Content
Entoloma bluish or pink plate is not included in any of the 4 classification groups and is considered inedible. The Entolomaceae family consists of more than 20 species, most of them have no nutritional value.
What does Entoloma bluish look like?
The color of the Entoloma bluish fruiting body depends on the degree of lighting and the location of growth. It can be light blue, gray with a blue tint. To one degree or another, the blue color is present, hence the name of the species.
Description of the cap
The roseate is quite small in size, with an average cap diameter of 8 mm in adult specimens. External characteristics:
- in young mushrooms the shape is narrowly cone-shaped; as they grow, the cap opens completely;
- in the upper central part there is a convexity, covered with small scales, less often concave in the form of a funnel;
- the surface is hygrophanous, with longitudinal radial stripes, glossy;
- the edges are lighter than the central part, uneven, curved, with protruding plates;
- spore-bearing plates are sparse, wavy, of two types: short only along the edge of the cap, long - up to the stalk with a clear border at the transition, the color is first dark blue, then pink.
The pulp is fragile, thin, with a blue tint.
Description of the leg
The length of the leg is disproportionate to the cap, grows up to 7 cm, thin - 1.5-2 mm. The shape is cylindrical, expanding towards the mycelium.
The surface is smooth, lined at the base, with a white edge. The color is gray with variations of blue or light blue. The structure is fibrous, hard, dry, hollow.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Due to its small size and exotic color, Entoloma bluish does not attract mushroom pickers. The species also did not arouse interest among biologists, so Entoloma cyanulum has not been fully studied. In the mycological reference book there is no description of Entoloma bluish as a mushroom of nutritional value. It was classified as inedible, but without toxins in its chemical composition. Thin blue pulp with a lack of taste and a specific repulsive odor does not add to the popularity of Entolome bluish.
Where and how does it grow
The main distribution of Entoloma bluish is Europe. In Russia, this is a rare species, which can be found in the Central regions of Moscow and Tula, less often in the Central Black Earth part of the Lipetsk or Kursk regions. Rosewort grows in open damp areas in grass, on the mosses of peat bogs, in lowlands among reed thickets. Forms large groups from early to late September.
Doubles and their differences
Externally, the brightly colored Entoloma is similar to the pink plate mushroom; the mushrooms belong to the same species.
The double differs in the color of the cap: it is bright blue with a scaly surface and is larger in size. From the moment of growth to maturity, the plates are a shade lighter than the cap.The leg is shorter, thicker in width, and monochromatic. And the main difference is that the double grows on trees or dead wood. The smell is pungent, floral, the flesh is blue, the juice is viscous. The fruit body is inedible.
Conclusion
Entoloma bluish is very rare. It grows in hard-to-reach places on the damp soil of peat bogs, among reed thickets or tall grass in lowlands. The small, blue mushroom forms colonies in early autumn. Classified as inedible.
