Stropharia caerulea

Stropharia caerulea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Strophariaceae
Genus: Stropharia
Species:
S. caerulea
Binomial name
Stropharia caerulea
Kreisel (1979)
Synonyms
  • Agaricus politus Bolton (1788)[1]
  • Stropharia cyanea sensu Tuom. (1953)
  • Psilocybe caerulea (Kreisel) Noordel. (1995)
Stropharia caerulea
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Gills on hymenium
Cap is convex or conical
Hymenium is adnate or sinuate
Stipe has a ring
Spore print is purple-brown
Edibility is unknown

Stropharia caerulea, commonly known as the blue roundhead, is a species of mushroom forming fungus in the family Strophariaceae. It is a somewhat common species found in Europe and North America, where it grows as a saprophyte in meadows, roadsides, hedgerows, gardens, and woodchip mulch. S. caerulea was officially described to science in 1979, although it was known to be a distinct species for about two centuries before that. The scientific name Stropharia cyanea, as defined by Tuomikoski in 1953, and used by several later authors, is a synonym of S. caerulea.

The fruit bodies (mushrooms) of Stropharia caerulea feature a greenish-blue cap sparsely covered in white flecks of veil at the margin, and a sticky, glutinous surface texture. Gills on the cap underside have an adnate or sinuate attachment to the stipe. They are initially pale purplish-brown, becoming darker brown in age as the spores mature. The greenish stipe is covered in white scales up to a thin, transient ring. It is similar in appearance to a less common relative Stropharia aeruginosa, but that species has a more robust ring on its stipe, more scales on the cap, and darker gills with white edges.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bolton 1788 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).