Leucopaxillus gentianeus
Common Name: none
Misapplied name: Leucopaxillus amarus (Alb. & Schwein.: Fr.) Kühner
Cap 5-11 cm broad, convex, expanding to plano-convex, sometimes with a broad umbo; margin at first incurved, becoming decurved, obscurely to conspicuously striate; surface smooth, dry, dull, reddish-brown to cinnamon brown, the margin lighter; flesh thick, white; taste bitter, odor usually unpleasant.
Gills close, adnate to notched, sometimes slightly decurrent, narrow, white, becoming cream.
Stipe 4-8 cm tall, 1-2.5 cm thick, equal or tapering to an enlarged base; surface white, smooth, sometimes developing brownish stains at the base, the latter embedded in a layer of dense, white mycelium; veil absent.
Spores 4.5-6 x 3.5-5 µm, nearly round, warted, ornamentation amyloid; spore print white.
Forming rings and arcs under conifers, e.g. coast redwood, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress; less common with hardwoods; fruiting from late fall to mid-winter.
Inedible; very bitter.
Leucopaxillus gentianeus is a medium sized, robust mushroom with a dull, reddish-brown to cinnamon-brown, striate cap. It resembles some of the red-brown Tricholomas, but none have the combined characters of a dense, white mycelium and a bitter taste. An examination of the spores, which are nearly round and have amyloid ornamentation, will also help confirm an identification.
Kotlaba, F. (1966). Distribution of Leucopaxillus gentianeus (Quél.) comb. nov. in Czechoslovakia and notes on its nomenclature. Czech Mycol. 20(4): 229-236.
Singer, R. & Smith, A.H. (1943). A monograph on the genus Leucopaxillus Boursier. Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. 28: 85-132.
Watling, R. & Turnbull, E. (1998). British Fungus Flora: Agarics and Boleti. Vol 8. Cantharellaceae, Gomphaceae, and Amyloid-Spored and Xeruloid Members of Tricholomataceae (excl. Mycena). Royal Botanic Garden: Edinburgh, Scotland. 189 p.
— this is a large sporocarp!...the knife is 23.5 cm (9.25 inches) long!
