Protostropharia

Protostropharia, is a coprophilous agaric fungal genus that produces glutinous, mostly yellowish to yellow brown fruit bodies. Characteristically most form chrysocystidia and rather large, smooth, violaceous basidiospores each with a prominent germ pore (as Stropharia subg. Stercophila^[1][2]). It is differentiated from Stropharia by production of astrocystidia on its mycelium rather than by acanthocytes that Stropharia produces.^[3][4][5][6] Phylogenetically, Protostropharia is distinct from Stropharia, Pholiota, and Leratiomyces.^[7][8] Two species, P. luteonitens and P. tuberosa, form pseudosclerotia within the dung substrate.^[9][10]

Protostropharia
Protostropharia semiglobata growing on llama dung in South America
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Strophariaceae
Genus:	Protostropharia Redhead, Moncalvo, & Vilgalys (2013)
Type species
Protostropharia semiglobata (Batsch) Redhead, Moncalvo, Vilgalys (2013)
Species
Protostropharia alcis Protostropharia arctica Protostropharia dorsipora Protostropharia islandica Protostropharia luteonitens Protostropharia semiglobata Protostropharia tuberosa

Protostropharia Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate
	Stipe has a ring
	Spore print is purple-black
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is unknown

Etymology

The name Protostropharia refers to the less anatomically complex astrocystidia (Greek proto-) as compared to the acanthocytes in Stropharia.