Pluteus cervinus
| Pluteus cervinus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Pluteaceae |
| Genus: | Pluteus |
| Species: | P. cervinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pluteus cervinus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
| Pluteus cervinus | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 | Gills on hymenium |
 | Cap is flat or umbonate |
 | Hymenium is free |
 | Stipe is bare |
 | Spore print is salmon to reddish-brown |
 | Ecology is saprotrophic |
 | Edibility is edible |
Pluteus cervinus, commonly known as the deer shield,[2] deer mushroom,[3] or fawn mushroom,[4] is a species of fungus in the order Agaricales. Fruit bodies are agaricoid (mushroom-shaped). Pluteus cervinus is saprotrophic and fruit bodies are found on rotten logs, roots, tree stumps, sawdust, and other wood waste. It is common in Europe and eastern North America.
Etymology
[edit]The species epithet, cervinus, means "deer-like"" and refers to the colour of the cap (described as "rehfarbig" in Jacob Christian Schäffer's original 1774 description).[5]
Description
[edit]The cap typically grows up to 12 centimetres (4+3⁄4 in) in diameter.[6] Initially it is bell-shaped and often wrinkled when young. Later it expands to a convex shape.[7] The cap can be deer-brown, but varies from light ochre-brown to dark brown, with a variable admixture of grey or black. The centre of the cap may be darker.[8] The cap surface is smooth and matt to silky-reflective. The cap skin shows dark radial fibres when seen through a lens, indicating that the microscopic cuticle structure is filamentous. The gills are initially white, but soon show a distinctive pinkish sheen,[8] caused by the ripening spores.
The stipe is 5–12 cm long and 0.5–2 cm in diameter, usually thicker at the base. It is white and covered with brown vertical fibrils. The flesh is soft and white.[8] The fruit body has a mild to earthy radish smell[8] and a mild taste at first, which may become slightly bitter.[9]
The spores are elliptical, smooth and measure approximately 7.0–8.0 × 5.0–5.5 μm. The hyphae lack clamp connections. The cystidia are thick-walled with apical projections. The spore print is pinkish brown.[10]
Similar species
[edit]Similar species include Pluteus atromarginatus, which has a dark brown edge to the gills; P. rangifer, a subarctic species; P. elaphinus in eastern North America; P. hongoi which typically has a paler cap and occurs in Eurasia and eastern North America; and P. exilis which typically produces fruit bodies in spring and occurs in western North America.[10] Similarly coloured species of Entoloma have gills that are attached to the stipe (not free) and distinctive, angular spores.
Distribution and ecology
[edit]Pluteus cervinus is common in Europe (April to December)[6] and eastern North America, but rare and possibly introduced in western North America.[10] It grows on stumps and wood debris.[6]
This mushroom has been recorded as food of the larvae of the pleasing fungus beetle Tritoma mimetica,[11] and tentatively[12] for the (possibly conspecific) relatives T.atriventris and T.humeralis too.
Uses
[edit]Although a poor-quality edible mushroom[13][9] with an unremarkable flavour (and not preserving well), young specimens can be added to other cooked dishes.[6][14]
Gallery
[edit]
Mature Pluteus cervinus
Young Pluteus cervinus
Cystidium with apical projections
Pluteus cervinus
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ NatureServe. "Pluteus cervinus". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ↑ Holden L. (April 2022). "English names for fungi April 2022". British Mycological Society. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ↑ Siegel, Noah; Schwarz, Christian (September 1, 2024). Mushrooms of Cascadia: A Comprehensive Guide to Fungi of the Pacific Northwest. Humboldt County, CA: Backcountry Press. p. 226. ISBN 9781941624197.
- ↑ National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, 2006
- ↑ Schäffer JC (1774). Fungorum qui in Bavaria et Palatinatu circa Ratisbonam Nascuntur icones nativis coloribus expressae 4. Regensburg: Typis Zunkelianis.
- 1 2 3 4 Francis-Baker, Tiffany (2021). Concise Foraging Guide. The Wildlife Trusts. London: Bloomsbury. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-4729-8474-6.
- ↑ Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. pp. 255–54. ISBN 978-0-89815-170-1.
- 1 2 3 4 Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
- 1 2 Kuo, Michael (December 2004). "Pluteus cervinus: The Deer Mushroom". Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Justo, Alfredo (2014). "Molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of Holarctic species of Pluteus section Pluteus (Agaricales: Pluteaceae), with description of twelve new species" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 180: 1. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.180.1.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
- ↑ Goodrich, Michael A. and Springer, Charles A. (1999): The Pleasing Fungus Beetles (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) of Nebraska. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 25: 53-71.Fulltext
- ↑ Goodrich, Michael A. & Skelley, Paul E. (1994): Fungal host records for species of Tritoma (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) of America North of Mexico. Entomol. News 105: 289-294. PDF fulltext
- ↑ Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.
- ↑ Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
Further reading
[edit]- Régis Courtecuisse, Bernard Duhem : Guide des champignons de France et d'Europe (Delachaux & Niestlé, 1994-2000). ISBN 2-603-00953-2