Entoloma sericeum - Silky Pinkgill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Varying from the palest shade of brown to the darkest, this grassland mushroom has one redeeming characteristic: its wonderfully silky cap is an aid to identification.

A delicate pinkgill is often seen in parkland and meadows, Entoloma sericeum is occasionally seen also on roadside verges. The caps are hygrophanous, and so the shade of brown depends very much on how wet or dry the weather has been. Some specimens are even darker than those shown.

Identification guide

Cap	2.5 to 5cm across; initially conical, developing an umbo as it becomes broadly convex; hygrophanous, darker brown when wet and much paler, often streaky buff, when dry; surface smooth with silky radial fibrils.
	Gills Sinuate; pale grey at first, becoming pinkish grey and eventually brown.
Spores	Pink.
Stem	3 to 6cm long and 4 to 10mm dia.; colour as cap but paler towards base; with longitudinal silky fibrils; cylindrical; no ring.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Usually in small groups in grassland.
Season	Fruiting from summer to late autumn.
Occurrence	Fairly common.
Similar species	The Wood Pinkgill, Entoloma rhodopolium, is similar in cap colour; it is, of course, a woodland species whereas the Silky Pinkgill occurs nearly always in grassland.