Infundibulicybe geotropa
{{Speciesbox
| image = Clitocybe geotropa JPG1.jpg
| taxon = Infundibulicybe geotropa
| authority = (Bull.) Harmaja
| synonyms = Clitocybe geotropa (Bull.) Quél.
}}
{{mycomorphbox
| name = Infundibulicybe geotropa
| whichGills = decurrent
| capShape = depressed
| hymeniumType=gills
| stipeCharacter=bare
| ecologicalType=saprotrophic
| sporePrintColor=white
| howEdible=choice}}
Infundibulicybe geotropa, also known as the trooping funnel or monk's head, is a large funnel-shaped toadstool with a sturdy cream or buff colour. It grows widely in Europe and (less commonly) in North America in mixed woodlands, often in troops or fairy rings, one of which is over half a mile wide. Although edible, it could be confused with some poisonous species of similar colouration and size.
Taxonomy
French mycologist Pierre Bulliard initially described the trooping funnel as Agaricus geotropus in 1792, before Lucien Quélet renamed it Clitocybe geotropa (a name by which it was long known) in 1872. Its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek words {{lang|grc|γῆ}}/gē "earth", and τρόπος/tropos "turn".{{cite book |author1=Nilson, Sven |author2=Persson, Olle |year=1977 |title=Fungi of Northern Europe 2: Gill-Fungi |publisher=Penguin |isbn=0-14-063006-6 |page=38}}
Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja proposed I. geotropa and twelve other Clitocybe species be split off into a new genus Infundibulicybe, thus the new binomial name is Infundibulicybe geotropa.{{cite journal|title=Notes on Clitocybe s. lato (Agaricales) |author=Harmaja, Harri|year=2003|url=http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anb40-free/anb40-213.pdf|journal=Annales Botanici Fennici|volume=40|pages=213–18}}
Description
A cream- or buff-coloured mushroom, the cap may reach {{convert|20|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in diameter. It has a prominent boss and looks small in relation to the large stem in young specimens. As the mushroom ages, the cap changes from convex with inrolled margins to more funnel shaped. The decurrent gills are the same colour as the cap. The stipe is bulbous, larger at the base and {{convert|10|–|20|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} high. The spore print is white. There is a sweet smell,{{cite book | author = Phillips, Roger | year = 2006 | title = Mushrooms | publisher = Pan MacMillan | isbn = 0-330-44237-6|page= 91}} which has been likened to the odour of bitter almonds. The white flesh is firm in young specimens.{{cite book | author = Haas, Hans | year = 1969 | title = The Young Specialist looks at Fungi |page= 130| publisher = Burke | isbn = 0-222-79409-7}}
= Similar species =
It can be mistaken for the similar-coloured and also edible miller (Clitopilus prunulus), but the latter species has pink spores. However, there are a number of similar white or pale mushrooms which are poisonous; young specimens of Entoloma sinuatum can be distinguished by their sinuate gills and mealy smell. The unpleasant-tasting Melanoleuca grammopodia is similar, but has a more pale brownish cap and musky odour.{{cite book |title=The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms |author1=Lamaison, Jean-Louis |author2=Polese, Jean-Marie |year=2005 |publisher=Könemann |location=Königswinter, Germany |isbn=3-8331-1239-5 |pages=73, 95}}
Distribution and habitat
Trooping funnel is found in mixed woodlands, especially grassy clearings, in autumn. Often gregarious, it can form fairy rings, and has a complex mycelium. It is abundant and widespread in Europe (August to November),{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=The Wildlife Trusts |location=London |pages=134}} and less common in North America.{{cite book|last=Bigelow, Howard Elson|title=North American species of Clitocybe|publisher=J. Cramer|year=1985|pages=304|isbn=3-443-51001-9}}
One fairy ring in Belfort, eastern France, has been reported at over half a mile in diameter and estimated at 800 years of age. It is thought to be the largest known fairy ring.{{cite book|last=Marley, Greg|title=Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|year=2010|pages=193|isbn=978-1-60358-214-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJybhI1yWucC&q=clitocybe+geotropa&pg=PA193}}
Edibility
Only young mushrooms are recommended for eating, as older ones lose their pleasant taste, and the flesh becomes leathery in consistency. The stipes of all aged specimens are generally discarded. The fungus is popular in northern Italy, where it is roasted or cooked in stews and frittatas, or preserved in oil.{{cite book|last=Clifford A. Wright|title=Mediterranean vegetables: a cook's ABC of vegetables and their preparation in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and north Africa with more than 200 authentic recipes for the home cook
|publisher=Harvard Common Press|year=2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanveg0000wrig/page/229 229]|isbn=1-55832-196-9|url=https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanveg0000wrig|url-access=registration|quote=clitocybe geotropa.}}