Leucopaxillus gentianeus is a bitter-tasting, inedible mushroom[2] commonly known as the bitter false funnelcap, or the bitter brown leucopaxillus. A common synonym is Leucopaxillus amarus. The bitter taste is caused by a triterpene called cucurbitacin B.[3] The species was first described in 1873 as Clitocybe gentianea by French mycologist Lucien Quélet. František Kotlaba transferred it to Leucopaxillus in 1966.[4]
The pileus ranges from 4–12 centimetres (1.6–4.7 in) wide and the stipe from 4–6 centimetres (1.6–2.4 in) long.[5] This mushroom has an unpleasant smell, and a bitter taste.[6]
References
Unequivocally inedible—it smells like "creepy crawlers" and tastes like a mildewed army tent. If you're lost in the woods and have nothing to eat, you'd do better to follow the example of Charlie Chaplin and stew your boots before venturing to make a meal of this mushroom.
^Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 67. ISBN978-1-55407-651-2.
^Clericuzio M, Mella M, Vita-Finzi P, Zema M, Vidari G (2004). "Cucurbitane triterpenoids from Leucopaxillus gentianeus". Journal of Natural Products. 67 (11): 1823–8. doi:10.1021/np049883o. PMID15568769.
^"Distribution of Leucopaxillus gentianeus (Quél.) comb. nov. in Czechoslovakia and notes on its nomenclature". Ceská Mykologie. 20 (4): 229–36. 1966.
^Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. p. 119. ISBN978-0-7627-3109-1.