GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

286 GROWTH PARAMETERS
cultured out, resulting in a grayish brown mushroom closely conforming, macroscopically, to P.
cornucopiae var. cornucopiae.* Geographically, P. citrinopileatus is limited to Asia whereas P.
cornucopiae occurs in Europe. Neither have yet been found growing wild in NorthAmeriCa.With the
onset of commercial cultivation of these mushrooms adjacent to woodlands in North America, it will
be interesting to see if these exotic varieties escape. In this book, I am deferring to the use of P.
citrinopileatus rather than P. cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus.
Description: Caps golden to bright yellow, 2-5 cm., convex to plane at maturity, often depressed in
the center, thin fleshed, with decurrent gills which show through the translucent cap flesh. Stems
white, centrally attached to the caps. Usually growing in large clusters arising from a single, joined
base. Clusters are often composed of fifty to hundred or more mushrooms. As strains of this species
senesce, the yellow cap color is lost, becoming beige, and fewer mushrooms are produced in each primordial
cluster.
Distribution: Native to the forested, subtropics of China, southern Japan, and adjacent Figure 258. P citrinopileatuS
mycelium 2 & 10 days after
inoculation onto malt extract agar media.
regions.
Natural Habitat: A saprophyte of Asian hardwoods, especially oaks, elm, beech and poplars.
Microscopic Features: Spores pale pinkish buff, 7.5-9.0 x 3.0-3.5 Clamp connections present.
Hyphal system dimitic.
Available Strains: Strains of this mushroom have been difficult to acquire in North America. While travel-
* Curiously, when the strain loses its golden color through continued propagations the bitter flavor is also lost.
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