Soapy Knight

Tricholoma saponaceum

Coniferous and deciduous forests. Summer, autumn.

Fruiting bodies medium to large. Cap 7–10 (12) cm across, fleshy, greyish-metallic, greenish, violet-blackish or even pale brownish-yellowish. Gills white, old ones greenish-yellowish, pink-spotted, adnate. Stem 5-10x0.5-3 cm, whitish, greyish-brownish when old. Flesh thick, white, pinkish when older, turning even more distinctly pink when broken or cut, with an unpleasant smell and a soapy taste. Characteristic features: cap usually pink-spotted, especially when old. Grows singly or in small groups, favouring mossy places. Some sources state that it is inedible or even mildly poisonous, others that it is edible but of little value. Mildly poisonous (causes brief stomach pains, vomiting, nausea). Not rare.