Pioppino, Poplar Mushroom, Poplar Fieldcap, Black Poplar Mushroom
Cyclocybe aegerita, the poplar mushroom or pioppino, is a saprobic, brown-spored agaric that grows in tufts on stumps and on dead or dying poplars, willows and other broadleaf trees, causing a white rot. Young caps are dark reddish brown and fade to pale buff with a browner centre, the gills turn from whitish to brown, and the stem bears a persistent ring that is soon dusted tobacco brown with spores. It occurs mainly in central and southern Europe and is widely cultivated for food, especially in East Asia.
Spawn rate 5–10% of wet substrate weight. Fruiting trigger: Once fully colonized, open the top of the bag and keep the humidity very high (95% or more) at a slightly cooler temperature until pins form. Fresh air: Fresh air exchange matters: high CO₂ gives long, stringy stems and lower yields. Light: Low, indirect light. Usually more than one flush; later flushes are smaller. Pins abort easily if the humidity drops; keep it very high until they are well formed. Sterilize supplemented sawdust; pasteurization is not enough for supplemented blocks. Colonization humidity is ambient RH around sealed bags and is not critical. Review: General ranges compiled from widely published cultivation practice. Pending WeMush staff review; conditions vary by strain and setup.
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Edible; widely cultivated and used in southern European and Chinese cooking (stir-fries, soups, stews, hot pot). First Nature notes that wild European collections are little regarded. Wild material needs careful identification: Wikipedia notes it resembles some deadly species. Brown-spored, ringed mushrooms clustered on wood include amatoxin-containing Galerina species, and oyster mushrooms (white spore print) can look similar.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Habitat
Saprobic white-rot fungus growing in tufts on stumps, in trunk cavities and on standing dead or dying poplars and willows, also on other broadleaf trees and on hardwood chip mulch; damp woods, coppices, parks and gardens. Season: July to October in Britain and Ireland, later in southern Europe.
Distribution
Europe: infrequent in Britain and Ireland (mainly the south), more common in central and southern Europe, including Spain and Portugal. Cultivated in China, Japan, Korea and Australia. Records and cultivated strains from outside Europe may belong to other species of the C. aegerita complex.
Characteristics
Cap: 3-10 cm, hemispherical becoming convex to nearly flat; dark reddish brown when young, becoming light brown to pale buff, ochre-brown at the centre and paler at the margin; may crack in dry weather. Gills: adnate to slightly decurrent, crowded, whitish to cream, becoming grey-brown then mid brown. Stem: 5-10 cm long, 1-1.5 cm thick, white to creamy, browning with age, fibrous, often curved. Ring: membranous, persistent and pendent, near the top of the stem, soon tobacco brown from fallen spores. Spore print: tobacco brown. Spores: ellipsoid, smooth, about 8-11 x 5-7 µm. Odour: pleasant; taste nutty. Key features: clustered growth on poplar or willow wood, persistent ring, brown spore print.
