cejp, Karel (1948). "Dva tropičtí zástupci bělohnojniků v našich sklenicích" (PDF). Česká Mykologie (in Czech). 2 (3): 78 – via www.czechmycology.org.
  17. ^ Redakce (2015-09-17). "OBRAZEM: Střežené zahrady odhalí svá tajemství". Pražský deník (in Czech). Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  18. ^ Noordeloos, Machiel E; Kuyper, Th. W; Vellinga, E. C (2001). Flora agaricina Neerlandica: critical monographs on families of agarics and boleti occurring in the Netherlands. Vol. 5. A/B, General part ; Taxonomic part agaricaceae. Lisse; Abingdon: A.A. Balkema. p. 90. ISBN 978-90-5410-495-7. OCLC 59478535.
  19. ^ Kummer, Paul (1871). Der Führer in die Pilzkunde : Anleitung zum methodischen, leichten und sichern Bestimmen der in Deutschland vorkommenden Pilze : mit Ausnahme der Schimmel- und allzu winzigen Schleim- und Kern-Pilzchen. Zerbst: Verlag von E. Luppe's Buchhandlung. p. 135.
  20. ^ Sowerby, James (1797). Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms. London: Printed by J. Davis. p. 1 – via www.biodiversitylibrary.org.
  21. ^ Cooke, M. C.; Massee, George (1887–1888). "New British Fungi". Grevillea. 16. London: Williams and Norgate: 101.
  22. ^ "Leucocoprinus ianthinus". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  23. ^ "Skullcap Dapperling (Leucocoprinus brebissonii)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  24. ^ "Fragile Dapperling (Leucocoprinus fragilissimus)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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