How to tell Wood pinkgill from Livid pinkgill

The cap is 3–10 cm across and fairly thin-fleshed. Young caps are convex or bell-shaped, then flatten with a low, broad bump; in old mushrooms the centre sinks slightly, leaving the bump in the middle.

The colour is grey-brown, beige, yellowish grey or olive-grey. The cap is hygrophanous: dark when wet, with faint lines at the edge, fading almost to off-white as it dries, often in patches. The surface is smooth, a little sticky in damp weather and silky-shiny when dry.

The cap is 6-20 cm across, hemispherical to convex when young, spreading out with age, with a broad umbo in the centre. It's pale grey, dirty white or ivory, with a yellowish or yellowish-livid tint, hence the name. The surface is smooth and silky-shiny, slippery in rain and dry in dry weather. The cap skin is tough and doesn't peel.

The gills are attached to the stem, sometimes running slightly down it, and moderately spaced. They are white in young mushrooms, turn pink with age and become dull pink in old ones.

The spore print is pink. This is what separates a pinkgill from grey knights, domecaps and funnels, which all leave a white print.

Gills. They're fairly broad (up to 1 cm) and notched where they meet the stem. Young mushrooms have whitish-yellowish gills that turn a characteristic pinkish, then salmon colour with age. The spore print is pinkish-brown, the key feature of the whole genus Entoloma.

The stem is 4–10 cm tall and 0.5–1.5 cm thick, white or greyish, smooth and silky, with fine lengthwise fibres. It is stuffed at first, then becomes hollow and brittle and is easily crushed between your fingers.

There is no ring, no veil remnants and no volva. The very base can have a little white mycelial fluff.

The stem is 5-15 cm tall and 1-3 cm thick, cylindrical and thickening toward the base. It's whitish to dirty white, with a lengthwise-fibrous surface and no ring. The flesh of the stem is firm and becomes hollow in old mushrooms.

The flesh is white, thin and brittle, doesn't change colour when broken and has no milk. The taste is mild or mealy, not bitter.

The flesh is thick, meaty and white, and doesn't change colour when cut. Fresh, it smells and tastes pleasantly mealy, like cucumber, which makes this species all the more treacherous: it smells and tastes “right,” and nothing seems wrong while you clean it.

The smell is indistinct or faintly of flour; in the smelly form (Entoloma nidorosum) it is sharp and chemical, like bleach or ammonia. Drying mushrooms smell unpleasant. Don't rely on smell: the edible mushrooms it is mistaken for smell of flour as well.

Mealy-cucumber, typical of many Entoloma. Old mushrooms smell sourish and unpleasant. The taste is mild and mealy. Do NOT rely on taste for identification: it tells you nothing about toxicity.