biology

Panaeolus fimicola

Panaeolus fimicola is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Panaeolus fimicola rather than just read about it. In short: Panaeolus fimicola, commonly known as the turf mottlegill or grass mottlegill, is a widespread but rarely identified "little brown mushroom" which sometimes contains small amounts of the hallucinogen psilocybin. Panaeolus ater is a synonym.

Key takeaways

Panaeolus fimicola belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Panaeolus fimicola to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Panaeolus fimicola from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Panaeolus fimicola, commonly known as the turf mottlegill or grass mottlegill, is a widespread but rarely identified "little brown mushroom" which sometimes contains small amounts of the hallucinogen psilocybin. Panaeolus ater is a synonym.

Description

Cap: (1)1.5— 3.5(4) cm, Campanulate then convex to plane, obtuse, dingy gray to blackish, often with reddish or hazel tones, hygrophanous, pallid grey to yellowish when dry, smooth, with a narrow brown marginal band, slightly striate at the margin when moist. Flesh thin and grayish. Gills: Adnate, close to crowded, at first gray-olivacous, becoming mottled and darkening to black with age, edges remaining whitish. Spores: Blackish gray. Stipe: (4)6 — 8(10) cm x 1 — 2(3) mm, equal, slender, slightly enlarging at the base, hollow, fragile, dingy white to clay, becoming brownish towards the base in age, smooth, white-pruinose at the apex, obsoletely slightly silky-striate, ring absent. Flesh is dirty ochraceous-buff; fragile. Taste: Not distinctive. Odor: Not distinctive. Microscopic features: Spores 10.8 — 14.2 X 6.9—9.5, ellipsoid or lemon shaped, basidia 4 spored. Gill edge cystidia fusiform, typically with long necks, gill face cystidia absent.

Habitat and formation Panaeolus fimicola can be found growing solitary to scattered in soil or dung, fertilized lawns and other grassy places, late spring to mid-fall. It is widespread and common across the Americas, as well as Europe and Africa. It has also been found in Turkey. Panaeolus fimicola will often appear during or after cold rain.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Panaeolus fimicola

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Panaeolus fimicola claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Panaeolus fimicola before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Panaeolus fimicola ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Panaeolus fimicola

In research: Panaeolus fimicola appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Panaeolus fimicola in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Panaeolus fimicola is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fungi described in 1821, Fungi of Africa, Fungi of Europe, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Panaeolus fimicola outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Panaeolus fimicola in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Panaeolus fimicola means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Panaeolus fimicola out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Panaeolus fimicola in simple terms?

Why does Panaeolus fimicola matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Panaeolus fimicola?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Panaeolus fimicola.