| Galerina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Galerina marginata | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Hymenogastraceae |
| Genus: | Galerina Earle (1909) |
| Type species | |
| Galerina vittiformis | |
| Subgenera | |
Galerina Kühner | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Galerina is agenus of small brown-sporesaprobicmushroom-bearingfungi, with over 300 species found throughout the world from the far north to remoteMacquarie Island in theSouthern Ocean.[2][3] The genus is most noted for some extremely poisonous species which are occasionally confused with hallucinogenic species ofPsilocybe.Galerina mushrooms are typically small andhygrophanous, with a slender and brittlestem. They are often found growing on wood, and when on the ground have a preference for mossy habitats.
Galerina meanshelmet-like.[4]
The genusGalerina is defined as small mushrooms ofmycenoid stature, that is, roughly similar in form toMycena species: a small conical to bell-shapedcap, andgills attached to a long and slender cartilaginousstem. Species have apileipellis that is a cutis, and ornamented spores that are brown in deposit, where the spore ornamentation comes from an extra spore covering.
Galerinafruiting bodies are typically small, undistinguished mushrooms with a typical "little brown mushroom" morphology and a yellow-brown, light brown to cinnamon-brownspore print. Thepileus is typicallyglabrous and oftenhygrophanous, and acortina-type veil is present in young specimens of roughly half of recognized species, though it sometimes disappears as the mushroom ages in many of these species.[citation needed] Microscopically, they are highly variable as well, though most species havespores that are ornamented, lack a germ pore, and have aplage. Many species also have characteristictibiiformcystidia. However, there are many exceptions, and many species ofGalerina lack one or more of these microscopic characteristics. Ecologically, allGalerina aresaprobic, growing in habitats like rotting wood or in moss.[2]
The spores ofGalerina feature an ornamentation that comes from the outer layer of the spore breaking up on maturity to produce either warts, wrinkles or "ears", flaps of material loosened from where the spore was attached to thebasidia. This outer layer of the spore often is not complete, but has a clear patch in many species just above the attachment, this clear patch is called aplage. This plage is not evident in all species, and the spore covering does not always breakup in all species, making it sometimes difficult to correctly determine a mushroom of this genus.
The specific features that define the genus require a microscope to confirm. In the wild it can be difficult to determine aGalerina from a number of similar genera, such asPholiota,Tubaria,Conocybe,Pholiotina,Agrocybe,Gymnopilus,Phaeogalera andPsilocybe. For the most part, Galerinas will be found associated withmoss, and this can separate out the genus in nature fairly well. But this identification is more difficult in the section Naucoriopsis, which does not associate with moss, and is a decomposer of wood.
Phaeogalera is a genus that was segregated fromGalerina byRobert Kühner.[5]
The genusGalerina has recently been found to bepolyphyletic,[2] consisting of at least three unrelatedclades, although not all species were studied and for most currently recognized species is uncertain still in which they belong. Each of these clades corresponds to a subgenus ofGalerina, as outlined by Kühner.[5] The great diversity ofmicromorphology found inGalerina is probably due to the polyphyly of the genus.
Galerina vittiformis is thetype species of the genusGalerina. This species is common[where?] in beds of damp moss (along with many other species ofGalerina). There are a number of variations of this species that have been named over the years: var.vittiformis f. vittiformis is a 2-spored species; var.vittiformis f. tetrasporis is a 4-spored form; var.pachyspora has been collected onMacquarie Island.[3]
Galerina patagonica has aGondwanan distribution.[6]Galerina hypnorum is a widespread species.
Galerina graminea can survive inmoss-freegrass, unlike manyGalerina mushrooms. It was known for many years as 'Galerina laevis', proposed byChristiaan Hendrik Persoon.
SeveralGalerina species are listed by theUS Forest Service as "species of special concern" in theNorthwest Forest Plan.[7] These species are consideredindicator species forold growthconiferous forest in thePacific Northwest:Galerina atkinsonia,[8]Galerina cerina,[9]Galerina heterocystis,[9]Galerina sphagnicola,[9] andGalerina vittiformis.[10]
Many (though not all)Galerina containalpha-amanitin and otheramatoxins.[11]
Galerina marginata (also known as "autumn skullcap", "deadly galerina", etc.) is a poisonous species[12] found throughout the temperate regions of the world, in habitats as diverse as forests and urban parklands, wherever rotting wood is found. In 2001, DNA studies found thatGalerina autumnalis and five other species ofGalerina with similar morphologies were, in fact, synonyms ofGalerina marginata.[13]
Galerina sulciceps, is a lethal species found inIndonesia and responsible for deaths there. One study found it more toxic thanAmanita phalloides.[14]
Galerina steglichii is very rare, bruises blue and contains the hallucinogenpsilocybin.[15][16]
The extreme toxicity of someGalerina species means that recognition ofGalerina is of great importance tomushroom hunters who are seeking hallucinogenicPsilocybe mushrooms. Species likeGalerina marginata may bear a superficial resemblance toPsilocybe cyanescens and otherPsilocybe species, and has often been found growing amongst and aroundPsilocybe cyanescens and otherPsilocybe species, making identification all the more confusing to the uninitiated.Galerina can be distinguished from psilocybinPsilocybe by the following characteristics:
Although these rules are specific to the separation ofGalerina from certainPsilocybe, since mixed patches ofPsilocybe andGalerina can occur, it is essential to be sure of the identity of each sporocarp collected.
Galerina also present some risk of confusion with several species of small edible mushrooms, notablyKuehneromyces mutabilis[19] andcandy caps (L. camphoratus and allies).[20][21]
Authority control databases: National |
|---|