Entoloma squeezed (Entoloma rhodopolium)
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 rhodopolium (Entoloma pressed)
or
Entoloma pink-gray
Entoloma pressed, or pink-gray (lat.Entoloma rhodopolium) is a species of mushrooms belonging to the genus Entoloma (Entoloma) of the family Entolomataceae.
Hat: 3-10 cm in diameter, hygrophane, convex in youth, then relatively spread, and even later – depressed-convex, with a dark tubercle in the center. The color varies greatly depending on humidity: olive gray, gray-brown (when dry) or dull brown, reddish. The pulp is whitish, thin, odorless or with a strong alkaline odor. (The odorous variety was previously distinguished as a special species, Entoloma nidorosum.)
Plates: Wide, of medium frequency, uneven, adherent to the stem. The color is white in youth, turns pink with age.
Spore Powder: Pink.
Leg: Smooth, cylindrical, white or grayish, high (up to 10 cm), but thin – no more than 0.5 cm in diameter.
Distribution: Grows in August-September, preferring deciduous forests. Found abundantly in damp places.
Similar species: In general, the mushroom looks very 'general' – it can be confused with literally anything. At the same time, the discs that turn pink with age immediately cut off many varieties like Melanoleuca or Megacollybia. Growing on soil does not allow this entholoma to be mistaken for some little-known rogue. From other similar entols (in particular, Entoloma lividoalbum and Entoloma myrmecophilum, the entholoma can sometimes be distinguished by a pungent ammoniacal odor: in these species, on the contrary, the smell is floury and pleasant. A variety that does not have a distinct odor is much more difficult to identify.
Edible: Absent. The mushroom is considered inedible. Possibly poisonous.
Remarks It is always a pleasure to discover something new. Discovered alkaline entholoma. I would have tried not to open: how many of these large brittle brown mushrooms with an unpleasant odor were there! Old, dark, damp forests dominated by oak and linden are a real paradise for these entoloms. In some ways, these forests are similar to the depths of the sea: almost all living creatures live near the surface, while in the depths there are rare mysterious monsters. It was the same in the forest: at a depth of up to 50 meters there was everything, from porcini mushrooms to pale toadstools. Deeper – an intriguing void, marked by huge clouds of gray-brown enthola –
