Tricholoma equestre

[ Basidiomycota > Agaricales > Tricholomataceae > Tricholoma . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Tricholoma equestre can be recognized through a combination of features. It has the white spore print, notched gills, medium stature, and other features that define the genus Tricholoma; it lacks a partial veil, which means there is no ring on the stem; it grows under pines in poor, sandy soil; it has a yellow cap that becomes brownish with age and lacks blackish appressed fibrils; its odor and taste are mealy; and, finally, its gills are yellow.

By current definitions Tricholoma equestre occurs in Europe and North America—and, within North America, in incredibly diverse ecosystems. However, according to Christensen & Heilmann-Clausen (2013), "[a] complete assessment of T. equestre and allied species, based on a global sampling strategy, and combining molecular and morphological methods, is strongly needed" since there is, according to Heilmann-Clausen and collaborators (2017), "considerable cryptic diversity" in the group.

Tricholoma flavovirens is a synonym.

Description:

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with pines; growing alone, scattered, or gregariously in poor, sandy soil; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America as a species group. The illustrated and described collections are from California and Michigan.

Cap: 5–10 cm across; convex becoming broadly convex; sticky when fresh, but soon dry; bright greenish yellow when young and fresh, but soon developing a brown center that expands nearly to the margin with age; bald or with a few appressed fibers over the center (but not prominently overlaid with blackish radiating fibers).

Gills: Attached to the stem by means of a notch; close; short-gills frequent; pale to bright yellow.

Stem: 5–7 cm long; 1.5–2.5 cm thick; more or less equal, or with an enlarged base; bald or finely hairy to subscaly; pale yellow or whitish near the apex, more yellow below; basal mycelium white.

Flesh: White; not changing when sliced.

Odor and Taste: Mealy.

Chemical Reactions: KOH negative on cap surface.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5–7 x 3–4 µm; ellipsoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH; inamyloid. Basidia 4-sterigmate. Lamellar trama parallel. Hymenial cystidia not found. Pileipellis an ixocutis; elements 2.5–5 µm wide, smooth, hyaline to reddish in KOH. Clamp connections not found.

REFERENCES: (Linnaeus, 1753) Kummer, 1871. (Quélet, 1886; Saccardo, 1887; Kauffman, 1918; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1979; Ovrebo, 1980; Weber & Smith, 1985; Arora, 1986; Breitenbach & Kränzlin, 1991; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Shanks, 1996; Barron, 1999; Roody, 2003; Deng & Yao, 2005; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006; Trudell & Ammirati, 2009; Kuo & Methven, 2010; Bessette et al., 2013; Christensen & Heilmann-Clausen, 2013; Kuo & Methven, 2014; Desjardin, Wood & Stevens, 2015; Evenson, 2015; Siegel & Schwarz, 2016; Cripps, Evenson & Kuo, 2016; Baroni, 2017; Heilmann-Clausen et al., 2017; Elliott & Stephenson, 2018.) Herb. Kuo 09140804, 01131104.

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Spores

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2019, October). Tricholoma equestre. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/tricholoma_equestre.html