How to tell The miller 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 3-10 cm across; hemispherical in young mushrooms, later becoming convex-flat to funnel-shaped with a thin, wavy margin. Color white to cream, with a faint grayish-pink tint in old specimens. Surface smooth, dryish, slightly sticky in wet weather. The cap margin is thin.

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 — the gills are running down the stem (decurrent), crowded, thin. In young mushrooms — whitish, with age they become pink from the ripened pink spores. Spore print PINK — it narrows things down to a few genera, but it doesn't separate the miller from the livid pinkgill, whose print is pink too. Most gilled mushrooms have a white or brown spore print — a pink one tells you it's either the miller or an Entoloma.

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 3-7 cm tall, 0.7-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, relatively short, often tapering toward the base. Color white to cream. Surface with fine lengthwise fibers. No ring and no volva.

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, white, when cut it doesn't change color. Smell distinctly mealy — like raw dough or freshly milled grain — the most 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 mealy and pleasant, like raw dough or freshly milled grain (Russian sources call it "the smell of cucumber flour"). Fresh, not rancid — this sets it apart from the livid pinkgill, whose smell is also mealy, but with a sour or rancid note.