Entocybe nitida
Description
Entocybe nitida is an indigo-colored woodland mushroom. It grows in wet, mossy conifer forests on acidic soil, whereas other blue species grow in grassland or light woodland on chalky soil. It occurs singly or in small groups.
This mushroom is widespread across mainland North-west Europe and in some parts of North America.
Common names: Pine Pinkgill, Steel-blue Entoloma.
Mushroom Identification
Cap
2 to 4 cm across, convex, flattening and sometimes becoming broadly umbonate; silky fibrillose surface; margin striate, slightly incurved and often becoming wavy; dark blue or grayish-blue, paler towards the rim.
Gills
Adnate; white, turning pink as the spores mature. (Picture Andreas Kunze, Wikipedia)
Stem
3 to 6 cm long and 1 to 2mm diameter; smooth; grayish-blue; white and felty at base; longitudinally fibrillose; no stem ring.
Spores
Five- to eight-angled (pentagonal to octagonal) in side view;thin-walled; 7-9 x 6-8μm.
Spore Print
Brownish pink.
Odor and Taste
Mild but not distinctive.
Habitat & Ecological Role
Saprobic in coniferous woodland, especially with pine trees, usually on acidic soil.
Season
Fruiting from summer to late autumn in Britain and Ireland.
Similar Species
Entoloma serrulatum has finely serrated gill edges flecked with black.
Medicinal Properties
Antitumor effects. A fruit body extract of E. nitidum inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers in mice by 60% and 70%, respectively (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).
History
This uncommon mushroom was described scientifically in 1887 by the Italian mycologist Giacopo Bresadola (1847 - 1929), who gave it the name Nolanea papillata. It was the British mycologist Richard William George Dennis (1910 - 2003) who, in 1953, transferred this species to its current genus, at which point its binomial scientific name became Entoloma papillatum.
The generic name Entoloma comes from ancient Greek words entos, meaning inner, and lóma, meaning a fringe or a hem. It is a reference to the inrolled margins of many of the mushrooms in this genus.
The specific epithet nitidum means shining, polished or glittering; quite appropriate.
Synonyms
Nolonea papillata Bres.
Nolanea mammosa ssp. papillata (Bres.) Konrad & Maubl.
Rhodophyllus papillatus (Bres.) J. E. Lange.
Entoloma nitidum Quél., 1883
Rhodophyllus nitidus (Quél.) Quél., 1886
Photo sources:
Photo 1 - Author: Caleb Brown (Caleb Brown) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 2 - Author: Andreas Kunze (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 3 - Author: Andreas Kunze (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 4 - Author: Andreas Kunze (CC BY-SA 3.0)
