An orange to orange-brown Tricholoma with a cottony white ring and shaggy orange-brown fibres on the stem below it. It grows with conifers, especially pines, and has a strong mealy odour. Its taste is mealy and sometimes foul or bitter.
Widely distributed in northern and montane North America. An ITS DNA survey grouped collections from California, Sweden and Denmark, suggesting a range across North America and Europe, but no detailed modern study has been done.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-8 cm, convex to nearly flat, sticky when young then dry and shiny, orange-golden to orange-brown, often with brown to olive tones. Gills: notched, close, whitish, browning with age. Stem: 5-9 cm long, 2-3 cm thick, with a cottony white ring that collapses and browns; whitish above the ring, shaggy with orange-brown fibrils below. Flesh: whitish, unchanging; odour strongly mealy. Spore print: white. Spores: ellipsoid, smooth, 4-6 x 2.5-3.5 µm. Chemistry: KOH turns the cap dull to bright red (MushroomExpert.com).
