Entoloma gray-white (Entoloma lividoalbum)
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Entolomataceae (Entolomaceae)
- Genus: Entoloma (Entoloma)
- Species: Entoloma lividoalbum (Entoloma gray-white)
or
Entoloma lead white
Entoloma gray-white (lat.Entoloma lividoalbum) is a species of fungi of the Entolomataceae family.
The cap of the entoloma is gray-white: 3-10 cm in diameter, conical in youth, opening down to almost open with age; in the center, as a rule, a dark blunt tubercle remains. The color is zonal, yellowish-brown; when dry, the zoning is more pronounced, and the overall color tone is lighter. The pulp is whitish, darker under the skin of the cap, thick in the central part, increasingly thin on the periphery, often with translucent plates along the edges. The smell and taste are mealy.
Plates: Whitish in youth, darken to cream with age, then to dark pink, adherent, rather frequent, wide. Irregular width may give the appearance of 'tousled', especially with age.
Spore Powder: Pink.
The stem of the entoloma is gray-white: Cylindrical, long (4-10 cm in length, 0.5-1.5 cm in thickness), often curved, gradually thickening at the base. The color of the leg is white, the surface is covered with small light longitudinal fibrous scales. The flesh of the leg is white, fragile.
Distribution: Gray-white entoloma occurs from late summer to mid-autumn in forests of various types, in parks and gardens.
Similar species: Entoloma rhodopolium (Entoloma rhodopolium), which grows at about the same time, is much thinner and slender, and most importantly, does not emit a flour smell. Entoloma clypeatum appears in spring and does not overlap with Entoloma lividoalbum. This entoloma can be easily distinguished from other similar mushrooms by the plates turning pink in adulthood.
Edible: Unknown. Obviously inedible or poisonous mushroom.
Remarks Here is such a large, noticeable entoloma I came across in a spruce forest at the end of summer 2003. The stages of development of these, if I may say so, fruit bodies could be observed quite clearly: each mushroom picker considered it his duty to pick a couple of mushrooms, turn them over in their hands and discard them in disappointment. As a result, the sample has accumulated quite decent.
