Cortinarius caperatus

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Cortinarius caperatus

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Fungi

Division: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Family: Cortinariaceae

Genus: Cortinarius

Species: C. caperatus

Binomial name

Cortinarius caperatus

(Pers.) Fr. (1838)

Synonyms

Rozites caperata (Pers.) P. Karst.

 Pholiota caperata (Pers.) Gillet
Dryophila caperata (Pers.) Quél.
Togaria caperata (Pers.) W.G. Sm.

Cortinarius caperatus

Mycological characteristics

gills on hymenium

cap is convex

or umbonate

hymenium is adnate

stipe has a ring

spore print is ochre

to brown

ecology is mycorrhizal

edibility: choice

Cortinarius caperatus, commonly known as the gypsy mushroom, is an edible mushroom of

the genus Cortinarius found in northern regions of Europe and North America. It was known
as Rozites caperata for many years, before genetic studies revealed it lay within the large
genus Cortinarius. The fruit bodies appear in autumn in coniferous and beech woods, as well
as heathlands in late summer and autumn. The ochre-coloured cap is up to 10 cm (4 in) across
and has a fibrous surface. The clay-coloured gills are attached to the stipe under the cap—and
the stipe is whitish with a whitish ring. The flesh has a mild smell and flavour.
Popular with mushroom foragers, C. caperatus is picked seasonally in many parts of Europe.
Although mild-tasting and highly regarded, the mushrooms are often infested with maggots. In
central Europe, old specimens could be confused with the poisonous Inocybe erubescens in
summer. Fruiting bodies of C. caperatus have been found to bioaccumulate mercury and
radioactive isotopes of caesium.

Contents

 1Taxonomy
 2Description
 3Distribution and habitat
 4Edibility
o 4.1Radioactivity and environmental contamination
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Taxonomy[edit]
The gypsy mushroom was originally described as Agaricus caperatus in 1796 by South African
mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, who noted it grew in beech woods.[1] The specific
epithet caperatus is Latin for "wrinkled".[2] Bohemian naturalist Julius Vincenz von
Krombholz illustrated it in his Naturgetreue Abbildungen und Beschreibungen der essbaren,
schädlichen und verdächtigen Schwämme, published between 1831 and 1846.[3] t was
transferred to the genus Cortinarius by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in
1838.[4] Later it was transferred to Pholiota in 1874 by French mycologist Claude Casimir
Gillet,[5] a placement followed by Italian naturalist Pier Andrea Saccardo.[6] Finnish
mycologist Petter Adolf Karsten established the genus Rozites in 1879 to accommodate the
species—as Rozites caperatus—on the basis of the mushroom having a double veil;[7] that is,
a partial veil—the remnants of which become a ring on the stipe—as well as a universal veil.[8] It
was known as a Rozites species for many years.[8] Meanwhile French mycologist Lucien
Quélet classified Pholiota as a subgenus of Dryophila in 1886, resulting in Dryophila
caperata being added to the species' synonymy.[9] Worthington George Smith placed it in his new
genus Togaria (now considered a synonym of Agrocybe).[10]
Genetic analysis in 2000 and 2002 showed that Rozites was not a discrete group and its
members were nested within Cortinarius.[8][11] The gypsy mushroom was found closely related to
the New Zealand species C. meleagris and C. subcastanellus, both also formerly
of Rozites.[8] Hence it has once more been placed within Cortinarius.[12] Within the genus it is
classified in the subgenus Cortinarius.[13]
Common names include the gypsy mushroom,[14] gypsy,[13] and wrinkled rozites.[15] An unusual
common name is granny′s nightcap in Finland.[2]

Description[edit]

