''Tricholoma fracticum'' is a sturdy
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 ...
of the
agaric genus ''
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 ...
'' with a red-brown cap and a harshly bitter taste.
It is
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 ...
with conifers, primarily of the genus
Pinus
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
and can be found in California.
Taxonomy
First
described as ''Agaricus fracticus'' by German mycologist
Max Britzelmayr
Max Britzelmayr (7 January 1839 – 6 December 1909) was a German mycologist and lichenologist who was a native of Augsburg.
He spent his career as a schoolteacher and ''Kreisschulinspektor'' (school district administrator) in Augsburg. He is k ...
in 1893,
it was transferred to the genus ''
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 ...
'' in 1984 by
Hanns Kreisel.
Though it has been occasionally listed as a synonym of
Tricholoma batschii
''Tricholoma batschii'' is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae
The Tricholomataceae are a large family of mushrooms within the Agaricales. Originally a classic " wastebasket taxon", the family included any white-, yell ...
, a European species, T. fracticum possesses larger spores and 2-spored basidia in contrast with T. batschii's 4-spored basidia,
and they are currently considered separate species.
Description
Tricholoma fracticum is distinguishable with relative ease by noting the combination of a red-brown cap that becomes viscid (slimy) when wet, and a quickly disappearing partial veil that leaves a flimsy ring or sometimes only a delineation in stipe color up towards the gills. No other Tricholoma in California has both of these features.
Also worth noting is its sharp, bitter taste, which is always present in this species and distinguishes it from lookalikes such as
Tricholoma aurantium
''Tricholoma aurantium'', commonly known as the golden orange tricholoma, is a mushroom of the agaric genus ''Tricholoma''. Originally described by Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774, it was transferred to the genus ''Tricholoma'' by Adalbert Ri ...
, which has a blander, mealy taste. The cap is more or less smooth, with an initially inrolled margin, 3-10cm in diameter, broadly convex and flattening slightly in maturity. Gills are whitish, attached, and notched to subdecurrent. Stem sturdy, 2-8cm long, 1-2.5cm thick, whitish near apex, orange-brown below, with a flimsy but usually present ring. Flesh white, not bruising or changing upon exposure. Odor indistinct. Spore print white.
See also
*
List of North American ''Tricholoma''
*
List of ''Tricholoma'' species
References
fracticum
Fungi described in 1893
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
{{Tricholomataceae-stub