How to tell Deer shield from Livid pinkgill
How they differ, how to recognize them and which is more dangerous — a mushroom comparison
Warning: Livid pinkgill(Entoloma sinuatum)
POISONOUS
Eating it causes poisoning. Do not pick it unless you have identified it with certainty.
Toxins: a complex mixture, not fully identified; muscarine-like and gastrotoxic compounds are suspected. The action is mainly gastrointestinal. Symptoms begin 30 minutes — 2 hours after the meal: severe nausea, repeated vomiting, exhausting watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps. Acute symptoms last 24-48 hours, full recovery takes 3-7 days. In severe cases — dehydration, liver and kidney damage, less often heart arrhythmias. Deaths are rare but documented (mostly in children and people in poor health). Call an ambulance immediately if you suspect poisoning. Keep the remains of the mushroom and the vomit for identification. Don't try to pump the stomach at home — that's a doctor's job.
If you suspect poisoning, call an ambulance immediately: 112 (the European emergency number) or your local emergency number
The short answer
Deer shield and Livid pinkgill look alike, so they're easy to mix up — but Deer shield is edible, while Livid pinkgill is poisonous. The main visible difference: season: Deer shield — spring, summer, autumn, Livid pinkgill — summer, autumn. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: use, size, cap color. If you have even the slightest doubt, leave the mushroom be.
Livid pinkgill
Entoloma sinuatum
Deer shield
Pluteus cervinus
📊 Comparing characteristics
⚠ Highlighted rows are the key differences between the edible and the dangerous mushroom
| Characteristic | Livid pinkgill | Deer shield |
|---|---|---|
| ⚠ Edibility class | Livid pinkgill Poisonous | Deer shield Edible |
| ⚠ Season | Livid pinkgill SummerAutumn | Deer shield SpringSummerAutumn |
| ⚠ Use | Livid pinkgill Not eaten | Deer shield Cook freshPickling |
| ⚠ Size | Livid pinkgill Large (over 15 cm) | Deer shield Medium (5–15 cm) |
| ⚠ Cap color | Livid pinkgill WhiteCreamGreyYellow | Deer shield BrownDark brownGrey |
| Cap shape | Livid pinkgill Convex | Deer shield Convex |
| Cap surface | Livid pinkgill Smooth | Deer shield Smooth |
| Taste | Livid pinkgill Mild | Deer shield Mild |
| ⚠ Smell | Livid pinkgill Floury | Deer shield Radish-likeOdorless |
| Flesh color change | Livid pinkgill No change | Deer shield No change |
| Hymenophore | Livid pinkgill Gilled | Deer shield Gilled |
| Stem | Livid pinkgill Central | Deer shield Central |
| Ring (veil) | Livid pinkgill No ring | Deer shield No ring |
| Volva | Livid pinkgill No volva | Deer shield No volva |
| ⚠ Substrate | Livid pinkgill Soil | Deer shield On woodDead wood |
| ⚠ Nutrition type | Livid pinkgill Mycorrhizal | Deer shield Saprotroph |
| ⚠ Partner trees | Livid pinkgill OakBeechHornbeamHazel | Deer shield OakBeechHornbeamAspenBirch |
📅 Seasonality
Livid pinkgill
Fruiting season
July – October
Deer shield
Fruiting season
May – October
🔬 Morphology
Cap
Livid pinkgill
Cap 6-20 cm across, hemispherical to convex in young mushrooms, spreading out with age, with a broad umbo in the center. Color pale gray, dirty white, ivory, with a yellowish or yellowish-livid tint — hence the name. The surface is smooth and silky-shiny, slippery in the rain and dry in dry weather. The cap skin is tough and does not peel.
Deer shield
Cap 4-12 cm across, hemispherical to conical-convex with an umbo when young, later becoming convex-flat with a low umbo. Color brownish-gray, deer-brown, dark brown, darker when young, fading to gray-brown with age. Surface smooth with fine, darker radial fibers, slightly sticky in wet weather.
Hymenophore
Livid pinkgill
Gills. The gills are fairly broad (up to 1 cm), notched where they meet the stem; in young mushrooms they are whitish-yellowish, with age they take on a characteristic pinkish, then salmon color. Spore print pinkish-brown — the key diagnostic feature of the whole genus Entoloma.
Deer shield
Gilled hymenophore: the gills are free (not attached to the stem), crowded. When young they are whitish, later turning pink from the mature pink spores. Spore print PINK: a characteristic feature of the genus Pluteus (though pinkgills, Volvariella and some other mushrooms have pink spores too).
Stem
Livid pinkgill
Stem 5-15 cm tall, 1-3 cm thick, cylindrical, thickened toward the base. Color whitish to dirty white. The surface is lengthwise-fibrous, with no ring. Flesh of the stem is firm, hollow in old mushrooms.
Deer shield
Stem 5-12 cm tall, 0.8-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, long, relatively thin, often thickened toward the base. Color whitish to gray-brown, with fine, darker lengthwise fibers. No ring, no volva: diagnostic against amanitas.
Flesh
Livid pinkgill
Flesh is thick, meaty, white, does not change color when cut. The smell and taste of the fresh flesh are pleasant, mealy-cucumber — which makes this species all the more treacherous: it smells and tastes “right”, and nothing raises suspicion while you clean it.
Deer shield
Flesh soft, watery, white. When cut, it does not change color. Smell faint; in some populations with a hint of radish.
Smell
Livid pinkgill
Mealy-cucumber — typical of many Entoloma. In old mushrooms it's sourish and unpleasant. The taste is mild and mealy. Do NOT rely on taste for identification — it tells you nothing about toxicity.
Deer shield
Faint, neutral, mushroomy; in some populations with a hint of radish or raw potato.
📍 Habitats
Livid pinkgill
Deer shield
👀 Similar mushrooms — don't mix them up!
❓ Frequently asked questions
Can Deer shield and Livid pinkgill be mixed up?
How to tell Deer shield from Livid pinkgill?
Which is more dangerous — Deer shield or Livid pinkgill?
Is Livid pinkgill edible?
When do Deer shield and Livid pinkgill grow?
Sources
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine