Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Fuenlabrada

The shaggy mane mushroom is commonly found in North American and European grasslands. Some peoples foraged for its young egg-shaped caps, but it has more recently been found to be a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, meaning it pulls toxic metals up from the soil where it grows. As a result, shaggy manes should not be eaten. The mushrooms usually appear in clusters or “fairy rings.”

This bracket fungus clings to the sides of infected trees, presenting a moist and somewhat puffy appearance when young. The fuzzy surface of the shaggy bracket (Inonotus hispidus) distinguishes it from similar fungi. This white-rot-causing fungus may not be good to eat, but it can be dried and used as kindling for fires.

Pseudevernia furfuracea is associated with photobionts from the green algae genus Trebouxia. It reproduces asexually by isidia. The ontogeny of isidia development and its role in CO2 gas exchange in P. furfuracea has been investigated. The preferred growing surfaces for P. furfuracea are the so-called "nutrient poor" bark trees, including birch, pine and spruce. The species has two morphologically identical varieties that are distinguished by the secondary metabolites they produce: var. ceratea Zopf. produces olivetoric acid and other physodic acids, while var. furfuracea produces physodic but not olivetoric acid. Some authors (e.g., Hale 1968) have separated the chemotypes at the species level, designating the olivetoric acid-containing specimens as Pseudevernia olivetorina, but more recent literature separates them at the varietal level.

The foliose and umbilical thallus (attached by a single central crampon, the umbilicus), 3-6 (15) cm in diameter, is gray-brown to blackish-brown in dry weather, olive-green when it rained. Its upper surface is covered with convex pustules and bunches of brown-black coral isidia, the central part being covered with a white bloom. The pustules corresponding to propagules: the migration of these pustules from the center to the periphery gives rise to marginal isidies which ensure the vegetative reproduction of the thallus.

The blewit mushroom grows in fallen leaves in autumn and winter, sometimes appearing in ‘fairy ring’ circles. It can be used to make a green dye when chopped and boiled in an iron pot. The scientific name, Lepista nuda, derives from Latin words meaning “bare goblet,” a reference to the shape and texture of the mushroom.

The golden ear can be encountered in an unusual time of the year – winter. It is considered a parasitic fungus, as it tends to grow on the fruiting body of other fungi, particularly the Hairy Curtain Crust (Stereum hirsutum). When wet, the golden ear has a gelatinous structure, but in dry weather, it becomes tougher and crust-like.

Hollyhock rust (Puccinia malvacearum) is a parasitic fungus that produces a rust disease on the foliage of host plants such as hollyhocks and mallows. Hollyhock rust grows on the leaves, creating small brown spots on the undersides, then bright yellow or orange pustules on the tops. A severe infection can impair photosynthesis in the host plant. Its spores spread on the wind.

Fairy ring mushrooms may dry out completely in the sun, but will “resurrect” during the next rain and regain their ability to make new spores. This is due to a sugar called trehalose which protects their cells. They appear in lawns and fields, sometimes in “fairy ring” configurations.

In Northern Asia and Europe, fly agaric grows under trees near the winter solstice and is collected for ritual use tied to the season. Its characteristic shape and coloring are still ubiquitous in many European fairy tale illustrations and Christmas traditions. It is highly toxic.