Catathelasma ventricosum
Catathelasma ventricosum (Peck) Singer.
Index Fungorum number:xxx; Facefungi number: xxx
The young sporocarp of Catathelasma ventricosum is quite a stout cylinder wrapped in a membranous areolate grayish or whitish veil. The cap is plane with an uplifted margin measuring up to 16 cm in diameter. When fully grown, the cap is usually dry and covered with the remnants of the grayish or whitish veil, which are cracked exposing the white flesh beneath. The solid stipe is cylindrical with an abruptly tapering base, white above the annulus, concolourous with the cap below, measuring up to 12 cm long and 5 cm broad. The white gills are typically decurrent, white, some forked and up to 9 mm broad. The ring is double, membranous, thin, annealed, flaring against the gills and sheathing the lower stalk. The odour is somewhat the odour is farinaceous. The gargantuan and very firm sporocarp and the greyish or whitish veil remnants on the cap are characteristic of C. ventricosum. (Fig. 1)
Common names: Laorentou (Chinese); Gemu, Zhishu (Tibetan).
Use: A famous edible mushroom because of its soft and delicious taste.
Time of fruiting: This species usually fruits in the middle of the rainy season. June to August is the best time for this species in Yunnan.
Habitat: Grows on the ground, usually solitary or in small groups in conifer forests (especially under spruce) at an altitude of 3,300 m.
Distribution: This species has been reported from Europe, North America and China.
Fig. 1 The basidiomata of Catathelasma ventricosum in the field.
Reference
Mortimer P. E., Xu J., Karunarathna S. C., & Hyde K. D. 2014– Mushrooms for trees and people: a field guide to useful mushrooms of the Mekong region. Kunming: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
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