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Sulphur knight (Tricholoma sulphureum)

Рядовка серная
Current name

Index Fungorum Tricholoma sulphureum (Bull.) P. Kumm

MycoBank Tricholoma sulphureum (Bull.) P. Kumm

Other names

Sulphur knight. In European countries, this mushroom has characteristic folk names: "stinker" and "gas fly agaric." From these names, it immediately becomes clear that the mushroom has a strong and unpleasant odor. The presence of this distinctive feature is very useful, as the mushroom is weakly poisonous. It mainly causes gastrointestinal problems, but there is information about neurotoxic effects of this mushroom on the human body.

Systematic position
Specific epithet etymology

From Sulphureus, a, um — sulphurous, brimstone-colored, yellow like sulphur.

Synonyms

Agaricus sulphureus Bull., Herb. Fr. (Paris) 4: tab. 168 (1784)

Gymnopus sulphureus (Bull.) Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. (London) 1: 606 (1821)

Gyrophila sulphurea (Bull.) Quél., Enchir. fung. (Paris): 14 (1886)

Habit
Fruiting body
Agaricoid (cap and stipe)
Hymenophore
Lamellate (gills present, including folded or rudimentary)
Fruiting period (list)
JunJune (21st–30th)JulJuly (1st–10th)July (11th–20th)July (21st–31st)AugAugust (1st–10th)August (11th–20th)August (21st–31st)SepSeptember (1st–10th)September (11th–20th)September (21st–30th)
Mushroom cap

2.5–10 cm in diameter; initially conical, bell-shaped, or convex, expanding at maturity to flattened with a broad central umbo or without one, often becoming concave with a wavy, lobed margin with age. Surface smooth or very finely velvety, sulphur-yellow, yellowish-green, generally slightly darker toward the center. Hymenophore lamellate. Gills adnate, broad, not crowded; sulphur-yellow, lemon-yellow, or yellowish-green.

Stem

3–11 cm long, 0.5–2.5 cm in diameter, cylindrical, smooth, concolorous with the cap, with a white bloom and yellow mycelium at the base. Surface initially smooth, becoming rougher with age, turning fibrous-scaly.

Flesh

Flesh dense, sulphur-yellow, lemon-yellow, or pale yellow, sometimes olive-green at the base of the stipe. Taste bitter, floury-rancid.

Odor

Unpleasant, chemical, strong and pungent; however, in young mushrooms, fragrant, floral notes may predominate in the odor.

Microscopy

Spore print: white. Spores ellipsoid, often slightly fusiform or almond-shaped.

Ecology and distribution

Произрастает обычно группами в лиственных и смешанных лесах, предпочитает богатые известью почвы. Образует микоризу с дубом и буком, реже — с сосной и пихтой. Иногда встречается на обочинах дорог на песчаных почвах. Широко распространена по всей Европе — от холодных арктических зон до Средиземноморья.

Fruiting

July–September.

Nutritional properties
Poisonous

According to various sources, the sulphur knight is classified either as weakly poisonous or simply as inedible. Its repulsive odor, by general consensus, does not invite culinary experimentation.

Conservation status

Not listed in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation or its regions. However, it is under threat of extinction in Turkey.

Similar species

Plums and custard (Tricholomopsis rutilans) is perhaps the most striking representative of the genus Tricholomopsis. Yellow gills and purplish-red scales on the cap and stipe allow reliable identification of this species in the field. Yellow knight (Tricholoma equestre) is dominated by green tones in its coloration and has a pleasant, mushroom-like odor. In principle, all knights with similar color schemes can be confused with one another. Therefore, we do not recommend enthusiastic collecting of such mushrooms without sufficient knowledge of their identification.
 

Notes

It is now known that the sulphur knight (*Tricholoma sulphureum*) represents a complex of cryptic species that have yet to be distinguished.

Link to this page for printed editions
Shipovalov A.G. Sulphur knight (Tricholoma sulphureum) - Mushrooms of Vologda Region [Electronic resource] URL: https://xn----7sbancweblffgklubds60aja.xn--p1ai/en/sulphur-knight-tricholoma-sulphureum (accessed: 13.04.2026).
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