Agaricus (redirected from Agaricinus)

Agaricus 

(meadow mushroom and related species), a genus of mushrooms of the family Agaricaceae. The cap is 3–25 cm in diameter, smooth or scaly, fleshy, and compact. There are about 60 cosmopolitan species. The mushrooms grow mainly on forest or meadow humus, on well-manured soils, on the barks of dead trees, and in anthills. They can be found on roadsides, in flower gardens, in vegetable gardens, in parks, on livestock farms, and in hotbeds.

The most common species are A. campester (common field mushroom), A. arvensis, and A. bernardii (which also occurs in deserts and semideserts). Two species— A. meleagris and A. xanthoderma—are poisonous. The species A. bisporus is raised commercially in many countries, including the USSR, the USA, Great Britain, France, Holland, Denmark, and the German Democratic Republic. The mushroom contains 46.5 percent protein and yields a harvest of up to 15 kg/m². In the USSR mushrooms of the genus Agaricus are cultivated commercially in the suburbs of many large industrial centers, including Moscow, Leningrad, and Gorky.

REFERENCES

Gromov, N. G. Shampin’ony, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1960.
Zhizn’ rastenii, vol. 2. Moscow, 1976.
Hunte, W. Champignonanbau im Haupt-und Nebenerwerb, 7th ed. Berlin-Hamburg, 1973.