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'''''Leotia lubrica''''', commonly referred to as a '''jelly baby''', is a species of [[fungus]] in the family [[Leotiaceae]]. The species produces small [[Sporocarp (fungi)|fruit bodies]] up to {{convert|6|cm|in}} in height, featuring a "head" and a stem. |
'''''Leotia lubrica''''', commonly referred to as a '''jelly baby''', is a species of [[fungus]] in the family [[Leotiaceae]]. The species produces small [[Sporocarp (fungi)|fruit bodies]] up to {{convert|6|cm|in}} in height, featuring a "head" and a stem. Ochre tinted with olive-green in colour, the heads are irregularly shaped, while the stem, of a similar colour, attaches them to the ground. It is similar in appearance to a number of other species, including ''[[Cudonia confusa]]'', ''[[Cudonia circinans|C. circinans]]'', ''[[Leotia atrovirens|L. atrovirens]]'' and ''[[Leotia viscosa|L. viscosa]]''. Growing in woodland among moss, plant detritus or other habitats, the ''L. lubrica'' fruit bodies are found in large numbers. It is often described as inedible, despite its common name, but has also been reported as edible and even good. The species feeds as a [[saprotroph]], and can be found in Europe, North America and Asia. |
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==Taxonomy and naming== |
==Taxonomy and naming== |
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The first species was first validly [[species description|described]] scientifically by [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli]] in his 1772 work ''Flora Carniolica exhibens plantas Carnioliae indigenas et distributas in classes, genera, species, varietates, ordine Linnaeano''. Scopoli either named the species ''Elvella lubrica''<ref name="Bi"/> or ''Helvella lubrica'',<ref name="urlMycoBank"/> with the [[botanical name|specific name]] ''lubrica'' meaning ''slimy''.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Natural History of Tutbury|author= [[Sir Oswald Mosley, 2nd Baronet, of Ancoats|Mosley, Oswald]]; Brown, Edwin|year= 1863|page= 353|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RwIIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA353}}</ref> |
The first species was first validly [[species description|described]] scientifically by [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli]] in his 1772 work ''Flora Carniolica exhibens plantas Carnioliae indigenas et distributas in classes, genera, species, varietates, ordine Linnaeano''. Scopoli either named the species ''Elvella lubrica''<ref name="Bi"/> or ''Helvella lubrica'',<ref name="urlMycoBank"/> with the [[botanical name|specific name]] ''lubrica'' meaning ''slimy''.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Natural History of Tutbury|author= [[Sir Oswald Mosley, 2nd Baronet, of Ancoats|Mosley, Oswald]]; Brown, Edwin|year= 1863|page= 353|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RwIIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA353}}</ref> [[Christiaan Hendrik Persoon]] transferred the species to ''[[Leotia]]'', where it remains, in 1794. It is the [[type species]] of the genus.<ref name="Bi">{{cite book |title=The Macrofungus Flora of China's Guangdong Province |last=Bi |first=Zhishu |coauthors=Zheng, Guoyang; Li, Taihui |year=1993 |publisher=Chinese University Press |isbn=9789622015562 |page=31}}</ref> Other synonyms include ''Leotia gelatinosa'', used by [[John Hill (biologist)|John Hill]] in 1751,<ref group="Note">Though this description was earlier than Scopoli's, it is not valid, as it was published before [[Carl Linnaeus]]'s ''[[Species Plantarum]]''. See [[binomial nomenclature]].</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=168196|title= ''Leotia lubrica'' synonymy|publisher= Species Fungorum|accessdate=3 July 2011}}</ref> ''Helvella gelatinosa'', used in [[Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard]]'s ''Histoire des champignons de la France'',<ref name="Bi"/> and ''Peziza cornucopiae'', a name given by [[Georg Franz Hoffmann]] in 1790. The fruit bodies of the mushrooms are typically referred to as jelly babies,<ref name="Phillips"/><ref name="Sterry"/> but other [[common name]]s include the lizard tuft,<ref name="Garnweidner"/> or the ochre jelly club.<ref name="Bessette">{{cite book |title= Mushrooms of the southeastern United States|last= Bessette|first= Alan|coauthors= Bessette, Arleen Raines|year= 2007|publisher= [[Syracuse University Press]]|isbn= 9780815631125|page= 292|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IB1Gv3jZMmAC&pg=PA292}}</ref> The term "yellow jelly babies" is sometimes used to differentiate the species from green jelly babies, ''[[Leotia viscosa]]''.<ref name="Russell">{{cite book |title= Field guide to wild mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic|last= Russell|first= Bill|year= 2006|publisher= [[Penn State University Press]]|isbn= 9780271028910|page= 111}}</ref> |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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| Species: | L. lubrica
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Leotia lubrica, commonly referred to as a jelly baby, is a species of fungus in the family Leotiaceae. The species produces small fruit bodies up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in height, featuring a "head" and a stem. Ochre tinted with olive-green in colour, the heads are irregularly shaped, while the stem, of a similar colour, attaches them to the ground. It is similar in appearance to a number of other species, including Cudonia confusa, C. circinans, L. atrovirens and L. viscosa. Growing in woodland among moss, plant detritus or other habitats, the L. lubrica fruit bodies are found in large numbers. It is often described as inedible, despite its common name, but has also been reported as edible and even good. The species feeds as a saprotroph, and can be found in Europe, North America and Asia.
