''Tricholoma magnivelare'' is a gilled mushroom found East of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

in North America growing in coniferous woodland. These

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycob ...

l fungi are typically edible species that exist in a symbiotic relationship with various species of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

, commonly

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central a ...

. They belong to the genus ''

Tricholoma ''Tricholoma'' is a genus of fungus that contains many fairly fleshy white-spored gilled mushrooms which are found worldwide generally growing in woodlands. These are ectomycorrhizal fungi, existing in a symbiotic relationship with various spe ...

'', which includes the closely related

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

n songi or matsutake as well as the Western matsutake ('' T. murrillianum'') and Meso-American matsutake (''Tricholoma mesoamericanum''). ''T. magnivelare'' is also known as the ponderosa mushroom, pine mushroom, American matsutake.

Species designation

Until recently, ''Tricholoma magnivelare'' was the name used to describe all matsutake mushrooms found growing in North America. Since the early 2000s, molecular data has indicated the presence of separate species previously grouped within ''T. magnivelare.'' Only those found in the Eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

have retained the ''T. magnivelare'' name.

Description

The cap ranges from in width, and is white with reddish-yellow or brown spots. The stalk is tall and 2–6 cm wide. The spores are white. The

mycelium Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates in ...

is thought to be parasitized by the plant '' Allotropa virgata'', which primarily feeds on matsutake.

Edibility

While tough, the mushroom can be eaten both raw and cooked and is considered choice. In recent years, globalization and wider social acceptability of

mushroom hunting Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for culinary use. This practice is popular throughout most of Europe, Australia, Japan, K ...

has made collection of pine mushrooms widely popular in North America. Local mushroom hunters sell their harvest daily to local depots, which rush them to airports. The mushrooms are then shipped fresh by air to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

where demand is high and prices are at a premium.The American Matsutake: ''Tricholoma magnivelare''
Mushroom Expert. Accessed March 23, 2012. Serious poisonings have resulted from confusion of this mushroom with poisonous white ''

Amanita The genus ''Amanita'' contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities result ...

'' species.

Similar species

Similar species in the genus include '' Tricholoma apium'', '' T. caligatum'', ''T. focale'', and '' T. vernaticum''. Other similar species include ''

Catathelasma imperiale ''Catathelasma imperiale'' is a species of agaric (gilled mushroom) in the family Biannulariaceae. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are stocky, with a double annulus (ring), and a tapering to rooting stipe (stem). The species is ectomycorrhizal with ...

'', ''C. ventricosum'', '' Russula brevipes'', and the poisonous '' Amanita smithiana''.

References

External links