Macrocystidia cucumis
Gurkenschnitzling ( Macrocystidia cucumis )
The Gurkenschnitzling or Common Gurkenschnitzling ( Macrocystidia cucumis ) is a pretty common fungal species from the family of Schwindling relatives ( Marasmiaceae ).
- 6.1 Literature
- 6.2 Notes and references
Features
Macroscopic characteristics
The hat usually reaches a diameter of two to five centimeters. He is initially bell-shaped to conical in shape, then spread out flat in old age. He is chestnut brown, brownish colored black in the middle. To brim the tint fades out to light brown to whitish. The hat is however hygrophanous so that it appears brownish leather in dry weather to yellowish. The brim is grooved translucent in damp weather. The surface appears velvety by the numerous long cystidia.
The lamellae are initially whitish but receive at age a reddish -yellow to ocher- reddish tint. You are almost forced, are relatively thick and bulbous. They are attached rounded or hooked; at the age they are almost free.
The stem is between four and seven inches long and four to seven millimeters thick. He is stiff, tough and dark to black- brownish colored. Also, its surface appears velvety by the Kaulozystiden. The stem tip is light frosting. The handle is easily severable from the hat.
The meat ( Trama ) is tinted brown. It smells when fresh fruit bodies after cucumbers, in old specimens after fish oil.
The spore powder is rostocker colored to orange- brown. When var leucospora it has a nearly white clay.
Microscopic characteristics
The trama of the lamellae is built regularly. The hat skin consists of lying hyphae; their septa have buckles. The Gloeozystiden are very large and lanceolate hyaline. The Kaulozystiden are arranged in tufts. The basidia are viersporig and have at the base a buckle. The spores are ellipsoidal, spindle -shaped and have a smooth surface. They are bright reddish colored, inamyloid and mononuclear.
Artabgrenzung
The Gurkenschnitzling relatively little is variable in coloration. It is characterized by the strong smell of cucumbers and velvety -looking surface of the pileus and stipe.
Ecology
The Gurkenschnitzling can be found among others in forests, roads and stream edges, gardens and ditches. It grows on the ground or between grass, plant waste and wood chips. Preferably, moist, loamy sites are in floodplains, where moisture accumulates. The fungus colonized mainly lime-and base- and nutrient-rich soils.
The fruiting bodies appear from late July to November. On especially protected places and under favorable weather conditions, they occur sporadically on in the spring and over the winter.
Dissemination
The meridional Gurkenschnitzling is widespread in the Holarctic to boreal. So he can be found in western North America, Europe, North Africa and North Asia. In Europe, the territory of Spain, Corsica and Romania reaches northward to the Hebrides, Fennoscandia and Iceland and east to Estonia and Belarus. In Germany, the fungus can be found from the Danish border to the Alps region scattered in all provinces.
System
Taxonomically more important are the var latifolia with reddish spore powder and very wide slats and the var leucospora with almost white spore powder and narrow strips. Both have a small hat ( max. 1.5 cm) and a striped hat brim.