Illustration by Albin Schmalfuß, 1897

C. caperatus has a buff to brownish-ochre cap 5–10 cm (2–4 in) diameter, which is covered with
whitish fibres. The surface has a wrinkled and furrowed texture.[15] It may have a lilac tinge when
young. It is convex initially before expanding and flattening with a boss (umbo) in the centre. The
stipe is 4–7 cm (1.6–2.6 in) high and 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) thick and slightly swollen at the base,
and is whitish with a whitish ring, which is initially attached to the cap.[16] Also known as a partial
veil, this is a key identifying feature of the mushroom.[17] The clay-coloured gills are free—they do
not reach the stipe under the cap. The spores give an ochre-brown spore print, and the warty
almond-shaped spores measure 10–13 µm long by 8–9 µm wide. The flesh is cream-coloured
and the flavor mild.[16]
Similar-looking North American species include Agrocybe praecox, which lacks the wrinkled cap
and is found in cultivated areas, and Phaeolepiota aurea, which has powdery-granular
surface.[14] In central Europe, old specimens could be mistaken for the highly poisonous Inocybe
erubescens in summer, and young mushrooms for the inedible Cortinarius traganus, although
the latter is readily distinguished by its unpleasant odour.[18]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

C. caperatus is found across northern Europe, mainly in Scandinavia, where it is common,
although it is uncommon in Denmark and Iceland.[19] In the British Isles it is uncommon outside
the Scottish Highlands[2] and the New Forest.[20] It has been classified as vulnerable in Germany
and Great Britain and endangered in the Netherlands.[21] C. caperatus had become less common
in the vicinity of Salzburg in Austria between 1937 and 1988, thought due to picking.[22]
It is widely found in northern parts of North America,[14] as far south as Mendocino County on the
west coast. It is uncommon in California.[23] C. caperatus is a rare component of subarctic areas
of western Greenland.[24] The gypsy mushroom also grows in temperate Asia, having been
recorded growing with bilberry near oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) and fir near Pamukova in
the Marmara Region of Turkey.[25] It is also found in boggy areas of the taiga (boreal pine forest)
in western Siberia.[26]
Fruiting bodies sprout from August to October in conifer and beech woods, as well
as heather (often close by sphagnum) in Scotland. It is mycorrhizal but non-selective in its
hosts.[2] Mushrooms appear from September to November in North America,[27] and July and
August in Alaska.[28] It prefers acidic and sandy soils and avoids chalky ones,[29] and may be found
in the same habitats as bay bolete (Imleria badia), brown rollrim (Paxillus involutus),
and chanterelles.[30] It forms relationships with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).[31] It is often found
under Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis),[23] or near huckleberry in North America.[14] In Alaska it
grows with dwarf birch (Betula nana) and American dwarf birch (B. glandulosa).[28] In Greenland,
it grows in association with white birch (Betula pubescens).[24]

Edibility[edit]

A plate of collected gypsy mushrooms on display in Prague

C. caperatus is a highly regarded edible mushroom with a mild flavour. It is said to mix well with
stronger-flavoured fungi such as chanterelles, boletes, brittlegills or milk-caps.[2] The mushroom
can have a faintly bitter taste if eaten raw, but a pleasant nutty flavour when cooked.[28] It can
readily be dried for later use, such as adding to soups and stews.[15] It is sold commercially in
Finland,[32] and is a popular target of foragers in many parts of Europe.[33] The mushrooms are
often found to be infested with maggots when picked.[30] Mycologist David Arora recommends
discarding the tough stipes.[14]
Radioactivity and environmental contamination[edit]
The popularity of C. caperatus across Europe raises concerns over its propensity to accumulate
contaminants.[34] Fungi are very efficient at absorbing radioactive isotopes of caesium from the
soil as they naturally have trace amounts of the element. Caesium may also take the place
of potassium, which exists in high concentrations in
mushrooms.[33] C. caperatus bioaccumulates radioactive caesium, 137Cs—a product of nuclear
testing—much more than many other mushroom species. Levels dramatically rose after the
1986 Chernobyl disaster. This is a particular health issue as picking and eating wild mushrooms
is a popular pastime in central and eastern Europe. Raised 137Cs levels were also found
in ruminants that eat mushrooms in Scandinavia in the 1990s.[35] Mushrooms from Reggio
Emilia in Italy were found to have raised levels of 134Cs.[33] C. caperatus has also been found to
contain raised levels of mercury from various sites across Poland.[34]

See also