Lyophyllum fumosum

Morphological Features:

Pileus of medium size, the most developed specimens can reach up to 10 cm in diameter, usually between 5 and 8 cm. Initially hemispherical, it soon becomes convex and finally flattened, although when growing in fascicles it sometimes assumes an irregular shape. The cuticle is generally grayish and striated with slightly darker radial fibrils; it is smooth and glabrous, becoming shiny when wet but not viscid. The margin is incurved in younger specimens, later becoming extended and irregularly undulate due to proximity and contact with other specimens.

Lamellae generally adnate, sometimes slightly decurrent in older specimens; grayish when young and distinctly gray at maturity, crowded and separable.

Stipe well-proportioned, whitish in color, generally curved due to its growth habit, solid and compact in appearance, fibrillose, usually attached at the base to other specimens.

Flesh relatively thick, white in color; elastic in consistency in the pileus, breaking with a snap, and more fibrous in the stipe. It does not change color upon cutting, although very old specimens often show a slight tendency to darken. The odor is pleasantly fungal with a faint farinaceous note; the raw taste may exhibit a very slight, delayed bitterness that disappears upon cooking.

Habitat:

This species grows in fasciculate clusters of numerous individuals on buried woody debris or on the roots of various trees, but most often appears to grow directly from the soil. It is an uncommon species that fruits preferentially in late summer or during autumn.

Observations:

We have enjoyed this species despite its elastic flesh and the very slight raw bitterness that disappears upon cooking; it likely shares a similar culinary profile with its closest relative, Lyophyllum decastes, which also grows in clusters but has a browner pileus and white lamellae when young. The elastic consistency of the flesh and the snapping break of the pileus are highly characteristic of this genus. Other similar species such as Lyophyllum infumatum or Lyophyllum transforme exhibit a marked tendency to darken, while Lyophyllum loricatum is perhaps the most similar but grows solitarily rather than in fasciculate clusters.