Entoloma sericeum
Mém. Soc. Émul. Montbéliard, Sér. 2 5: 119. 1872.
Common Name: none
Synonym: Nolanea sericea (Quél.) P.D. Orton
For descriptions see Largent & 'California Mushrooms'.
Scattered to gregarious or in small clusters, typically in the open, in grassy areas, moss-covered hard-packed soil, along roadsides or trails; common, fruiting from late summer through mid-winter, widely distributed.
Unknown.
Entoloma sericeum is recognized by relatively small, umbonate, dark brown to dark grayish brown, hygrophanous, striate caps, grayish brown gills, a slender grayish brown stipe, and farinaceous odor. It is a widely distributed and commonly collected species that prefers poor soils in open grassy areas. Entoloma vernum looks similar but has a more conical, silky-streaked cap, mild odor, and fruits in the spring under montane conifers.
Entoloma expert Dr. David Largent described many species from northern California that are macro-morphologically indistinct from E. sericeum and can be differentiated only by microscopic examination. Genetic work from Tom Bruns and Else Vellinga at University of California, Berkeley, indicates that there are at least five macroscopically similar species in the Entoloma sericeum group at Point Reyes National Seashore alone!
Bas, C., Kuyper, T.W., Noordeloos, M.E. & Vellinga, E.C. (1988). Flora Agaricina Neerlandica -- Critical monographs on the families of agarics and boleti occuring in the Netherlands. Volume 1. Entolomataceae. A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, Netherlands. 182 p.
Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (1995). Fungi of Switzerland. Volume 4: Agarics (2nd Part). Entolomataceae, Pluteaceae, Amanitaceae, Agaricaceae, Coprinaceae, Strophariaceae. Verlag Mykologia: Luzern, Switzerland. 368 p.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Knudsen, H. & Vesterholt, J. ed. (2008). Funga Nordica: Agaricoid, boletoid and cyphelloid genera. Nordsvamp: Copenhagen, Denmark. 965 p. (PDF)
Knudsen, H. & Vesterholt, J. ed. (2012). Funga Nordica: Agaricoid, boletoid, clavarioid, cyphelloid and gastroid genera. Vol. 2. 572 p.
Largent, D.L. (1994). Entolomatoid Fungi of the Western United States and Alaska. Mad River Press: Eureka, CA. 516 p.
Noordeloos, M.E. (1992). Entoloma s.l. (Funghi Europaei, vol. 5). Giovanna Biella: Saronno. 760 p.
Noordeloos, M.E. (2004). Entoloma s.l. Supplement (Funghi Europaei, vol. 5A). Edizioni Candusso: Alassio, Italy. 618 p.
Vila, J., Carbó, J., Caballero, F., Català, S., Llimona, X. & Noordeloos, M.E. (2013). A first approach to the study of the genus Entoloma subgenus Nolanea s.l. using molecular and morphological data. Fungi non Delineati 66: 3-62.
