Calocybe gambosa
| St. George's mushroom | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Lyophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Calocybe |
| Species: | C. gambosa |
| Binomial name | |
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Calocybe gambosa (Fr.) Donk (1962) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Tricholoma gambosum |
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| Calocybe gambosa | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
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gills on hymenium |
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cap is convex |
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hymenium is free |
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stipe is bare |
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spore print is white |
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ecology is mycorrhizal |
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edibility: choice |
Tricholoma gambosum
Calocybe gambosa, commonly known as St. George's mushroom, is an edible mushroom that grows mainly in fields, grass verges and roadsides. Deriving its common name from when it first appears in the UK, namely on St George's Day (23 April). It appears in March in Italy, a warmer country where it is also a popular mushroom to eat, and is known there as marzolino. It is also popular in Northern Spain and Southern France, in the Basque Country region and its surroundings where it is called perretxiko and appears in April. In these regions it is usually eaten sautéed with egg or with bacon.
It is considered a delicacy, especially when fried in butter. It was previously considered a part of the large genus Tricholoma and is still seen as T. gambosum in older texts.
Initially described as Agaricus gambosus by Elias Magnus Fries in his 1821 work Systema Mycologicum, with its specific epithet derived from a Latin term for "club footed" in relation to its bulky stipe. It was later named Tricholoma gambosum by Paul Kummer in 1871, before being reclassified as Calocybe gambosa by Marinus Anton Donk in 1962. In Germany it is known as Maipilz, where it fruits in May. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms kalos "pretty", and cubos "head". In Denmark it is called Vårmousseron, appearing in spring - early May
The cap measures from 5–15 cm in diameter and has a smooth texture and has ridges on it. The colour of the cap, stipe and flesh can range from white-creamy coloured to bright yellow. The sinuate gills are white and crowded. The flesh is thick and soft and has a mealy or cucumber smell. The spore print is white to pinkish white. The stubby stipe is bulky at the base.
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Wikipedia