It's a Mycological Easter egg hunt, a gathering of mushrooms that come from eggs!

For the rest of my pages on fungi, please click TomVolkFungi.net

Return to Tom Volk's Mycological Easter egg hunt page.

You've found Volvariella bombycina, the tree Volvariella, a relative of the Chinese paddy straw mushroom!

Volvariella bombycina, mature and egg stage Volvariella bombycina sectioned

On the left is Volvariella in the mature and the egg stage. On the right, note that the mushroom is already fully formed inside the egg, with cap and gills already evident. It just needs to suck water into the cells to expand.

Maybe someday this will be a fungus of the month, and you can learn more about this pink-spored species. You probably have eaten its close relative, Volvariella volvacea, the Chinese paddy straw mushroom, in stir-fry dishes. It's sort of scary to see a mushroom with a volva in your food! Be sure not to confuse this mushroom with deadly Amanita buttons!

If you have anything to add, or if you have corrections or comments, please write to me at volk.thom@uwlax.edu

This page and other pages are © Copyright 2003 by Thomas J. Volk, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Return to Tom Volk's Fungi Home Page --TomVolkFungi.net

Return to Tom Volk's Fungus of the month pages listing

Return to Tom Volk's Mycological Easter egg hunt page.