Deconica coprophila
{{short description|Species of fungus}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = 2010-07-09 Deconica coprophila (Bull.) Fr 93001.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Deconica coprophila
| authority = (Bull.) P.Karst (1821)
| synonyms = Agaricus coprophilus Bull. (1793)
Psilocybe coprophila (Bull.) P.Kumm. (1871)
Stropharia coprophila (Bull.) J.E. Lange (1936)
}}
{{Mycomorphbox
| name = Deconica coprophila
| hymeniumType = gills
| capShape = convex
| whichGills = adnate
| whichGills2 = decurrent
| stipeCharacter = bare
| sporePrintColor = purple-brown
| ecologicalType = saprotrophic
| howEdible = caution
}}
Deconica coprophila, commonly known as the dung-loving psilocybe, meadow muffin mushroom,{{Cite book |last=Arora |first=David |author-link=David Arora |url=https://archive.org/details/arora-david-mushrooms-demystified-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi-ten-speed-press-1986/page/370/mode/2up |title=Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi |publisher=Ten Speed Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-89815-170-1 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=370 |orig-date=1979}} or dung demon, is a species of mushroom in the family Strophariaceae.
Taxonomy
First described as Agaricus coprophilus by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard in 1793, it was transferred to the genus Psilocybe by Paul Kummer in 1871.
In the first decade of the 2000s, several molecular studies showed that the Psilocybe was polyphyletic and the non-bluing (non-hallucinogenic) species were transferred to Deconica.
Description
The hemispherical cap is up to {{Convert|2.5|cm|frac=4}} wide, red then orangish, usually with a hygrophanous central blotch. The gills are adnate, pale then purplish with white edges.
The stem is up to {{Convert|4|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and {{Convert|3|mm|frac=8}} thick and darker near the base. The spore print is purplish-brown.{{Cite book |last=Audubon |title=Mushrooms of North America |publisher=Knopf |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-593-31998-7 |pages=665}}
= Similar species =
It resembles D. merdaria, Agrocybe pediades, Panaeolus cinctulus, and members of Protostropharia.
Habitat and distribution
The species grows on cattle dung in much of North America (generally from July to September; December to May on the West Coast).
Potential uses
While non-toxic, the species is not a good edible mushroom.{{cite book|last=Miller Jr.|first=Orson K.|title=North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi|last2=Miller|first2=Hope H.|publisher=FalconGuide|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7627-3109-1|location=Guilford, CN|pages=250|author-link=Orson K. Miller Jr.}} It only contains a small amount of psilocybin and is thus not a significantly psychoactive mushroom.
{{clear}}
References
External links
- {{IndexFungorum|178700}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q47528226|from2=Q2214927}}
Category:Fungi described in 1793
Category:Fungi of North America
{{Agaricales-stub}}