Tricholoma stans

Description

Tricholoma stans is a rare mushroom that's hard to identify precisely because it looks similar to other mushrooms in its group. It's mostly found in mainland Europe.

This mushroom has a brownish cap that can be flat or slightly curved, and it feels a bit sticky. The gills under the cap are white or cream-colored and notched near the stem. The stem starts white but turns pale brown and doesn't have a ring around it. When you touch it, the inside of the mushroom changes color from white to brown.

If you look at it under a microscope, you'll see some parts with two spores instead of one. The spores themselves are tiny and oval-shaped. When you make a print of them, it's white.

This mushroom doesn't have a strong smell, but it might remind you of damp flour when you sniff it. And if you taste it, it also has a similar mild flavor.

Tricholoma stans forms a partnership with certain types of trees, mainly pine and spruce trees. You can find it mostly in the summer and fall, although there aren't many confirmed sightings.

It's quite similar to another mushroom called Tricholoma pesundatum, but you can tell them apart by the smell, taste, and some differences in their spores and appearance. It also resembles T. albobrunneum and T. aff. albobrunneum, but its cap is not decorated with such important innate fibrils. It is more robust, and it often does not have a white band towards the apex of the foot. The shape of the spores can distinguish it from T. mcnelii.

Common names:: Upright Knight, German (Rotfleckender Kiefernritterling).

Mushroom Identification

1. Cap

   5-10 cm in size, convex to spreading, irregular in shape, initially viscous-glutinous then becoming sticky or lacquered, surface can range from glabrous to fibrillose-innate, color varies from orange-brown to brick red, becoming clear towards the edge, and the margin may sometimes become distinctly ribbed when ripe.

2. Gills

   Adnexed at first, then emarginate, tightly spaced, ranging in color from cream to cream pink, with potential staining in brown.

3. Stem

   Measuring 4-6 x 0.8-2.2 cm, subequal in size, full and firm, with flaky texture towards the apex, and finely fibrillose towards the base. Initially whitish, it tends to brown with age or when crumpled. It lacks a distinct annuliform zone.

4. Flesh

   The flesh is white and gradually turns brownish when crushed.

5. Odor and Taste

   It possesses a faintly farino-cucumic odor and a mild flavor.

6. Spores

   Spores are broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid in shape, smooth, and do not react with Melzer's reagent. They measure 4.5-6.5 x 3-3.5 µm, with an average Q value of 1.52-1.58.

7. Habitat

   This mushroom is mycorrhizal and typically found on the ground under pine trees in coniferous forests, mostly pine-dominated. It forms a symbiotic relationship with fungi and can be observed during the summer to autumn, although it is rare.

History

In 1874, Elias Magnus Fries scientifically described a mushroom and named it Agaricus stans. However, in 1887, Italian mycologist Pier Andrea Saccardo transferred this species to the genus Tricholoma, giving it the name Tricholoma stans. So, Agaricus stans Fr. is now considered a synonym of Tricholoma stans.

The genus Tricholoma, established by Elias Magnus Fries, gets its name from Greek words meaning 'hairy fringe,' which is somewhat inappropriate because only a few species in this group actually have hairy or scaly cap margins.

The specific epithet "stans" comes from Latin and means "standing" or "erect."

Synonyms and Varieties

1. Agaricus pessundatus subsp.* stans Fries (1869), Icones selectae hymenomycetum nondum delineatorum, 1(3), p. 25, tab. 28

2. Agaricus stans (Fries) Fries (1874), Hymenomycetes europaei sive epicriseos systematis mycologici, p. 52

3. Agaricus stans f. montana Fries (1874), Hymenomycetes europaei sive epicriseos systematis mycologici, p. 52

4. Tricholoma pessundatum var. montanum (Fries) Pilát (1961), Mushrooms and other Fungi, p. 56, pl. 56

5. Tricholoma albobrunneum ss. Michael-Hennig (1964), Fürhe für Pilzfreunde, 3, p. 210

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Garrett Taylor (Public Domain)

Photo 2 - Author: ericahastdahl (CC BY-NC 4)

Photo 1 - Author: Wataru Aoki (CC BY-NC 4)

Photo 2 - Author: williammay1972 (CC BY-NC 4)