Pleurotus opuntiae | |
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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
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Binomial name | |
Pleurotus opuntiae (Durieu y Lév.) Sacc. (1887)
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Synonyms | |
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Pleurotus cornucopiae | |
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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 P. djamor-cornucopiae clade, it forms its own intersterility group, [4] but it has also been claimed to be genetically inter-incompatible with P. australis, P. ostreatus (extra-limital), P. pulmonarius and P. purpureo-olivaceus of New Zealand. [2]
P. opuntiae fruits gregariously in groups of several specimens on dead remains of the plant Opuntia megacantha , from which the binomial name of the fungus derives. They are beige or cream in color. Its gills are very decurrent and its cap, from 1 to 6 centimetres (1⁄2 to 2+1⁄4 in) in diameter, is quite flat and funnel-shaped, slightly rolled at the edges. It has either a very short stipe, or often basically nonexistent one. [5]