Tricholomella constricta

Morphological Features:

Pileus with a diameter reaching up to 7 or 8 cm at most, initially hemispherical, evolving to convex and finally plano-convex; it is very rare for any specimen to flatten completely. It presents a smooth, glabrous cuticle, whitish or cream-colored in fresh specimens, becoming somewhat ochraceous with age, separable from the flesh, and appearing dry even in rainy weather. The margin is rounded when young, later becoming somewhat undulate and quite irregular.

Lamellae adnate to slightly notched, white in color, becoming somewhat creamier with age, relatively crowded, with few lamellulae.

Stipe central, solid, and often curved, similar in color to the rest of the fruitbody. It is not uncommon for the base to show a tendency to be radicate. It is covered with floccose patches in most cases as they are quite persistent, and furthermore, especially in young specimens, it possesses a clearly defined annular zone, and in many cases even presents a perfectly differentiated membranous ring.

Flesh thick; it is a fleshy mushroom, white in color and unchanging on exposure. Its taste is somewhat farinaceous, and its odor is distinctive, "like a floury cucumber," such that it can be easily identified by smell alone.

Habitat:

This is an eminently autumnal species that may also appear in early winter. It fruits on nitrogen-rich or fertilized soils, particularly in mountain meadows or grasslands, and is otherwise a rather rare mushroom.

Observations:

It is the autumnal cousin of the well-known perretxiko or Calocybe gambosa, with which it shares a notable morphological and organoleptic resemblance. Apart from the fruiting season, the most evident difference between the two is the presence on the stipe of the species described here of clearly visible floccose patches, and even an annular zone or proper ring. Some authors separate Calocybe leucocephala as a distinct entity based on a highly radicate stipe and a slight difference in spore size, but currently both species are synonymized. Entoloma sinuatum is highly toxic; its notched lamellae turn salmon-pink at maturity, and it lacks an annular zone on the stipe.