Volvariella is a genus of fungi with deep salmon-pink gills and spore prints.
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 spores 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.
Species
{| class="wikitable"
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! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution
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|120px ||Volvariella bombycina||Iran, China, India, Korea, and Pakistan
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|120px ||Volvariella caesiotincta||Europe
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| ||Volvariella gloiocephala||Australia
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|120px ||Volvariella hypopithys||
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| ||Volvariella indica || India
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|120px ||Volvariella volvacea||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 edibles in Europe, accounting for 16% of total production of cultivated mushrooms in the world.
References
- Key to the genus Volvariella [http://www.mushroomexpert.com/volvariella.html]