Entoloma sp.- Cyprus

Entoloma is a large genus of terrestrial pink-gilled mushrooms, with about 1000 species. They have a drab appearance, pink gills which are attached to the stem, a smooth thick cap, and angular spores. Most entolomas are saprobic. The best-known member of which is the livid agaric (Entoloma sinuatum) responsible for a number of poisonings over the years in Europe and North America, and Entoloma rhodopolium in Japan. Some southern hemisphere species found in Australia, Entoloma rodwayi and Entoloma viridomarginatum, and Entoloma hochstetteri from New Zealand, are very colourful, with caps of unusual shades of green and blue-green. Most entolomas are dull shades of olive, brown, or grey and some are mycorrhizal.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photos Mathiatis 14/12/2012  by George Konstantinou

Galerina sp.- Cyprus

Galerina is a genus of small brown-spored saprobic mushrooms, with over 300 species found throughout the world, from the far north to remote Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean. Species are typically small and hygrophanous, with a slender and brittle stem. They are often found growing on wood, and when on the ground have a preference for mossy habitats. This group is most noted for toxic species which are occasionally confused with hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe.

Galerina means helmet-like. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Mathiatis by George Konstantinou

Clitocybe sp.- Cyprus

Clitocybe is a genus of mushrooms characterized by white, off-white, buff, cream, pink, or light-yellow spores, gills running down the stem, and pale white to brown or lilac coloration. They are primarily saprotrophic, decomposing forest ground litter. There are estimated to be around 300 species in the widespread genus.

Clitocybe means sloping head.

A few members of the genus are considered edible; many others are poisonous, containing the toxin muscarine among others. Distinguishing individual species of Clitocybe is generally prohibitively difficult to non-experts, requiring the analysis of microscopic characters. Therefore, with the exception of a few charismatic and readily identified members, Clitocybe mushrooms are rarely collected for consumption.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Mathiatis 14/12/2012  by George Konstantinou

Hemimycena sp.- Cyprus

Hemimycena is a genus of fungi in the family Mycenaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, and according to a 2008 estimate, contains about 50 species. The genus was described by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1938.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Athalassa 8/12/2012  by George Konstantinou

Sea daffodil - Pancratium maritimum L. - Κρίνος της θάλασσας - Cyprus

Red Data Book category

Pancratium maritimum, or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to both sides of the Mediterranean region and Black Sea from Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands east to Turkey, Syria, Israel and the Caucasus. It can also be seen on the south Bulgarian and north Turkish and Georgian coasts of Black Sea, where it is threatened with extinction. It is also naturalized in southern California, Bermuda and the Azores.

Pancratium maritimum grows on beaches and coastal sand dunes, often with much of the leaves and scapes buried in the sand. Other vernacular names are sand daffodil, sand lily and lily of St. Nicholas. The specific epithet maritimum means "of the sea"

Pancratium maritimum is a bulbous perennial with a long neck and glaucous, broadly linear leaves, evergreen, but the leaves often die back during hot summers. Scape to 40 centimetres (16 in). Flowers 3–15 in an umbel, up to 15 cm (6 in) long, white. Corona two-thirds as long as the tepals. The flowers have a pleasing, exotic and very subtle lily scent, which only becomes apparent during still, windless summer nights that allow the delicate fragrance to become perceptible. Flowering is from August to October

Pancratium maritimum is pollinated by a hawk-moth named Agrius convolvuli. These insects visit the flower only when the speed of the wind is under 2 metres per second (6.6 ft/s). Even if the species is pollinated in an artificial way during windy weather the pollination is not effective. Pancratium maritimum is not receptive to its own pollen and must be cross-pollinated.

Easily grown but requires a very sunny position and a very well drained, sandy soil. Needs hot summers to induce flowering and is often a shy bloomer in cooler climates. Hardy to USDA zone 8. Tolerates temperatures down to about −5 °C (23 °F). Propagation by seeds or division after flowering. Seedlings may flower in their third or fourth year.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Davlos  by George Konstantinou

Cream-coloured courser (Cursorius cursor) (Latham, 1787) Αμμοδρόμος - Cyprus

The cream-coloured courser (Cursorius cursor) is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.

Although classed as waders, these are birds of dry open country, preferably semi-desert, where they typically hunt their insect prey by running on the ground.

These coursers are found in Canary Islands, north Africa and southwest Asia. Their two eggs are laid in a ground scrape. They are partially migratory, with northern and northwestern birds wintering in India, Arabia and across the southern edge of the Sahara. Some birds also breed in the southern desert regions in northwestern India and Pakistan.

They are rare north of the breeding range, but this species has occurred as far away as Finland, Ireland and Great Britain.

These birds have long legs and long wings. They have slightly downcurved bills. The body plumage is sandy in colour, fading to whitish on the lower belly. The upperwing primary feathers and the underwings are black. The crown and nape are grey, and there is a black eyestripe and white supercilium.

In flight this species resembles a pratincole with its relaxed wingbeats, pointed wings and dark underwings.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos and video Akrotiri  20/8/2015  by George Konstantinou

Photos and video Akrotiri  24/3/2018  by George Konstantinou

Coprinopsis sp.- Cyprus

Coprinopsis is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae. Coprinopsis was split out of the genus Coprinus based on molecular data. The species Coprinopsis cinerea (=Coprinus cinereus) is a model organism for mushroom-forming basidiomycota, and its genomehas recently been sequenced completely.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Athalassa  5/3/2010 by George Konstantinou

Chlorophyllum levantinum, sp. nov.. - Cyprus

See also

Multiple evolutionary origins of sequestrate species in the agaricoid genus Chlorophyllum. Michael Loizides, Pablo Alvaradob, Elias Polemisc, Dimitrios M. Dimoud, Georgios I. Zervakis c, Marco Thines e,f,g, Sabine Tellef, George Konstantinou h, and Matthias Gubei,j.

