Clitocybe tarda

🏷️ Description

Clitocybe tarda — sometimes debated as Clitopilus tardus or even a synonym of Lepista sordida — is a delicate and often overlooked mushroom that forms pastel-colored fairy rings in grassy fields and orchard soil. Though edible with caution, its fragile structure and confusing identity make it a mushroom for observant foragers. 🍂🌸

🔎 Identification

🍄 Cap: The cap ranges from (0.79 to 3.15 inches) (2 to 8 cm) wide, initially convex, later flattening or becoming shallowly depressed with an inconspicuous umbo. The margin is at first incurved, later wavy or lobed. The surface is glabrous, sometimes waxy, and hygrophanous, shifting from medium brown (often with lilac or violet tinges) to a buff-tan. Older caps may appear translucent-striate, with wavy or upturned edges.

🌿 Gills: Close, moderately broad, and adnate to subdecurrent, the gills start out whitish with a pinkish tinge, aging into pinkish-buff. In very mature specimens, they may resemble the color of the spore print.

📏 Stem: 0.59 to 2.36 inches (1.5 to 6 cm) long and 0.12 to 0.39 inches (3 to 10 mm) thick. It's cylindrical, central, fibrous, and may taper slightly at the base. The color ranges from light brown to dingy tan, sometimes with fine appressed fibrils or pale tomentum. Initially dense, the stem becomes hollow with age.

🥩 Flesh: Thin, brittle, and watery, colored grayish-violet to whitish when dry. It has a mild or pleasant smell, and the taste ranges from bitter to similar to Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom) depending on maturity and interpretation.

🦠 Spore Print: Pinkish-buff to grayish-violet

🔬 Microscopic Spores: (5.5 to 8.0 × 3.5 to 4 µm), elliptical, thin-walled, roughened, and nonamyloid.

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Clitocybe tarda typically appears in grassy fields, orchards, and cultivated areas like fruit and citrus gardens. It may also be found in pine, oak, and cypress plantations. Fruiting from:

• July to November in southeastern North America

• October to December on the West Coast

• December to February in warmer climates

It often forms arcs or fairy rings, sometimes in large clusters.

⚠️ Edibility & Culinary Use

Though considered edible or conditionally edible, Clitocybe tarda is:

• Fragile and unsubstantial

• Difficult to identify reliably

• Recommended to be boiled for 15 minutes before consumption (discard the broth)

Some mycologists report it has good flavor, but others note a bitter taste or lack of texture. Due to possible misidentification and its resemblance to Lepista sordida or even toxic look-alikes, it's best for experienced foragers only.

👀 Look-Alikes

1️⃣ Clitocybe nuda: More robust and violet-colored with a richer aroma.

2️⃣ Marasmius oreades: Lighter cap, widely spaced gills, white spores.

3️⃣ Melanoleuca spp.: Similar stature but with white to cream spore prints.

4️⃣ Laccaria spp.: Typically more ruddy or reddish and with different gill structure.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Alan Rockefeller (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 2 - Author: fede2cr (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Brandon Johnson (CC BY 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Annie Weissman (Public Domain)