Entoloma rhodopolium – Wood Pinkgill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

This very common pale pinkgill occurs in deciduous broadleaf woodland, usually in quite large groups.

A form of this poisonous mushroom gives off a nitrous smell, and it was formerly classed as a separate species Entoloma nidorosum. Several toxins have been isolated from Wood Pinkgills, including muscarine. Not surprisingly, eating this species has been known to cause some very unpleasant stomach upsets.

Identification guide

	Cap 3 to 5 cm across, convex, flattening and often becoming broadly umbonate, occasionally with a shallow depression; margin striate when dry, slightly incurved and wavy; beige, turning paler when dry.
	Gills Adnate; white, turning pink as spores mature.
Spores	Pink.
Stem	4 to 9 cm long and 3 to 6mm dia.; smooth; white or pale beige, silky; no ring.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Usually in large groups in broadleaf deciduous woodland.
Season	Fruiting from summer to late autumn.
Occurrence	Widespread and fairly common.
Similar species	The Wood Pinkgill is very distinctive, but before the gills turn white it could perhaps be mistaken for a Buttercap, Rhodocollybia butyracea.