Marasmius alliaceus, commonly known as the Garlic Parachute, is one of the larger mushroom

Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

s of the Marasmius

Marasmius

Marasmius is a genus of mushrooms, in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as Marasmius oreades, are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressive brown mushrooms...

genus, having a beige cap

Pileus (mycology)

The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...

 of up to 4 cm and a long tough slender stipe

Stipe (botany)

In botany, a stipe is a stalk that supports some other structure. The precise meaning is different depending on which taxonomic group is being described....

. It emanates a strong smell of garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

, and this is the significance of the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 species name, alliaceus. It is distributed throughout Europe, being fairly common in some areas and quite rare in others.

Description

The species can be described as follows. The cap is beige, ochre or flesh-coloured and is 2–4 cm in diameter, sometimes wrinkled; it is somewhat domed in the middle. The gills are whitish and narrowly attached to the stem, and the spore powder is white. The tough dark-coloured stem can be 15 cm tall but is only up to 3 mm in diameter. The stem is velvety (pruinose) and black below, though it may be brown near the top. The strong taste and smell of garlic is a product of the separation of γ-glutamyl-marismin. This mushroom is found in European woods (especially beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

woods) from early summer to autumn, growing on fallen leaves and rotting wood.

Related species and possibility of confusion

M. alliaceus gives its name to the section Alliacei of the genus, consisting of a few closely related species, not all of which have a garlic smell. Of those that do smell of garlic, the most likely to be confused is the fairly common M. scorodonius, which is distinguished by a bare shiny red-brown stem. M. prasiosmus (synonym: M. querceus) has a velvety stem like M. alliaceus, but the colour is purple-brown and it has a hot taste.

Garlic-smelling Alliacei species also occur in America; examples are M. perlongispermus and M. copelandii.

Edibility

The cap of M. alliaceus is edible, but of limited culinary value due to its meagre flesh. It can be added to dishes to give a garlic flavour, which could be useful for people who are allergic to real garlic.