Agrocybe dura    (Bolton) Singer 

common name(s) : Bearded Fieldcap, Crackling Agrocybe 

New classification: Basidiomycota/Agaricomycotina/Agaricomycetes/Agaricomycetidae/Agaricales/Strophariaceae  
Former classification: Basidiomycota/Homobasidiomycetes/Agaricomycetideae/Cortinariales/Bolbitiaceae  

synonyms: Pholiota dura, Agrocybe molesta 

edibility : discard

potential confusions with  Agrocybe dura toxicity of Agrocybe dura genus Agrocybe  

The cap is white to yellowish-ochre (paler if dry), convex then flat; its margin is often with veil remnants. The cap surface is covered with cracks, especially with age, a bit sticky in young specimens.

The stem is white to ochre, slightly swollen towards base, with a short-lived ring, on stem apex.

The flesh is whitish, unchanging; its taste is mild to slightly bitter; the odour is mushroomy (non mealy) or cocoa, or mowed lawn; its texture is fibrous.

The gills are pale beige clay to darker, grey-violet in-between, adnate to emarginate, crowded (nb of gills per 90° ~ 18 ). The spore print is light cigar brown. This species is saprophytic. It grows on the ground, in meadows, parks, clearings, roadsides, cultivated places, on a rather calcareous soil.

The fruiting period takes place all year long.
Dimensions: width of cap approximately 7 cm (between 3 and 10 cm)
  height of stem approximately 8 cm (between 3 and 12 cm)
  thickness of stem (at largest section) approximately 8 mm (between 3 and 20 mm)

Chemical tests : none.

Distinctive features : cap surface slightly sticky, cracked with age, often with veil remnants at the margin; flesh very firm; gills broadly adnate; fragile ring; no mealy odour or taste

Agrocybe dura is still unreported so far in the forest of Rambouillet, and is infrequent, more generally speaking .



page updated on 14/01/18