Appalachian Mushrooms. Walter E. Sturgeon

       Tricholoma virgatum

      Key to Tricholoma and Melanoleuca

      1. With a ring on the stem; cap white with brown fibers: Tricholoma caligatum (p. 89)

      2. Ring absent; odor mealy; cap with yellowish-brown or reddish-brown scales or fibers: Tricholoma vaccinum (p. 94)

      3. Ring absent; odor mealy; cap umbonate; cap yellowish to greenish yellow: Tricholoma davisiae (p. 95)

      4. Ring absent; odor mealy or not distinctive; cap white, may have blue or yellowish stains: Tricholoma subresplendens (p. 91)

      5. Ring absent; odor fragrant; cap not umbonate, with olive tints: Tricholoma saponaceum (p. 93)

      6. Ring absent; odor unpleasant, like coal tar; gills white to cream; under conifers: Tricholoma inamoenum (p. 90)

      7. Ring absent; odor unpleasant, like coal tar; gills yellow to yellowish buff; under broadleaf trees: Tricholoma odorum (p. 92)

      8. Ring absent; odor fragrant; stem with black scabers: Melanoleuca verrucipes (p. 98)

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tricholoma caligatum (Viv.) Ricken

       SYNONYM: Armillaria caligata (Viv.) Gillet

       COMMON NAME: None

       FAMILY: Tricholomataceae

      CAP: Up to 6 in. wide; white ground color, covered all over or at the center with brown, appressed fibers or scales; nearly round at first, becoming broadly convex to nearly flat; surface dry or tacky when wet; margin turned under and cottony at first, becoming expanded to uplifted, with veil remnants at times

      FLESH: White to cream, unchanging when exposed; thick; odor mild; taste very bitter

      GILLS: White, with brown stains in age, at times with bluish hues; attached, becoming notched; close to crowded; broad; edges even; at first covered by a thick membranous partial veil

      STEM: Up to 4 in. long; white above the ring, brown scaled below, much like the cap; equal or tapering down; surface dry, covered from the base upward with a brown, scaled sheath that ends in a flaring ring, which is white above and brownish below

      SPORE PRINT: White

      ECOLOGY: Mycorrhizal with oaks and hemlock; scattered to gregarious in humus in broadleaf and mixed woods; late summer, fall, and early winter; locally common

      EDIBILITY: Not edible owing to very bitter taste

      COMMENTS: This is the common variety in the Appalachians. There are other varieties that have a fragrant odor and mild taste. These are generally considered edible. Future study may reveal new species in this group.