Waxy talker (Clitocybe phyllophila)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Tricholomataceae (Tricholomaceae or Ordinary)
- Genus: Clitocybe (Clitocybe or Talker)
- Species: Clitocybe phyllophila (Waxy talker)
- Other names for the mushroom:
- Deciduous talker
- Leaf-loving talker
Synonyms :
Waxy talker
Leaf-loving talker
- Waxy talker
- Greyish talker
- Lepista phyllophila
- Clitocybe pseudonebularis
- Clitocybe cerussata
- Clitocybe difformis
- Clitocybe obtexta
- Clitocybe dilatata
- Clitocybe pithyophila
Content:
- Description
- Poisoning symptoms
- How to distinguish a deciduous talker from other mushrooms
Description
The hat is 5-11 cm in diameter, in youth it is convex with a tubercle and a marginal zone tucked inward; later flat, with a turned-up edge and a barely noticeable elevation in the center; and, ultimately, funnel-shaped with a wavy edge; marginal zone without radial banding (i.e., the plates do not shine through the cap under any conditions); unhygrofous. The cap is covered with a white waxy layer, under which the surface of a flesh-colored or brownish shade, sometimes with ocher spots, shines through; in the marginal zone of older fruiting bodies, watery spots are visible. Sometimes this waxy coating cracks to form a "marble" surface. The peel from the cap is removed to the very center.
The plates are adherent or slightly descending, with additional plates, 5 mm wide, not very frequent - but also not very rare, about 6 plates per 5 mm in the middle part of the radius, covering the lower surface of the cap, extremely rarely bifurcating, at first white, later ocher -cream. The spore powder is not pure white, but rather a dirty flesh-colored or pinkish-cream shade.
Stem 5-8 cm high and 1-2 cm thick, cylindrical or flattened, often slightly widened at the base, less often tapering, at first white, later dirty-ocher. The surface is longitudinally fibrous, in the upper part it is covered with silky hairs and whitish "frosty" coating, at the base with woolly mycelium and a ball of mycelium and litter components.
The flesh in the cap is thin, 1-2 mm thick, spongy, soft, white; stiff in the stalk, pale ocher. The taste is mild, with an astringent aftertaste.
The smell is spicy, strong, not quite mushroomy, but pleasant.
Spores often stick together in two or four, size (4) 4.5-5.5 (6) x (2.6) 3-4 microns, colorless, hyaline, smooth, ellipsoid or ovoid, cyanophilic. Hyphae of the cortical layer 1.5-3.5 µm thick, in deeper layers up to 6 µm, septa with buckles.
Ecology and distribution
Waxy talker grows in forests, more often on deciduous litter, sometimes on coniferous (spruce, pine), in groups. Active fruiting season from September to late autumn. It is a species common in the northern temperate zone and is found in mainland Europe, Great Britain and North America.
Edibility
Waxy talker is poisonous (contains muscarine).
Poisoning symptoms
Before the first symptoms of poisoning appear, it takes from half an hour to 2-6 hours. Begins nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, profuse sweating, sometimes drooling, pupils constrict. In more severe cases, severe shortness of breath appears, the secretion of bronchial secretions increases, blood pressure drops and the pulse decreases. The victim is either agitated or depressed. Dizziness, confusion, delirium, hallucinations and, ultimately, coma develop. Mortality occurs in 2-3% of cases and occurs after 6-12 hours with large quantities of mushroom eaten. Fatalities are rare among healthy people, but for people with heart and respiratory problems, as well as for the elderly and children, it is a serious danger.
We remind you: at the first symptoms of poisoning, you should immediately consult a doctor!
How to distinguish a deciduous talker from other mushrooms
Under certain conditions, a conditionally edible saucer-shaped govorushka (Clitocybe catinus) can be taken for a deciduous talkative, but the latter has a matte surface of the cap and more descending plates. In addition, the saucer-shaped spores have a different shape and are larger, 7-8.5 x 5-6 microns.
The bent beetle (Clitocybe geotropa) is usually twice as large, and its cap has a pronounced tubercle, so it is usually quite easy to distinguish between these two species. Well, and the spores of the bent talker are somewhat larger, 6-8.5 x 4-6 microns.
It is much more unpleasant to confuse edible sub-cherry (Clitopilus prunulus) with a vernacular gossip, but it has a strong flour smell (for some, however, quite unpleasant, reminiscent of the smell of spoiled flour, forest bugs or overgrown cilantro), and pinkish plates in mature mushrooms are easily separated from the cap fingernail. In addition, the spores are larger in the sub-cherry.