Volvariella volvacea (also known as paddy straw mushroomorstraw mushroom) is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia and used extensively in Asian cuisine. They are often available fresh in regions they are cultivated, but elsewhere are more frequently found canned or dried. Worldwide, straw mushrooms are the third-most-consumed mushroom.[2]
In their button stage, straw mushrooms resemble poisonous death caps, but can be distinguished by several mycological features, including their pink spore print (spore prints of death caps are white). The two mushrooms have different distributions, with the death cap generally not found where the straw mushroom grows natively, but immigrants, particularly those from Southeast AsiatoCalifornia and Australia, have been poisoned due to misidentification.[3][4]
Straw mushrooms are grown on rice straw beds and are most commonly picked when immature (often labelled "unpeeled"), during their button or egg phase, and before the veil ruptures.[5] They are adaptable, taking four to five days to mature, and are most successfully grown in subtropical climates with high annual rainfall. No record has been found of their cultivation before the 19th century.[6]
Media related to Volvariella volvacea at Wikimedia Commons
