Anise funnel (Collybia odora)
Index Fungorum Collybia odora (Bull.) Z.M. He & Zhu L. Yang
MycoBank Collybia odora (Bull.) Z.M. He & Zhu L. Yang
Fragrant collybia, Sweet-scented talker, Anise talker.
odor, ōris m. — 1) smell, odor; 2) bad smell, stench; 3) aroma, fragrance; 4) pl. perfumes, fragrant ointments; 5) smoke, vapor, steam.
Clitocybe odora (Bull.) P. Kumm., Der Führer in die Pilzkunde: 121 (1871)
Gymnopus odorus (Bull.) Gray, A natural arrangement of British plants 1: 606 (1821)
Lepista odora (Bull.) Harmaja, Karstenia 15: 15 (1976)
Agaricus moschatus J.F. Gmel., Systema Naturae Ed. 13 2 (2): 1416 (1792)
Rubeolarius odorus (Bull.) Raithelh., Die Gattung Clitocybe: 17 (1981)
Agaricus odorus var. odorus (?)
Agaricus odorus f. odorus (?)
The anise scent is due to the presence of p-anisaldehyde and a small amount of benzaldehyde. This odor can reveal the mushroom's presence even before it is spotted visually.
3–10 cm in diameter; initially convex, slightly umbonate, expanding to convex with an inrolled margin, moderately fleshy; later becoming shallowly depressed, sometimes with a raised margin with age, thinly fleshy, smooth, pale greenish-blue, whitish-bluish, sometimes with a brownish center, fading slightly.
Gills frequent, decurrent, pale greenish.
Up to 8 cm long, up to 1 cm thick, thickened at the base, same color as the cap or lighter.
Thin, pale gray or pale green, with a mild taste.
Strong anise-dill scent.
Spore print white. Spores ellipsoid, smooth, non-amyloid.
Litter saprotroph. Found in both deciduous and coniferous forests; widespread in temperate zones, occurring in Asia, Europe, and North America. Fruits infrequently but annually.
Distinguished from the rarely encountered and also edible fragrant collybia (Collybia confluens) by the greenish cap color and greenish tones on the gills and stipe. From all small whitish mushrooms, it is easily distinguished by its strong anise scent. Sometimes the aroma can be detected even without bending down to a group of these talkers.
Most species of Clitocybe are poisonous, containing muscarine and muscarine-like compounds; some are lethally toxic. Antibiotics (such as clito cytin, diatretin, nebularin, etc.) have been isolated from several species. Very few species are edible, and their culinary qualities are modest; due to the difficulty of accurate species identification, collecting Clitocybe mushrooms is not recommended even for experienced foragers.
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