New mushroom species found in Cyprus: Chlorophyllum levantinum sp. nov. by George and Fani Konstantinou

Family: Agaricaceae

Πρώτη αναφορά του νέου είδους μανιταριού Chlorophyllum levantinum sp. nov. από τον Γιώργο και Φανή Κωνσταντίνου.

Chlorophyllum is a genus of large agarics similar in appearance to the true parasol mushroom. Chlorophyllum was originally coined in 1898, a time when spore color was the deciding factor for differentiating genera. It was termed in order to describe the poisonous green-spored C. molybdites which shared many characteristics of the mushrooms within the genus Lepiota but lacked the all important white spores. The name derives from Greek Chloro meaning green and phyllo meaning leaf (or gill in this case). It remained as a monotypic genus until recently when modern DNA analyses concluded that many of the mushrooms contained in the genus Macrolepiota actually had more in common genetically with the Chlorophyllum molybdites than with the other members of the Macrolepiota.[2] The genus has a widespread distribution, with many species found in tropical regions. The best known members are the edible shaggy parasol, a name applied to three very similar species Chlorophyllum rhacodes, C. olivieri and C. brunneum, and the poisonous C. molybdites, which is widespread in subtropical regions around the world.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Potamia 4/5/2012 by George Konstantinou

Pisolithus albus Cooke & Massee - Cyprus

Pisolithus is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae (suborder Sclerodermatineae). The type species, P. arenarius, is now known to be synonymous with P. arhizus.

Photos Athalassa  30/8/2010 by George Konstantinou

Omphalina sp.- Cyprus

Omphalina is a genus of small agarics with white, nonamyloid, basidiospores and decurrent gills. Typically the cap has a deep central depression giving the umbrella-like to funnel-shaped cap the appearance of a belly button, or a belly with a navel. Similarly-shaped agarics are said to be omphalinoid in appearance.
Omphalina in the modern sense is a small genus of bryophyte colonizing mushrooms. They grow on mossy burned soils and in undisturbed mossy areas in Arctic, Antarctic,alpine and rural and urban sites. Many other bryophilous mushrooms occur in such habitats but they have other characteristics. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Athalassa  by George Konstantinou

Oyster mushroom - Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P.Kumm. (1871) - Cyprus

Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom, is a common edible mushroom. It was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during World War I and is now grown commercially around the world for food. It is related to the similarly cultivated king oyster mushroom. Oyster mushrooms can also be used industrially for mycoremediation purposes.

The oyster mushroom is one of the more commonly sought wild mushrooms, though it can also be cultivated on straw and other media. It has the bittersweet aroma of benzaldehyde (which is also characteristic of anise or almonds).

The mushroom has a broad, fan or oyster-shaped cap spanning 5–25 cm; natural specimens range from white to gray or tan to dark-brown; the margin is inrolled when young, and is smooth and often somewhat lobed or wavy. The flesh is white, firm, and varies in thickness due to stipe arrangement. Thegills of the mushroom are white to cream, and descend on the stalk if present. If so, the stipe is off-center with a lateral attachment to wood. The spore print of the mushroom is white to lilac-gray, and best viewed on dark background. The mushroom's stipe is often absent. When present, it is short and thick.

Omphalotus nidiformis is a toxic lookalike found in Australia and Japan. In North America, Omphalotus olivascens, the western jack-o'-lantern mushroom and Clitocybe dealbata, the ivory funnel mushroom, both bear a resemblance to Pleurotus ostreatus. Both Omphalotus olivascens and Clitocybe dealbata contain muscarine and are toxic.

The oyster mushroom is widespread in many temperate and subtropical forests throughout the world, although it is absent from the Pacific Northwest of North America, being replaced by P. pulmonarius and P. populinus. It is a saprotroph that acts as a primary decomposer of wood, especially deciduous trees, and beech trees in particular. It is a white-rot wood-decay fungus.

The oyster mushroom is one of the few known carnivorous mushrooms. Its mycelia can kill and digest nematodes, which is believed to be a way in which the mushroom obtains nitrogen.

The standard oyster mushroom can grow in many places, but some other related species, such as the branched oyster mushroom, grow only on trees. They may be found all year round in the UK.

While this mushroom is often seen growing on dying hardwood trees, it only appears to be acting saprophytically, rather than parasitically. As the tree dies of other causes, P. ostreatus grows on the rapidly increasing mass of dead and dying wood. They actually benefit the forest by decomposing the dead wood, returning vital elements and minerals to the ecosystem in a form usable to other plants and organisms Despite this, the belief that P. ostreatus could damage New Zealand's forestry industry has led New Zealand to ban its importation. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agros 2/12/2009 by George Konstantinou

Ischnoderma sp.- Cyprus

Ischnoderma is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Species in the genus have dark brown and tomentose fruit bodies that become darker brown to black and smooth when mature. The genus, widespread in temperate regions, contains an estimated 10 species. The type species, I. resinosum, is used in mushroom dyeing to produce various shades of brown

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Pafos-Chloraka 9/4/2010 by George Konstantinou