''Tricholoma magnivelare'' is a
gilled mushroom found East of the
Rocky Mountains in
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 ...
growing in coniferous woodland. These
ectomycorrhiza
An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...
l fungi are typically
edible species that exist in a
symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
relationship with various species of
pine, commonly
jack pine. They belong to the genus ''
Tricholoma'', which includes the closely related
East Asian songi or
matsutake as well as the Western matsutake (''
T. murrillianum'') and Meso-American matsutake (''Tricholoma mesoamericanum''). ''T. magnivelare'' is also known as the ponderosa mushroom, pine mushroom, American matsutake.
Species designation
Until recently, ''Tricholoma magnivelare'' was the name used to describe all matsutake mushrooms found growing in North America. Since the early 2000s, molecular data has indicated the presence of separate species previously grouped within ''T. magnivelare.'' Only those found in the Eastern
United States and
Canada have retained the ''T. magnivelare'' name.
Description
The cap ranges from in width, and is white with reddish-yellow or brown spots. The stalk is tall and 2–6 cm wide. The spores are white.
The
mycelium is thought to be parasitized by the plant ''
Allotropa virgata'',
which primarily feeds on
matsutake.
Edibility
While tough,
the mushroom can be eaten both raw and cooked and is considered choice. In recent years, globalization and wider social acceptability of
mushroom hunting has made collection of pine mushrooms widely popular in North America.
Local mushroom hunters sell their harvest daily to local depots, which rush them to airports. The mushrooms are then shipped fresh by air to
Asia where demand is high and prices are at a premium.
The American Matsutake: ''Tricholoma magnivelare''
Mushroom Expert. Accessed March 23, 2012.
Serious poisonings have resulted from confusion of this mushroom with poisonous white '' Amanita'' species.
Similar species
Similar species in the genus include '' Tricholoma apium'',
See also
* List of North American ''Tricholoma''
* List of ''Tricholoma'' species
References
External links
Mushroom-Collecting.com - Matsutake
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7840804
magnivelare
Edible fungi
Fungi described in 1873
Fungi of North America
Taxa named by Charles Horton Peck