Article of the day for September 24, 2016
The Article of the day for September 24, 2016 is Agaricus deserticola.
Agaricus deserticola is a species of fungus found only in dry or semi-arid habitats in southwestern and western North America. It is similar to, and sometimes confused with, the mushrooms of the desert fungus species Podaxis pistillaris and Montagnea arenaria. Unlike other Agaricus species, it produces fruit bodies with a networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba, instead of true gills. When the cap splits, or the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, and spores are dispersed. The fruit bodies can reach heights of 18 cm (7.1 in) with caps up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) wide. The tough woody stems are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) wide, thickening towards the base. Fruit bodies grow singly or scattered on the ground in fields, grasslands, or arid ecosystems. The edibility of A. deserticola is not known definitively. The fungus was transferred to the genus Agaricus in 2004 after molecular analysis. In 2010, its species name was changed to deserticola after it was discovered that the previous name, texensis, had already been taken for a different species.
Agaricus deserticola is a species of fungus found only in dry or semi-arid habitats in southwestern and western North America. It is similar to, and sometimes confused with, the mushrooms of the desert fungus species Podaxis pistillaris and Montagnea arenaria. Unlike other Agaricus species, it produces fruit bodies with a networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba, instead of true gills. When the cap splits, or the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, and spores are dispersed. The fruit bodies can reach heights of 18 cm (7.1 in) with caps up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) wide. The tough woody stems are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) wide, thickening towards the base. Fruit bodies grow singly or scattered on the ground in fields, grasslands, or arid ecosystems. The edibility of A. deserticola is not known definitively. The fungus was transferred to the genus Agaricus in 2004 after molecular analysis. In 2010, its species name was changed to deserticola after it was discovered that the previous name, texensis, had already been taken for a different species.
