Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Hong Kong
Most Common Mushrooms
1. Split gill
Split gill(Schizophyllum commune) can be found across the globe. Uniquely, it is the only mushroom species known to display the capability to retract by movement. It is considered inedible, although not necessarily toxic. Furthermore, it is not recommended to smell this species, as the spores are capable of sprouting and growing in nasal passages.
2. Phallus luteus
Phallus luteus's unique appearance makes it easy to recognize in forests. The multi-colored mushroom has yellow webbing hanging off the cap closely resembling a skirt. Like other species in the genus, phallus luteus is also recognizable by its pungent odor.
3. Ear fungus
Fruit body resupinate or pileate, loosely attached, laterally and sometimes by a very short stalk, elastic, gelatinous; sterile surface dark yellowish brown to dark brown with greyish brown bands, hairy, silky. Hymenium smooth, or wrinkled, pale brown to dark brown to blackish brown with a whitish boom. Hairs thick-walled, up to 0.6 mm long. Basidia cylindrical, hyaline, three-septate, 46–60 × 4–5.5 μm with 1–3 lateral sterigmata; sterigmata 9–15 × 1.5–12 μm. spores, hyaline, reniform to allantoid, 13–16 × 4–5.5 μm, guttulate.
4. Flowerpot parasol
This tropical/subtropical mushroom is known to be toxic. If eaten it causes a very unpleasant stomachache with the risk of fatal complications. In temperate zones, flowerpot parasol is only found in hothouses and greenhouses, so the risk of accidental foraging is low, but it may occur with potted plants and indoor landscaping and pose a risk to curious children.
5. Fragile dapperling
The fragile dapperling is a tropical and subtropical woodland species. As its name suggests, this mushroom is so tender and fragile that picking it becomes a real challenge. The stem is very thin and it easily snaps. The edibility of the fragile dapperling is unknown, but the mushroom is probably insufficient for any kind of meal.
6. Snow fungus
Snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis) is so-named not because it is associated with winter, but, rather, because its fruitbodies look like little piles of snow fungus on the ground. This fungus actually inhabits very warm - tropical and subtropical - locations around the globe. Snow fungus does not have much taste, but it is cultivated for culinary use across East Asia, where it is often added to thicken soups and desserts.
7. Fairy inkcap
The mushrooms of the fairy inkcap species have a tendency to congregate in large masses over dead tree stumps and decaying roots. They appear all around the world from early spring all the way to the first frosts, but each fruit only lasts a few days before turning black and distributing its spores.
8. Bridal veil stinkhorn
Bridal veil stinkhorn (Phallus indusiatus) can be found rising up from the ground in tropical forests around the world. A distinctive netted fringe “skirt” descends from the cap along the length of the stalk. A type of “stinkhorn,” the fruitbodies of this species produce scents that vary between sickly-sweet to just plain unpleasant. The odor is meant to attract insects that usually lay their eggs in carrion.
9. Fan-shaped jelly-fungus
Just as its Latin and the common English names suggest, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) is a fan-shaped or spatula-shaped jelly-like mushroom. It commonly grows in wood cracks and it sometimes even appears in the cracks of the processed wood and lumber. Despite the word "jelly" in its name, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus is not considered edible.
10. Xylobolus spectabilis
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