Entoloma serrulatum – Blue Edge Pinkgill

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Blue-black is an unusual colour for a mushroom, and the radially fibrillose cap that often breaks up into fine scales near the centre helps distinguish this lovely Entoloma from other bluish species. The pallid gills have blackish edges. (Such a characteristic is described in technical terms as ‘marginate’.)

Uncommon to rare in southern mainland Europe and in southern parts of Britain and Ireland, this neat little grassland mushroom is fairly common in Scotland.

Note: Entoloma serrulatum was formerly classified as Leptonia serrulata.

Identification guide

Cap	1.5 to 3.5cm across; initially convex, expanding to become broadly convex or umbilicate; blue-black, becoming brown when old; radially fibrillose; silky or finely scaly.
	Gills Adnexed sometimes with a decurrent tooth; distant; with serrated or jagged edges (hence the specific epithet); pale bluish-white turning flesh pink, with blue-black edges. Blue-grey at first, becoming pink tinged at maturity, the gills are broad, moderately spaced and adnate.
Spores	Pink.
Stem	4 to 7cm long and 2 to 3mm dia.; silky with blackish dots near the apex, smooth and blue-black below; hollow; cylindrical; no ring.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Usually in groups in pastures and moorland; sometimes under conifers and broad-leaf trees in open woodland.
Season	Fruiting from early summer to late autumn, provided the weather is mild. Particularly prevalent during early autumn.
Occurrence	Widespread but uncommon in the UK except in Scotland.
Similar species	Entoloma chalybaeum is a taller species but with a slightly smaller cap diameter; its gills do not have the distinctive black edges that are associated with Entoloma serrulatum.