Tapered Net-cap

Tapered Net-cap (Dictyocephalus attenuatus (Peck) Long et Plunkett).

Status: VU. A very rare Paleogene relic. The only species of the genus Dictyocephalus in the world.

Description. The fruiting body can reach up to 27 cm in height. The upper part expands into a net-like head (hence the name of the genus), transitioning into a long, initially fleshy, then hard, woody, deeply grooved stem. At the base of the stem, remnants of the exoperidium (outer layer) form a cup-like sheath (volva). The outer layer is thick and uneven, developing cartilaginous scales or pyramidal outgrowths. The young mushroom is whitish-yellow. The color of the mature fruiting body is yellowish-brown. The mushroom has a very characteristic, strong smell of herring (due to trimethylamine).
Inedible.

Biological features. Not studied. Fruiting occurs in July-August.

Distribution both general and in the country. Kazakhstan, European part of Russia, Alexandria, northwest Morocco, Southern Rhodesia, North America (Colorado); Northern Kyrgyzstan.

Habitat. In clayey and sandy deserts in the valley and foothill zones. On the outcrops of Jurassic deposits.

Population. Very rare.

Limiting factors. No information available.

Cultivation. Not suitable for cultivation.

Recommended conservation measures. Preservation of habitats. Ongoing public awareness about conservation and rules for mushroom gathering.

Тартылган торбашчан


Tapered Net-cap
Dictyocephalus attenuatus (Peck) Long et Plunkett
Status: VU. It is a very rare representative of a monotypic relic genus, a large remarkable inedible terrestrial fungus, with a sharp herring smell of trimethylamine. It populates clayey and sandy deserts in Northern Kyrgyzstan and is also known from other regions of the temperate Holarctic (disjunctive area). Biology and limiting factors are unstudied. Mycothalluses occur from July to September. Preservation of habitats and explanatory work for the public are proposed to protect this species.