Volvariella bombycina - Silky Rosegill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

This rare and striking silky-capped mushroom often emerges from knot holes and other damaged areas high up on standing trees. It is not parasitic, and even when seen on living trees it is invariably attached to dead wood.

The scarcity of this mushroom should be enough to convince anyone that this is not a species worth trying to gather for food. In a basket of edible fungi the sight of a white mushroom with a volva should ring alarm bells: some Destroying Angels and Deathcaps can fit this description. In Britain and Ireland no Amanita fungi grow high up in trees, and so if you 'pick your own' the risk to you is minimal; however, the rare Silky Rosegill also deserves protection.

Pictures on this page are the copyright of Richard Haynes, who has kindly allowed us to use them.

Identification guide

	Cap Very variable in size, from as small as 5cm across to an impressive 20cm, initially egg-shaped and later bell-shaped, often with a slightly inrolled margin even at maturity; white or pale cream, covered in long silky fibres. Gills Free; crowded; white at first, becoming pink. Stem 7 to 15cm long and 1 to 2cm dia.; white; tapering towards apex; no ring. There is a persistent bag-like volva at the base, initially white but gradually turning yellowish and eventually brown with age.
Spore print	Pink.
Odour/taste	Odour faintly 'mushroomy' and pleasant; taste not significant
Habitat	On dead deciduous trunks and large branches, particularly elms, maples and Beech.
Season	July to November.
Occurrence	Rare.
Similar species	Volvariella gloiocephala has a smooth silky cap and grows in stubble fields and in grassland. Amanita virosa has a stem ring and occurs in woodland habitats.