Medicinal Mushrooms

The stubble rosegill, Volvariella gloiocephala (DC.) Boekhout & Enderle.
   Credit: Jean-Pol Grandmont
   Source: Wikipedia

Agaricus gloiocephalus DC.
  in de Candolle & Lamarck, Fl. franç., Edn 3 (Paris) 5/6: 52 (1815)
Agaricus speciosus Fr.
  Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 2: 1 (1818)
Amanita speciosa Fr.
  Observ. mycol. (Havniae) 2: 1 (1818)
Volvaria gloiocephala (Fr.) Gillet
  Hyménomycètes (Alençon): 388 (1876)
Volvaria speciosa (Fr.) P. Kumm.
  Führ. Pilzk. (Zwickau): 99 (1871)
Volvaria speciosa var. gloiocephala (DC.) R. Heim, (1936)
Volvariella gloiocephala (DC.) Wasser
  Ukr. bot. Zh. 45(6): 78 (1988) var. gloiocephala
Volvariella gloiocephala var. speciosa (Fr.) Bon
  Docums Mycol. 22(no. 88): 40 (1993)
Volvariella speciosa (Fr.) Singer
  Lilloa 22: 401 (1951) [1949]
Volvariella speciosa f. gloiocephala (DC.) Courtec.
  Bull. Sem. Soc. Mycol. Nord 34: 16 (1984)
Volvariella speciosa (Fr.) Singer
  Lilloa 22: 401 (1951) [1949] f. speciosa
Volvariella speciosa var. gloiocephala (DC.) Singer
  Lilloa 22: 401 (1951) [1949]
Volvariella speciosa (Fr.) Singer
  Lilloa 22: 401 (1951) [1949] var. speciosa

Cap: 5-14 cm diameter, white with a grayish-brown center; initially ovoid, becoming convex and finally more or less expanded, greasy or viscid when damp, otherwise smooth; flesh white and firm.
Gills: at first white, becoming light pink at maturity, free, broad, crowded.

  Credit: Darvin DeShazer
  Source: Mushroom Observer, licensed by-nc-sa2.5
Stem: 5-18 cm x 1-2.5 cm, white, smooth, tapering upwards, the base enclosed in a white or grayish volval sheath; flesh white and firm.
Odor: earthy
Taste: not distinctive.
Spores: pink, smooth, ellipsoid, non-amyloid, 13-18 x 8-10 µm.
Spore print: pale pink.
Edibility: edible, but beware of poisonous Amanita look-alikes (Amanitas have white spore prints).
Habitat: on grassy soil or on rich soil such as dung heaps, rotted straw, manured ground, compost heaps; summer to fall; infrequent.

Medicinal activity
Antitumor effects

Polysaccharides extracted from the mycelial culture of V. gloiocephala and administered intraperitoneally into white mice at a dosage of 300 mg/kg inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers by 90% and 80%, respectively (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).

Links

There's photos of the stubble rosegill from all angles at Biopix
Picture and description at CalPhotos (as Volvariella speciosa (Fries: Fries) Singer)

References

Boekhout T, Enderle M.
Typification of Volvariella gloiocephala (DC: Fr) Boekhout & Enderle.
Persoonia. 1996 16:249-51.

Ohtsuka S, Ueno S, Yoshikumi C, Hirose F, Ohmura Y, Wada T, Fujii T, Takahashi E.
Polysaccharides having an anticarcinogenic effect and a method of producing them from species of Basidiomycetes.
UK Patent 1331513, 26 September 1973.

Ouzouni PK, Riganakos KA.
Nutritional value and metal content profile of Greek wild edible fungi.
Acta Alimentaria. 2007 36(1):99-110.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 10:53 am and is filed under Anti-tumor, Medicinal Effects, Medicinal Mushrooms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.