Fruiting body medium to large. Pileus 3-5.5 cm in diam.; convex to plano-convex, becoming flat when mature; involute, striate; vinaceous to pale brown, becoming pink towards the margin, pale pink overall when mature, with darker fibrils over the surface. Lamellae free, crowded, unequal with lamellulae, light pink when young, becoming darker when mature to dark brown. Stipe 4-9 x 0.3-0.6cm; central, equal, solid, cylindrical, with basal bulb, white overall with whitish annulus, ascending, located in the upper surface. Basidiospores 4.3-6.2 x 3.3-4.4 μm, brown, ovoid, thick walled, without germ pores, inamyloid. Basidia 14-17.5 x 4.8-7 μm, tetra-sterigmated. Cheilocystidia 32-38 x 10-18 μm, claviform to pyriform. Pleurocystidia not observed.
Specimens examined
India, Maharashtra, Kolhapur, Ajara, Kasar Kandgaon (16°04ʹ10ʺN-74°12ʹ32ʺE), on soil, amongst leaf litter, solitary, scattered, 07.07.2019, Bornak, S. I., Patil, A. R. and Biranje, S. S. (Y19V4C6); Panhala, Pombare (16°43ʹ04ʺN-73°55ʹ55ʺE), on soil, solitary, scattered, 20.06.2021, Bornak, S. I., Biranje. S. S. and Patil, Y. S. (Y21V4C10).
Remarks:
Micromorphology of this species matches with the description of Işik (2020). Agaricus dulcidulus (Agaricaceae) is morphologically close to A. porphyrizon P.D. Orton and A. semotus Fr., however A. porphyrizon is separated by its bigger pileus, longer stipe, and habitat preference, growing mostly in deciduous forests. Agaricus semotus, which also grows in deciduous forests or among grasses, differs from A. dulcidulus by its white to light brown pileus with lilac to reddish-violet fibrillose scales, double ring, smaller spores, and purple-brown spore print (Işik, 2020). In India, 98 species of Agaricus have been recorded from which only three belong to A. subg. Minores, viz., A. comtulus Fr., A. diminutivus Peck and A. dulcidulus Schulzer (Tarafder, et al., 2022). In India this species has been reported from Punjab (Saini, et al., 2018). This is a new report from Maharashtra state.
References:
Işik, H., (2020). Agaricus, Steccherinum, and Typhula species new for Turkey. Mycotaxon 135:213–222
Tarafder, E., Dutta, A.K. And Acharya, K. (2022). New species and new record in Agaricus subg. Minores from India. Turkish Journal of Botany 46(2):8. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-008X.2681
Saini, M.K., Kaur, H., Malik, N.A. (2018). The genus Agaricus (Agaricaceae, Agaricales) from India – A Check List. Kavaka, 51:49-58.
