before ever being recorded in the wild. Many other Leucocoprinus species are less well documented but additional species of note observed in the wild include: Leucocoprinus brunneoluteus (South America) Leucocoprinus cygneus (Europe) Leucocoprinus griseofloccosus (Europe) Habitat and distribution Leucocoprinus species originate from tropical climates where they thrive in the hot and humid conditions of rainforests however species have now spread all over the world due to human activity. Numerous species in this genus were introduced to Europe by early explorers bringing exotic plants back from tropical climates which carried unseen fungal hitchhikers in the soil. As a result new and unknown species of mushrooms began appearing in greenhouses and hothouses all over Europe which piqued the interest of budding new mycologists who sought to classify these strange new 'plants', as mushrooms were then considered to be. Some Leucocoprinus species were observed in Europe in the 18th century before ever being found in the wild. Leucocoprinus birnbaumii was first described in 1788 from an observation in a hothouse in Halifax, England. In 1793 British botanist James Sowerby observed it growing at Wormleybury manor, likely in the hothouses and greenhouses which contained plants from the East Indies and India. Its specific epithet is named for Mr Birnbaum, a gardener who found the yellow mushrooms growing in greenhouses amongst pineapples in Prague in the 1830s. Leucocoprinus cretaceus was also first classified in 1788 by Pierre Bulliard from observations made in greenhouses and in planters under cold frames in France. In 1871 the German botanist Otto Kuntze stated that the mushrooms grew in large numbers in gardens and greenhouses but did not appear too often. Leucocoprinus cepistipes has a more complicated history as it was routinely conflated with L. cretaceus due to the similarly white appearance or even considered to simply be a white version of L. birnbaumii before species classifications were better established. Nonetheless James Sowerby's detailed illustrations from 1796, made from specimens found in bark beds around London, clearly depict what is now recognisable as L. cepistipes. These species are still commonly found in greenhouses and plant pots in Europe and all over the world. Centuries of buying and selling tropical plants has created an effective distribution network for Leucocoprinus species as the conditions of greenhouses and indoor plant pots can mimic the warm and humid tropical conditions which these mushrooms require. Collecting exotic plants in botanical gardens may also help to