Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, commonly known as the flower pot parasol, yellow parasol, flowerpot parasol, or plantpot dapperling, is a species of gilled mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. It is common in the tropics and subtropics. However, in temperate regions, it frequently occurs in greenhouses and flowerpots, hence its common names of flowerpot parasol and plantpot dapperling. It is considered to be toxic if consumed. Taxonomy The species was first described as Agaricus luteus in 1788 by the English mycologist James Bolton who described an observation from a hothouse near Halifax, three years earlier in 1785. Bolton also provided an illustration of the mushrooms. At the time gilled species were classified as Agaricus and luteus comes from the Latin for yellow or yellow-orange. Bolton suggested the common name of 'Yellow Cottony Agaric' in reference to the soft, scaly texture of the mushroom. However the name A. luteus had already been used to describe an unrelated Russula species and was published in 1778 by William Hudson so Bolton's A. luteus was illegitimate. Nonetheless Agaricus luteus continued to be used and in James Sowerby's 1796 book entitled 'Coloured figures of English fungi or mushrooms' his description of Agaricus cepaestipes (now Leucocoprinus cepistipes) also includes