How to tell Horse mushroom from 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.

Cap 6-20 cm across; in young mushrooms firmly hemispherical to egg-shaped, the margin often rolled under. Later it becomes convex to flat. Color pure white to cream, with subtle yellowish tints in old mushrooms; spots yellow to ocher when touched. Surface smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather. Sometimes with fine fibrous scales in the center.

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.

Gilled hymenophore — gills free, crowded. When young — grayish-white, with a pinkish tinge, becoming with age dark brown, chocolate-blackish. Spore print dark brown.

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.

Stem 6-12 cm tall, 1.5-3 cm thick, thick, fleshy, cylindrical, slightly thickened at the base. Color white to cream. On the upper part — a large membranous double ring with a characteristic "toothed" lower edge (like a cogwheel) — a diagnostic feature of the species.

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.

Flesh firm, meaty, white; when cut it slowly yellows in the flesh of the cap and upper stem. Does not redden (unlike A. silvaticus). The smell is a distinct anise-almond — a characteristic feature of the species.

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.

Distinctly anise-almond, fruity — the most characteristic diagnostic sign. It comes out when you rub the flesh between your fingers. This smell is one of the most pleasant mushroom experiences in field foraging.