Charbonnier or Stumpy milkcap

The cap is 5-12 cm across, bell-shaped or convex-conical when young, becoming flat-convex with a low, broad bump in the centre. The skin is smooth, slightly slimy in wet weather, dry and matte in dry weather. Its colour is grey-violet, grey-greenish, olive-grey, darker in the centre, with distinct fine dark radial fibrous streaks, a key identifying feature. The margin is even, inrolled in young caps and slightly wavy in old ones.

The cap is 5–10 cm across, occasionally up to 15 cm. Young caps are convex with an inrolled margin, then flatten, sink in the centre and become funnel-shaped, sometimes with a small central bump. The margin is wavy, lobed and looks bent.

The colour is grey, leaden grey, lilac-grey, pinkish grey or brownish grey, turning ochre or beige in old specimens. Concentric zones are faint or absent, though darker rings sometimes show towards the margin. The surface is smooth, dry and matt, occasionally finely cracked. In the rain it gets slightly sticky, but it's never slimy.

The gills are notched (sinuate) where they meet the stem, moderately crowded and fleshy. They're whitish with a faint yellowish tinge when young, turning creamy-yellowish with age, especially toward the edge. That yellowish tone in the gills is a key identifying feature. The spore print is white.

The gills are widely spaced for a milkcap, thick and brittle, attached or running slightly down the stem, often wavy and sometimes forked near the stem. They start cream or pale yellow and turn ochre with age.

Drops of white milk often bead along the gill edges. The spore print is cream to yellowish.

The stem is 5-10 cm tall and 1.5-2.5 cm thick, firm, fleshy and cylindrical, whitish with a characteristic yellowish tinge, especially toward the base. The surface is smooth with fine lengthwise fibres. There's no ring.

The stem is short and stout: 3–8 cm tall and 1–3 cm thick. It's cylindrical or tapers downwards, solid at first and hollow later, sometimes with lengthwise grooves.

It's the same colour as the cap or paler: whitish cream to lilac-grey, sometimes with ochre spots at the base. There is no ring and no volva.

The flesh is firm, white in the cap and white with a yellowish tinge in the stem. It doesn't change colour when cut: it doesn't turn pink (unlike T. saponaceum) and doesn't darken. The smell is distinctly mealy-cucumber, the taste mild and pleasantly mushroomy with a hint of flour, with no bitterness.

The flesh is white to cream, firm, thick in the cap, and doesn't change colour when cut. The milk is white, plentiful and stays white in the air. Both flesh and milk taste very hot and slightly bitter.

A distinct, pleasant mealy-cucumber smell, like freshly ground flour with a note of fresh cucumber. It's a useful identifying feature and comes through clearly when you cut the mushroom.

The smell is faint, fruity and slightly sour. It lacks the strong lovage smell of the fenugreek milkcap and the coconut smell of the coconut milkcap.