Entoloma Identification Note: Check Dried Stipes
I mentioned yesterday that I had collected an Entoloma and that one of the characters used to identify Entoloma strictius is it's twisted stipe. While I could see the twist while the mushroom was fresh, it's not nearly as pronounced as it is after drying. Here's a side-by-side comparison of three different Entoloma specimens from my collection:
On the left is a specimen I could not key to species. In the center is E. strictius and on the right is E. verna. The corkscrewing of the dried E. strictius stipe jumps right out. When completely dried, this stipe has come to resemble closely a very narrow drill bit.
