Tricholoma sulphureum - Sulphur Knight

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

An occasional find, Tricholoma sulphureum, the Sulphur Knight, used to be referred to as the Gas Works Mushroom because of its strong pungent odour. This inedible mushroom is sometimes found under willows on damp land, but more often it is mycorrhizal with Beech and oaks.

Surprisingly, despite its extremely pungent odour, this mushroom does not have a distinctive taste. It is, however, known to be poisonous.

Identification Guide

Cap	Sulphur yellow, often with reddish-brown or olive tints; convex, usually with a wavy margin, sometimes flattening or becoming slightly depressed, but retaining an umbo; matt; 3 to 8cm across.
	Gills Bright sulphur yellow; broad; distant; sinuate (notched near the stem). Stem Yellow, lined vertically with sparse reddish fibres; cylindrical; 3 to 5cm long, 0.6 to 1cm dia.; no ring.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Very strong odour of coal gas - so strong that you won't want to have it near enough to do a nibble test!
Habitat	Mycorrhizal with deciduous broadleaf trees - mainly oaks and Beech - and just occasionally found also in coniferous woodland.
Season	Although the main fruiting season is late summer and autumn, Sulphur Knights appear as early as the end of springtime.
Occurrence	Fairly common but the distribution is patchy.
Similar species	Tricholoma equestre, mainly a northern species in Britain, has a yellow cap with a brown-olive central area; it has no significant odour.