Agaricus crocopeplus
A forest mushroom of the genus Agaricus, recorded as a wild food in the Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a voucher-backed ethnomycological survey.
Mushrooms
Hygrocybe cantharellus
Hygrocybe cantharellus is a small orange waxy-cap agaric with a catalogued food record from Tshopo province, DR Congo, and a taxonomy that the sources read do not settle for that region.
What it is
Hygrocybe cantharellus is a gilled fungus in the waxcap family, Hygrophoraceae. The Wikipedia article describes its cap as orangish and up to about 2.5 centimetres across, with a reddish stem reaching about 8 centimetres. It is known as the chanterelle waxy cap.
The species has several synonyms in the literature, including names under Agaricus, Hygrophorus and Camarophyllus. The European Hygrocybe lepida was once referred to this name but is now treated as a separate species.
Sources for this section
Range and the Tshopo record
The Wikipedia article places the species in North America and also reports it from Australia. The catalogue instead records a food use from Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from interviews backed by herbarium vouchers.
These two sets of records do not establish that the Congolese material is the same taxon as the North American and Australian one. The catalogue notes that the trophic role of the rainforest waxcap needs further study, and the sources read do not resolve that question.
Food use
The catalogue records local consumption in Tshopo but does not give a preparation method, a quantity or a season. The Wikipedia article does not state whether the species is edible or poisonous.
Because the food record comes from one region, it should not be read as a food status for the species across its range.
Safety and identification
The catalogue entry is an ethnomycological food-use record. It is not an independent toxicological assessment, and the edibility of the species is not established by the sources read.
This record is not a guide to identifying wild fungi. Identify any specimen with an expert before eating it, and do not rely on colour, smell or taste to confirm identity or safety.
Places
Tshopo province
Documented use · Region evidenceCatalogue record from voucher-backed Tshopo interviews. The Wikipedia article places the species in North America and Australia, so this record is not a claim about its range elsewhere.
Related
More from Tshopo province
Cantharellus luteopunctatus
Cantharellus luteopunctatus is a wild ectomycorrhizal chanterelle of central African rainforest, recorded as eaten locally in Tshopo province, DR Congo. Its preparation is not documented.
Cantharellus rufopunctatus
Cantharellus rufopunctatus is a rainforest chanterelle-group fungus that the catalogue records as eaten locally in Tshopo province, DR Congo, where no species-specific preparation has been established.
Marasmius bekolacongoli
Marasmius bekolacongoli is a wild mushroom of Central African rainforest that field surveys in Cameroon, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo record as eaten by local people.
Pleurotus flabellatus
Pleurotus flabellatus is a wild forest oyster-type mushroom that grows on dead wood in the Congo Basin, recorded as eaten locally in Tshopo. Its name is entangled with P. djamor, so the record needs taxonomic care.
Russula sesemoindu
Russula sesemoindu is a wild ectomycorrhizal mushroom with a local name in Tshopo province, DR Congo. It is recorded as eaten by several informant groups, with no preparation or safety assessment.
Russula striatoviridis
Russula striatoviridis is a wild ectomycorrhizal mushroom recorded as locally eaten in Tshopo province, DR Congo. No preparation method or safety assessment is established for it.
Termitomyces striatus
Termitomyces striatus is a wild termite mushroom that grows with fungus-growing termites in tropical Africa and Asia. Local food use is recorded, but its species-level preparation is not established.
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Sources
WikipediaIdentity · Taxonomy
Hygrocybe cantharellusChanterelle waxy cap; Hygrophoraceae; cap up to 2.5 cm; stem reddish to about 8 cm; found in North America and reported in Australia; synonyms; the article does not state edibility
Cited in: What it is; Range and the Tshopo record; Food use; Safety and identification
PubMed CentralFood
Wild edible ectomycorrhizal fungi: an underutilized food resource from the rainforests of Tshopo province (Democratic Republic of the Congo)Catalogue record: Hygrocybe cantharellus locally consumed in voucher-backed Tshopo interviews; rainforest waxcap; trophic role needs further study (full text not readable in this recovery)
Cited in: Range and the Tshopo record; Food use; Safety and identification