Volvariella is a genus of fungi with deep salmon-pink gills and .
Description
The mushrooms lack a ring, and have an Amanita-like volva at the stem base. Some species of
Amanita look similar, but
Amanita has white
and often have a ring. Since the gills of young
Volvariella are white at first, they are more easily mistaken for
Amanita. The genus is estimated to contain about 50 species.
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Taxonomy
Many sources list Volvariella as a member of the Pluteaceae family, but recent DNA studies have revealed that Pluteus and Volvariella evolved separately and have very different DNA. These studies show that Volvariella is very closely related to "schizophylloid" mushrooms like Schizophyllum commune.
Species
|
|
| Iran, China, India, Korea, and Pakistan |
| Europe |
| Australia |
| |
India |
Iran |
| |
| |
Brazil |
| | Volvariella media | Asia and Europe |
| |
| | Volvariella pusilla | Asia and Europe, North America, Africa and Australia |
India |
| North America north of Mexico, Northern Africa, Europe, New Zealand, and Asia |
Pakistan[Haqnawaz, M., Khan, Z., Niazi, A. R., & Khalid, A. N. (2023). Volvariella variicystidiosa sp. nov.
]
/ref> |
| East and Southeast Asia |
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Uses
Volvariella volvacea, well known as the "paddy straw mushroom", is cultured in rice straw in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. This species also favors wood chip piles. It is easy to confuse with Amanita species such as A. phalloides (the death cap). This mistake is the leading cause of lethal mushroom poisoning in the United States. Volvariella and Amanita cannot be distinguished in the early "button stage", that, for many, is considered the best stage to collect Volvariella for consumption. Like Amanita, the paddy straw mushroom has a volva, or universal veil, so called because it is a membrane that encapsulates the entire mushroom when it is young; this structure breaks apart as the mushroom expands, leaving parts that can be found at the base of the stalk as a cup-like structure.
Some species of Volvariella are popular edible mushroom in Europe, accounting for 16% of total production of cultivated mushrooms in the world.
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Key to the genus Volvariella [1]
