Tricholoma terreum
Tricholoma terreum, commonly known as the grey knight or dirty tricholoma, is a grey-capped mushroom of the large genus "Tricholoma". It is found in coniferous woodlands in Europe, and has also been encountered under introduced pine trees in Australia. It is regarded as edible. A 2014 article speculated that it may be poisonous, but Sitta "et al." in 2016 published in the same journal a counter article demonstrating the unfounded nature of such speculation. Taxonomy. The fungus was originally described as "Agaricus terreus" by Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1762, and as "Agaricus myomyces" by mycologist Christian Hendrik  Persoon in 1794. It was given its current binomial name by German Paul Kummer in 1871. It is commonly known as the grey knight from its discoloured gills. Almost all modern sources consider "Tricholoma myomyces" to be a synonym of "T. terreum", but there are some exceptions. Bon mentions that "T. myomyces" has been defined for lowland mushrooms with white gills and a fleecy cap and Courtecuisse separates it on the same basis. Moser distinguished "T. myomyces" on the basis that the gills should go yellow. Description. The cap is wide and evenly covered in fine grey scales. Convex with  a slight boss, it is broadly conical in shape. The whitish stipe is high and wide and has no ring. There is no ring or volva. The whitish flesh is thin, easily broken, and has a pleasant mild (not mealy) smell and taste. The widely spaced and uneven gills are free (unattached to the stipe). The spore print is white, the oval spores 6–7 μm long by 3.5–4.4 μm wide. It could be confused with the larger (and poisonous) "T. pardinum" has a mealy smell and cap scales; the edible "T. orirubens" has fine dark scales and pinkish gills. Distribution  and habitat. "Tricholoma terreum" is found in Europe, where fruiting bodies appear under conifers, particularly pine and spruce, from late summer to late autumn. They may also arise in parks near these trees, and grow in fairy rings. They are generally in quite densely populated groups though not bunched. It has been recorded growing under exotic "Pinus radiata" plantations in Australia. Edibility. With a mild taste, the species used to be regarded as a good edible. It is seen in markets in France, along with "Clitocybe nebularis" and "Tricholoma portentosum". However, some authorities recommend that inexperienced pickers avoid all grey  tricholomas. Recent chemical tests show that this species may contain toxins which can cause rhabdomyolysis. However, from more recent investigations it has emerged that only an abnormal quantity of Tricholoma mushrooms may trigger the rhabdomyolysis and normal consumption of about 200g of mushroom is safe unless there is an individual reaction.