Clitocybe Mushrooms

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

clitocybe mushrooms i.e. those of the genus Clitocybe, lack genuine, popular English names (though funnel-cap and funnel agaric are cited by some authors), and are not commonly eaten. However, a few of the numerous species, whose particular merits are described by Jordan (1975) and others, deserve mention.

C. flaccida, sometimes referred to as the tawny funnel-cap, has an orange or reddish brown cap, typically about 6 cm (2") across. It is common in the autumn in coniferous woods. The acid taste can be turned to advantage if the fungus is pickled, or made into ketchup, or used in a piquant dressing for roast beef.