A slimy woodwax with a gray to sooty olive-brown, dark-streaked cap and a stem banded with ragged dark slime below a ring-like zone. A double veil forms the sheath on the stem. It grows with conifers in mountain forests.
Considered edible, but quality opinions are divided (Arora called it bland and slimy). Some authors suggest peeling the cap cuticle, and not everyone tolerates it. Look-alikes: Grayish Tricholoma species, including the toxic T. pardinum (GI irritant), have notched rather than decurrent gills, and Entoloma species such as the poisonous E. sinuatum have notched gills that turn pinkish and a pink spore print; check for waxy, decurrent gills and a white spore print.
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Habitat
Ectomycorrhizal with spruce, hemlock and other conifers; singly or in clusters among mosses in mountain conifer forests, on acidic or calcareous soils; midsummer to early winter.
Distribution
Northern and western North America (herbarium records from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington); Europe except the Mediterranean region; Russia. Nearly extinct in France (Council of Europe, per Wikipedia). Mykoweb notes that North American material may not be the true European H. olivaceoalbus and could need a new name.
Characteristics
Cap: 3-12 cm, hemispherical then flattening, with a dark umbo; slimy, gray to sooty brown, streaked with dark fibers. Gills: thick, widely spaced, adnate to slightly decurrent, waxy, white. Stem: 3-12 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, whitish above the ring zone, banded with ragged dark slime below. Veil: double, an inner sheathing layer and an outer gelatinous layer. Flesh: white; odor and taste mild. Chemical reaction: reddish with dilute NaOH. Spore print: white. Spores: 9-12 x 5-6 um, ellipsoid, smooth, inamyloid (Wikipedia).
