Tiger tricholoma

How to recognise it: tiger tricholoma

1. 1

   Large, massive fruit body with a grey cap in concentric dark scales

2. 2

   Gills white to yellowish with a greenish tinge, never grey

3. 3

   Water droplets on the gills and stem apex in young specimens

4. 4

   Only on calcareous soils

Description

Cap

(3)6–10(15) cm, fleshy, long convex with a flat umbo; whitish to ash-grey, covered with concentrically arranged, grey-brown to black-grey scales; margin long inrolled.

Gills

Gills white, often with a greenish tinge, then pale yellowish (never grey), emarginate (notched with a tooth); in young specimens with water droplets on the edges.

Stem

5–12 cm, stout and massive, white, ochre-tinged at the base, often thickened; in young specimens droplets of liquid near the apex; no ring.

Flesh

White, does not change colour when cut.

Smell and taste

Smell faint, pleasant or mealy; taste insignificant. Do not taste.

Where and when it grows

Only on calcareous or alkaline soils, in broadleaf forests (beech and oak woods) and coniferous forests (under spruces and firs), singly or in small groups. Fairly rare in Poland (locally common on limestone).

Most often with: beech, spruce, fir, oak

Look-alikes: what it can be mistaken for

• 

  Sooty head Edible medium risk

  The edible sooty head has a cap with radial black fibrils (not concentric scales), is more delicate, and grows in late autumn in acidic pine forests.

  Step-by-step comparison: Sooty head or tiger tricholoma →

Protection and sale

• Species protection: the species is not protected.
• Sale: the species is not on the list of mushrooms approved for sale.

Where you may pick mushrooms →