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The folded dung is a miniature mushroom belonging to the Psathyrellaceae family of the genus Parasola. It got its name for its favorite growing places - dung heaps, dumps, compost, pasture territories. Due to its appearance and pallor, it is sometimes confused with toadstools.
Knowledge of the distinctive features, places, features of growth will help to get to know the species better, learn to identify it without making mistakes.
Where the folded dung grows
The folded dung belongs to soil saprotrophs (feed on organic matter formed as a result of the decomposition of plants and animals), loves places with low grass, lawns, areas along the roads, where it appears one by one or in small groups. Sometimes you can find him in urban settings.
Mushrooms prefer organic-rich substrates - humus, rotting wood, compost. They grow from May to the onset of frost.
The folded dung is widespread throughout the middle lane, in a temperate climate.
What does a folded dung beetle look like?
At the beginning of the life cycle, a miniature dung beetle has an ovoid, conical or bell-shaped cap with a diameter of 5 mm to 30 mm. Its color can be yellow, green, brown, brown. After a few hours, it opens, becomes flat, thin, like an umbrella with radial folds. The color changes to grayish-bluish or brownish. The plates on the cap are rare, located freely, their shades are light gray at first, later become dark, and at the end - black. Near the leg, they form a collarium - a cartilaginous ring of accrete plates.
The stem of the mushroom is thin and long. Its height is from 3 to 10 cm, thickness is about 2 mm. The shape is cylindrical, expands towards the base, smooth, hollow inside, very fragile. The color of the pulp is white, there is no smell. It does not have a membrane ring on the leg. Black spore powder.
Is it possible to eat folded dung
The folded dung belongs to the group of inedible mushrooms. The reason for this is the small size of the fruit bodies and the difficulty in detecting. Its taste has not been described, no poison has been found in it. Fruit bodies are of no culinary value. Not recommended for consumption.
Similar species
It is extremely difficult for a layman to distinguish between similar species. Among them there are several that have both common and different folded features with the dung beetle.
Bolbitius golden
In the first hours after the appearance, the folded dung beetle is very similar to the golden bolbitius, the cap of which initially has a bright yellow color. Later, it fades and becomes off-white, retaining the original shade only in the center.Its diameter is about 3 cm. The hat is fragile, almost transparent, at first in the shape of a bell, and then straightened. The leg of the bolbitius is cylindrical, hollow, with a mealy bloom. Height - about 15 cm. Spore powder - brown.
The mushroom is found in fields, meadows, grows on compost, rotted hay. In the middle of the short life cycle of the Bolbitius, the resemblance to the folded dung beetle disappears. The mushroom is not poisonous, but it is inedible.
Dung beetle smooth-headed
Grows singly in rotting trees, low grass. It has a cap up to 35 mm in diameter, at first ovoid, later prostrate and slightly depressed. Color - yellow or brown, with stripes along the edges.
Smooth-headed dung beetle stalk is thin, about 2 mm in diameter, up to 6 cm long, without pubescence. The pulp has a dense consistency, a pleasant smell. Red-brown spore powder. The mushroom is not poisonous, it is classified as inedible.
Scattered or widespread dung
Its cap is small, no more than 15 mm in diameter, has a folded shape in the form of a bell, light cream at a young age, later turns gray. The pulp is thin, almost odorless. Does not produce black liquid when decomposed. The leg of the scattered dung beetle is fragile, about 3 cm long, the color is gray. Spore powder, black.
It grows in huge colonies on decaying wood. Refers to inedible.
Conclusion
Folded dung beetle is a representative of a large group of rather exotic looking mushrooms. They can be found anywhere, since they grow well on different types of organic matter. Identifying and distinguishing them from similar species is very useful for anyone, especially a novice mushroom picker. But you should not eat these mushrooms, because nothing is known thoroughly about their edibility, except that they are not poisonous.
