Plums and Custard (Tricholomopsis rutilans) is named for its colours: a custard-yellow cap densely covered in fine reddish-purple scales, above bright yellow gills. The purple scales are thickest at the centre, so young caps look almost wholly purple and older ones more yellow towards the edge.
The stem is yellow with a flush of the same purplish fibres. It grows on conifer stumps, logs and buried roots, especially pine, and fruits from midsummer into early winter, often in troops. Despite the yellow gills, the spore print is white.
It is not dangerous, but it is too bitter to be worth eating. In Britain the only real lookalike is the much rarer Prunes and Custard (Tricholomopsis decora), which has a yellow cap with small dark olive-brown scales and is mostly found in Scottish pinewoods. Once seen, Plums and Custard is rarely forgotten.
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Distribution
Widespread and common
Habitat
On conifer logs, stumps, buried wood
Etymology
Tricholomopsis means 'looking like Tricholoma', a genus whose name is Greek for 'hairy fringe'. rutilans is Latin for 'glowing red', after the cap scales.
Cap
Yellow background densely covered with fine purple-red scales and fibres, thickest at the centre.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Conical, Flattened |
| Surface | Fibrillose |
| Width | 3.5 - 14 cm |
| Margin | Smooth |
Gills
Bright egg-yolk yellow and crowded, notched where they meet the stem.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Attachment | Emarginate, Adnate |
| Spacing | Crowded |
| Edge | Smooth |
Flesh
Pale yellow and fairly thick in the cap.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Faintly of rotting wood |
| Taste | Mild |
Stem
Yellow with scattered purplish scales, often curved.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 4 - 12 cm |
| Width | 10 - 25 mm |
| Texture | Fibrillose |
| Shape | Cylindric |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Broadly ellipsoid |
| Ornamentation | Smooth |
| Size | 5-8.5 x 4-6.5 μm |
Microscopic Features
The cheilocystidia are up to 200μm long and range from club-shaped to cylindrical or fusiform.
| Cheilocystidia | Club-shaped (Clavate), Cylindrical, Fusiform |
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Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Genus: Tricholomopsis
Synonyms
- Agaricus rutilans Schaeff.
- Agaricus serratis Bolton
- Agaricus variegatus Scop.
- Agaricus xerampelinus Scop.
- Agaricus xerampelinus Sowerby
- Gymnopus rutilans (Schaeff.) Gray
- Tricholoma rutilans
- Tricholoma rutilans (Schaeff.) P. Kumm.
- Tricholoma rutilans var. variegatum (Scop. ex Fr.) Dufour
- Tricholoma variegatum (Scop. ex Fr.) Gillet
- Tricholoma variegatum (Scop.) Gillet
- Tricholomopsis rutilans (Schaeff. ex Fr.) Singer
- Tricholomopsis rutilans var. variegata (Scop.) Bon
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 1. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 2. Geoffrey Kibby.
Genus Tricholomopsis
No other species found in this genus.