Taxonomy and naming
The first species was first validly described scientifically by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in his 1772 work Flora Carniolica exhibens plantas Carnioliae indigenas et distributas in classes, genera, species, varietates, ordine Linnaeano. Scopoli either named the species Elvella lubrica[2] or Helvella lubrica,[1] with the specific name lubrica meaning slimy.[3] Christiaan Hendrik Persoon transferred the species to Leotia, where it remains, in 1794. It is the type species of the genus.[2] Other synonyms include Leotia gelatinosa, used by John Hill in 1751,[Note 1][4] Helvella gelatinosa, used in Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard's Histoire des champignons de la France,[2] and Peziza cornucopiae, a name given by Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1790. The fruit bodies of the mushrooms are typically referred to as jelly babies,[5][6] but other common names include the lizard tuft,[7] or the ochre jelly club.[8] The term "yellow jelly babies" is sometimes used to differentiate the species from green jelly babies, Leotia viscosa.[9]
Description
Leotia lubrica produces fruit bodies which range from 1 to 6 centimetres (0.4 to 2.4 in) in height. Each body has a single fertile "head" measuring up to 1.2 cm (0.5 in) across,[6] which is an olive-greenish ochre and gelatinous.[5] To the touch, the surface of the head can be smooth, clammy or slimey.[6] While in shape it is convex, the head is made up of irregular lobes and undulations, and the edge is rolled inward.[5][6] The underside is paler in colour than the upper surface, and smooth.[10] The head is attached to a central stalk, which ranges from 3 to 6 mm wide, though thinner toward the substrate.[5] The stalk is typically cylindrical, but can be flattened, and occasionally has furrows.[6] The colour is similar to that of the head, though more yellow, and the surface is covered in very small granules of a greenish colour.[5][6] The flesh is gelatinous in the head, while the stalk is mostly hollow.[5]
Microscopic features
Leotia lubrica spores are borne in asci measuring around 150 by 10–12 micrometres (μm).[5] They are club-shaped, and each ascus typically bears eight spores.[2] The asci are inoperculate, meaning that they lack a "lid" and must split to release their spores.[10] The elongated ascospores themselves measure 20 to 25 by 5 to 6 μm, and are subfusiform, that is, they taper slightly at each end.[5][11] The surface is smooth, and they can be curved,[10] and the spores typically contain four small drops of oil.[2] The mature spores are septate; that is, they are divided by several septa throughout their length, with 5 to 7 partitions typical.[10][11] The threadlike, colourless paraphyses measure 105 to 124 by 1.8 to 2.8 μm.[2]
Similar species
Leotia lubrica fruit bodies are similar to those of Cudonia confusa, commonly known as the cinnamon jellybaby. The species can be differentiated by the fact that L. lubrica fruit bodies are more sturdy, and those of C. confusa are much paler in colour.[6] Another Cudonia species, C. circinans (which is highly similar to C. lutea), is similar to L. lubrica, though it can be differentiated by its colour (which is more brown), spores (which are smaller and thinner) and texture (which is less slimy and gelatinous than L. lubrica).[8] L. lubrica fruit bodies can also be mistaken for those of the much rarer L. atrovirens, which can be differentiated by its darker colouration.[7] L. viscosa can again be differentiated by colouration; the species has a green head.[10] However, as L. lubrica fruit bodies can sometimes have a greenish hue, differentiation between the two species is not always easy.[9]
Edibility
Its fruit bodies are of little culinary interest,[11] and, contrary to what is suggested by the common name, are typically described as inedible by field guides.[5][12] However, it has also been reported that, while it is little known, the species is in fact edible, with Charles McIlvaine even consider it good.[13] In the field, the flesh has no discernible smell or taste.[7]
Habitat and distribution
Leotia lubrica favours damp deciduous woodland,[5][6] but can also be found under hardwoods.[10] Particular favoured habitats include path sides and underneath bracken,[5] while favoured substrates include soil, moss and plant waste,[6] where it feeds as a saprotroph.[10] Fruit bodies are typically encountered from late summer to late autumn in Europe,[5] and from late spring to autumn in North America.[10] It has also been recorded in eastern Asia, in China and Tibet.[2] When encountered, the fruit bodies are typically found growing in large numbers,[6] sometimes in clumps.[13] Occasionally, they are encountered solitarily.[13] Fruit bodies can be infected by the mould Hypomyces leotiarum.[14]
Notes
- ^ Though this description was earlier than Scopoli's, it is not valid, as it was published before Carl Linnaeus's Species Plantarum. See binomial nomenclature.
References
- ^ a b "Leotia lubrica (Scop.) Pers. 1797". Mycobank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bi, Zhishu (1993). The Macrofungus Flora of China's Guangdong Province. Chinese University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9789622015562.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Mosley, Oswald; Brown, Edwin (1863). The Natural History of Tutbury. p. 353.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Leotia lubrica synonymy". Species Fungorum. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Phillips, Roger (1981). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe. London: Pan Books. p. 276. ISBN 0330264419.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sterry, Paul; Hughes, Barry (2009). Complete Guide to British Mushrooms & Toadstools. HarperCollins. p. 304. ISBN 9780007232246.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Garnweidner, Edmund (2011). Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe. Translated by Shaffer-Fehre, Monika. HarperCollins. p. 232. ISBN 9780261674066.
- ^ a b Bessette, Alan (2007). Mushrooms of the southeastern United States. Syracuse University Press. p. 292. ISBN 9780815631125.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Russell, Bill (2006). Field guide to wild mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. Penn State University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780271028910.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kuo, Michael (June 2003). "Leotia lubrica". MushroomExpert.com. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Kibby, Geoffrey (2003). Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Northern Europe. Hamlyn. p. 248. ISBN 9780753718650.
- ^ Wilkinson, John (1982). Mushrooms & Toadstools. HarperCollins. p. 233. ISBN 0004588126.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c McKnight, Kent H. (1998). A Field Guide to Mushrooms: North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 33. ISBN 9780395910900.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Rogerson, Clark T.; Samuels, Gary J. (1985). "Species of Hypomyces and Nectria occurring on Discomycetes". Mycologia. 77 (5): 763–783. JSTOR 3793285.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)