''Entoloma'' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of terrestrial pink-gilled

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s, with about 1,000 species. Most have a drab appearance, pink

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

which are attached to the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

, a smooth thick

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

, and angular

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s. Many entolomas are

saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi (f ...

but some are

mycorrhizal A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plan ...

. The best-known member of the genus is the livid agaric (''

Entoloma sinuatum ''Entoloma sinuatum'' ( commonly known as the livid entoloma, livid agaric, livid pinkgill, leaden entoloma, and lead poisoner) is a poisonous mushroom found across Europe and North America. Some guidebooks refer to it by its older scientific ...

''), responsible for a number of poisonings over the years in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and ''

Entoloma rhodopolium ''Entoloma rhodopolium'', commonly known as the wood pinkgill, is a poisonous mushroom found in Europe and Asia. In fact, it is one of the three most commonly implicated fungi in cases of mushroom poisoning in Japan (Other two are ''Omphalotus ja ...

'' in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Some southern hemisphere species such as ''

Entoloma rodwayi ''Entoloma rodwayi'', known as the green stem pinkgill, is a species of fungus in the Entolomataceae family of mushrooms. A yellowish green mushroom with pink gills and spores, it is found in wet forests of Tasmania. Taxonomy First named as ''L ...

'' and ''

Entoloma viridomarginatum ''Entoloma'' is a large genus of terrestrial pink-gilled mushrooms, with about 1,000 species. Most have a drab appearance, pink gills which are attached to the stem, a smooth thick cap, and angular spores. Many entolomas are saprobic but some ...

'' from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and ''

Entoloma hochstetteri ''Entoloma hochstetteri'', also known as the blue pinkgill, sky-blue mushroom or similar names, is a species of mushroom that is native to New Zealand. The small mushroom is a distinctive all-blue colour, while the gills have a slight reddish ti ...

'' from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, are very colourful, with caps of unusual shades of green and blue-green. Most entolomas are dull shades of olive, brown, or grey.

Etymology

The part '' ἐντός'' means "within, inside". The part "loma" is a noun-forming element derived from Greek '' λῶμ(α)'', "fringe, hem" and used in the botanical taxonomy for naming plants distinguished by having a fringe or hem or particular kind described by the initial part of the word. In the case of ''Entoloma'', the term refers to mushrooms with the hem turned inside.

Taxonomic history

The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''entos'' (ἐντός) meaning ''inner'' and ''lóma'' (λῶμα) meaning ''fringe'' from the in-rolled margin. The Swedish mycologist

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

classified all pink-spored gilled fungi in a series ''Hyporhodius'' within his large genus ''

Agaricus ''Agaricus'' is a genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom (''Agaricus bisp ...

'', subdividing into five tribes based on cap shape, gills and size in 1821. He later refined this in 1838, placing those with universal veils into tribe ''Volvaria'', those with free gills and a discrete stipe into tribe ''Pluteus'', those with a ''

Tricholoma ''Tricholoma'' is a genus of fungus that contains many fairly fleshy white-spored gilled mushrooms which are found worldwide generally growing in woodlands. These are ectomycorrhizal fungi, existing in a symbiotic relationship with various spec ...

''-like shape into tribe ''Entoloma'', and those with a depressed cap and decurrent gills into tribe ''Clitopilus''. The small tribe ''Leptonia'' had convex fleshy membranaceous caps, the tribe ''Nolanea'', were slender fungi with bell-shaped caps and hollow stems, and lastly tribe ''Eccilia'' had umblicilate caps and adnate gills.

Paul Kummer Paul Kummer (22 August 1834 – 6 December 1912) was a minister, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological nomenclature. Earlier classification of agarics by pioneering fungal taxonomist Elias Ma ...

raised ''Entoloma'', ''Nolanea'', ''Leptonia'' and ''Eccilia'' to genus-level in 1871, though

Lucien Quélet Lucien Quélet in 1869 Lucien Quélet (14 July 1832 – 25 August 1899) was a French naturalist and mycologist. Quélet discovered several species of fungi and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycolo ...

created a new genus ''Rhodophyllus'' uniting all those fungi with pinkish-red adnate or sinuate gills and angular spores, similar in scope to the original ''Hyporhodius''. The two classifications coexisted until recently, with those taxonomists favoring a broader genus concept following Quélet, and the others Kummer. French mycologist

Henri Romagnesi Henri Charles Louis Romagnesi (7 February 1912 – 18 January 1999) was a French mycologist who was notable for a thorough review and monograph of the agaric genus ''Entoloma'' (or ''Rhodophyllus'' as it was known in the early 20th century), as w ...

took up study of the genus in what was to last over forty years, describing new species and creating a new infrageneric classification making it one of the most studied and best known agaric genera to date. Over time, more authors and texts have followed Kummer. The genus, as strictly defined, appears to be polyphyletic when looking at data produced by the molecular study by Moncalvo in 2002, with species of ''

Nolanea ''Nolanea'' is a genus of small gray to brown pink-spored mushrooms that are mostly saprotrophic and grow on the ground. The cap can be conical, convex or umbonate in shape, often with a silky top. The gills have adnexed to adnate attachment ( ...

'', ''

Leptonia ''Leptonia'' has been defined as a genus of small and medium sized pink-spored mushrooms that contains over 100 species. They are saprotrophic and most grow on the ground, but some are found on wood. The pileus (mycology), cap is thin and can be ...

'' and '' Inocephalus'' interspersed with various ''Entoloma'' species in a broadly monophyletic entolomatoid group.

Ecology

Most species are saprobic, though some may form mycorrhizal relationships. They may be found in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, peat-bogs and moors, and Arctic or alpine conditions. Several species including '' Entoloma saepium'', '' E. clypeatum'', '' E. aprile'' and '' E. saundersii'' are thought to form mycorrhizal relationships with members of the

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

including ''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone of th ...

'', ''

Pyrus Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

'', ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

'' and ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

''.

Distribution

Entolomas are found the world over, from the equator to polar regions. Some Arctic species are circumpolar in their distribution. Others are widely distributed and some, such as '' E. sericeum'' and '' E. incanum'' may have been spread by man.Noordeloos, p. 39

Toxicity

Although some of the spring entolomas, such as ''E. clypeatum'', are consumed, especially in

, edibility is unknown for many species, and some are definitely poisonous and dangerous. '' E. rhodopolium'' has been found to contain significant quantities of the mycotoxin

muscarine Muscarine, L-(+)-muscarine, or muscarin is a natural product found in certain mushrooms, particularly in ''Inocybe'' and ''Clitocybe'' species, such as the deadly '' C. dealbata''. Mushrooms in the genera ''Entoloma'' and ''Mycena'' have al ...

. Most entolomas are very difficult to identify, but ''

Entoloma abortivum ''Entoloma abortivum'', commonly known as the aborted entoloma or shrimp of the woods, is an edible mushroom in the Entolomataceae family of fungi. Caution should be used in identifying the species before eating (similar species such as ''Entolom ...

'' is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

References

External links

Mushroom Expert - The genus ''Entoloma''

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2099 Entolomataceae Agaricales genera Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries