Giant Funnel

Leucopaxillus giganteus

Coniferous and mixed forests, among grasses. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies very large, robust. Cap grows up to 25 cm across (even 45 cm has been recorded), matt, fibrous, depressed, fleshy, white, cream, radially zoned, wrinkled. Gills very narrow, crowded, subdecurrent. Stem very short, 5-9 (10)x2-4 cm, white, when old brownish. Flesh thick, white, slightly bitter, with an unpleasant smell. Characteristic features: white fruiting bodies, sometimes growing in rings even several dozen metres in diameter.

Grows among grasses, in humus-rich soil, in forests. Edible. An antibiotic that destroys tuberculosis bacilli has been isolated from it. Rare. The White Funnel (L. candidus) is very similar, but its fruiting bodies are smaller and it grows in coniferous forests. Protected.