Pleurotus opuntiae

Pleurotus opuntiae
P. opuntiae mushrooms growing on dead remains of Opuntia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Pleurotaceae
Genus:	Pleurotus
Species:	P. opuntiae
Binomial name
Pleurotus opuntiae (Durieu y Lév.) Sacc. (1887)
Synonyms
Pleurotus yuccae

Pleurotus opuntiae Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is offset
	Hymenium is decurrent
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is saprotrophic or parasitic
	Edibility is edible

Pleurotus opuntiae is a species of Agaricales fungus that grows in the semi-arid climate of central Mexico[1] and in New Zealand,[2] whose mushroom is edible and considered a delicacy in the cuisine of indigenous peoples of Mexico. It is known as hongo de maguey común in Mexican Spanish, seta de chumbera/nopal in Peninsular Spanish, and kjoo'wada in Otomi language.[3] Phylogenetic research has shown that while it belongs to the Pleurotus djamor-cornucopiae clade, it forms its own intersterility group,[4] but it has also been claimed to be genetically inter-incompatible with Pleurotus australis, Pleurotus ostreatus (extra-limital), Pleurotus pulmonarius and Pleurotus purpureo-olivaceus of New Zealand.[2]

Description

Pleurotus opuntiae fruits gregariously in groups of several specimens on dead remains of the plant Opuntia megacantha [es], from which the binomial name of the fungus derives. The mushrooms are beige or cream in color. Their gills are very decurrent and their caps, from 1 to 6 centimetres (1⁄2 to 2+1⁄4 in) in diameter, are quite flat and funnel-shaped, slightly rolled at the edges. They have either a very short stipe, or often basically nonexistent one.[5]

References

1. Camacho, Marcelo; Guzman, Gaston; Guzman-Davalos, Laura (January 2012). "Pleurotus opuntiae (Durieu et Lev.) Sacc. (Higher Basidiomycetes) and Other Species Related to Agave and Opuntia Plants in Mexico−Taxonomy, Distribution, and Applications". International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 14 (1): 65–78. doi:10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v14.i1.70. PMID 22339709. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
2. Segedin, BP; Buchanan, PK; Wilkie, JP (1995). "Studies in the agaricales of New Zealand: New species, new records and renamed species of Pleurotus (Pleurotaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 8 (3): 453–482. doi:10.1071/SB9950453.
3. Taller de Etnomicología, Facultad de Ciencias, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), “Importancia cultural de los hongos en México”, Arqueología Mexicana, edición especial, núm. 87, pp. 30-33.
4. Vilgalys, R.; Moncalvo, J.M.; Liou, S.R.; Volovsek, M. (1996). "Recent advances in molecular systematics of the genus Pleurotus" (PDF). In Royse, D.J. (ed.). Mushroom biology and mushroom products: proceedings of the 2nd International Conference, June 9–12, 1996. University Park, PA (USA): Pennsylvania State University: World Society for Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products. pp. 91–101. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
5. "Pleurotus opuntiae" (in Spanish). Asociación Micológica Pie Azul de Monesterio. 2014. Retrieved 2020-06-07.