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What is Armillaria solidipes?
魔菇部落的仙女環
The fungus is a basidiomycota of the order agaricales. Its sporocarp is medium-sized. The fungal cap measures 4-14 cm in diameter and can be pale muddy yellow, honey yellow to light brown in color. The cap would darken with age to become a brownish color, and would have small upright or flat scales in the center. Sometimes the caps are smooth with stripes along its edges. The fungal tissue are white in color. The gills are white with flesh pink tinges. Dark brown spots would appear when it matures. The columnar stipes are long and slender, and have a slight bend. It has a similar coloration with the mushroom cap and is fibrous. The center of the stipe is soft and could be hollow. Its base is slightly swollen. The white annulus is located at the upper portion of the stipe. The annulus is dual layered in early stages of mushroom development and has a soft texture. It would become butter colored in later stages of development. The fungus grows along the base and roots of many conifers or broad leaf trees, or in clumps on fallen logs. It is edible and has a fragrant aroma when dried. However, the fungus has a slightly bitter taste and must be processed before eating. It is found in large quantities in coniferous forests.
Your best friend in Summer Morning
Legend describes how fairy rings would sometimes appear in midsummer night, and people would see them when they wake up in the morning. Mushrooms could appear in a picturesque ring formation that could be several or hundreds of meters across. People say that fairies or elves have visited this place on one midsummer night and danced in a ring on the grass or around a tree throughout the night, causing mushrooms to appear in the following morning. People thus called these mushrooms fairy rings. Such spectacle showed us another aspect of nature. We realize that people are tiny compared to the never ending cycles of life. The beautiful legend of fairy rings of large mushrooms has always been a theme adopted by many western painters.
Some mushrooms appeared on the grass after several typhoons had swept past. The caps were white initially, but gradually darkened to a light brown color. The fully grown mushrooms have diameters measuring over 10 centimeters and stipes up to 15 cm high. The stipes also retained their annuli. The mushroom gills were white when young, and gradually become grayish green in color. This green color was used to name these mushrooms - the green spored parasol. If we view the mushroom gills under a microscope, we would see that the spores are transparent green in color. No wonder the gills were greenish. To prove that the spores were green, one could remove the mushroom cap and place it, with the gill facing downwards, on a sheet of white paper for 2-3 hours. When the cap is removed, we would see a dark green spore print left on the paper. This is the mark left by the sporulation of the mushroom cap. The green spored parasol is poisonous. Eating it would lead to vomiting or diarrhea. It often appears on the grass in parks during summer and autumn, and is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning in the tropics. The mycelium would spread radially along the ground surface. Hence, the emerging mushrooms would be arrayed in a ring formation. European legends describe that the rings were left behind by the fairies who danced in circles at night. Hence, they are also called fairy rings. Green spored parasol could form fairy rings on grass. The rings would get bigger with each passing year.
Some mushrooms appeared on the grass after several typhoons had swept past. The caps were white initially, but gradually darkened to a light brown color. The fully grown mushrooms have diameters measuring over 10 centimeters and stipes up to 15 cm high. The stipes also retained their annuli. The mushroom gills were white when young, and gradually become grayish green in color. This green color was used to name these mushrooms - the green spored parasol. If we view the mushroom gills under a microscope, we would see that the spores are transparent green in color. No wonder the gills were greenish. To prove that the spores were green, one could remove the mushroom cap and place it, with the gill facing downwards, on a sheet of white paper for 2-3 hours. When the cap is removed, we would see a dark green spore print left on the paper. This is the mark left by the sporulation of the mushroom cap. The green spored parasol is poisonous. Eating it would lead to vomiting or diarrhea. It often appears on the grass in parks during summer and autumn, and is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning in the tropics. The mycelium would spread radially along the ground surface. Hence, the emerging mushrooms would be arrayed in a ring formation. European legends describe that the rings were left behind by the fairies who danced in circles at night. Hence, they are also called fairy rings. Green spored parasol could form fairy rings on grass. The rings would get bigger with each passing year.