Endoptychum agaricoides
Endoptychum agaricoides Czern.
Agaricaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)].
Morphology and biology. Fruit-body when immature globose, ovoid, or pear-shaped, covered by a general unilayered peridium, 5–8.5 cm high and 1–10 cm wide; then composed of a conical cap and a short, 0.8–2 × 0.5–3 cm stipe. Stipe at the top turning into a column, accreted to the inner upper part of the cap. Peridium at first white, pale yellow, fleshy, smooth, then grey-yellow, brownish to dark brown, dry, thick, scaly. Gleba in the young specimens composed of thin, dense, white lamellae; when mature turning into a powdery yellow-brown spore mass. Spores ellipsoid, ovoid or globose, 6–10 × 6–8.4 µm or 7–12 µm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brown to dark brown. Fruit-bodies single and in groups, IX–XI.
Habitats and populations. On sandy and manured soils in forests of Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), steppe habitats, pastures, and meadows.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Western), Znepole Region, Rila Mts, Sredna Gora Mts (Western – Lozenska Mt; Eastern), Rhodopi Mts (Eastern), Thracian Lowland.
General distribution. Europe, Asia, North America, N Africa, Australia.
Threats. Habitat loss/degradation caused by farming, wood plantations, development of tourism/recreation infrastructure, fires, industrial and household pollution.
Conservation measures taken. Included in the Red List of Fungi in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Study of the population numbers and range; better understanding of the species biology and ecology; conservation of the habitats; regular monitoring.
References. Hinkova 1961, 1965; Hinkova & Alexandrov 1971; Stoichev & Dimcheva 1982; Gyosheva et al. 2000, 2006.
Author: Melania Gyosheva
