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Cottonwood mushroom

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Tricholoma populinum, the cottonwood mushroom, grows under cottonwoods and poplars in western North America. Wikipedia records traditional eating by Salish peoples; other sources call its taste mediocre.

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Two whole brown-capped cottonwood mushrooms and two lengthwise halves show pale flesh, cream gills and stout stems on a warm ivory background.

What it is

The cottonwood mushroom is a gilled fungus of the genus Tricholoma. It grows in western North America, typically under cottonwoods and poplars near rivers and on sandy soil. A Colorado mushroom site lists it among the last mushrooms of the year, often appearing around October.

MushroomExpert links the North American records to narrowleaf cottonwood and balsam poplar, and notes that the European species the name was first given to may not occur in North America. The name therefore covers a regional concept as well as a European type.

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Traditional use and taste

Wikipedia describes the species as edible and records that Salish peoples of British Columbia traditionally ate it.

The Spanish encyclopedia EcuRed calls it a mediocre food because of a bitter taste. That judgement conflicts with the traditional-use account and is best read as a regional or individual view. MushroomExpert gives no edibility information for the species.

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Safety

This record is not a guide to identifying wild mushrooms. Tricholoma contains species that are not safe to eat, so identify any specimen with an expert before eating, and do not rely on the taste reports here.

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Places

Western North America

Traditional use · Region evidence

Region-level record. Traditional eating is recorded for the Salish peoples of British Columbia; the habitat is wider western North America.

See Western North Americaon the mapLocation source 1 → · Location source 2 →

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