Knights in the Forest

Tricholoma the brownish-white

Tricholoma albobrunneum (pers.) P.Kumm. 1871*

Syn. Tricholoma striatum (Schaeff.)Sacc.

The genus Tricholoma includes about 60 species that were originally classified in the genus Agaricus by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries, as well as most of the mushrooms with blades. In 1871 the German mycologist Paul Kummer classified several of these species in the genus Tricholoma which had already been described by Fries.

The name of the genus is derived from the Greek words hair and lotus = hem, implying a fuzzy circumference of the cap, which is probably somewhat incongruous as few species of the genus have such a characteristic.The species' epithet from the Latin albus-a-um = white and brunneus-a-um = brown.

Many tricholoma species are toxic and should be avoided while others are considered extremely tasty, such as the famous Tricholoma matsutake of Asian origin. Research is being carried out into possible antibiotic or fungicidal properties of mushrooms of the genus as some species are known to contain substances that act against pathogenic microfungi that can infect humans. (Keltemlidis, Medicinal mushrooms and their therapeutic uses)

The species I am presenting today occurs very often in the pine forests of the island of Kythera in small groups, often under a thick layer of pine needles.

‘Like most mushrooms, it contributes significantly to the balanced life of the forest. It is not suitable for human consumption although it is not considered dangerous by all experts.

Kytherian mushroom pickers, especially the older ones, advise to avoid almost all mushrooms in the forest. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, they call them zourlomanitae and do not collect them for any reason.

In any case, mushroom picking should be done with utmost care as even edible species can become toxic to humans if grown in a contaminated area.

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