and best known agaric genera to date. Over time, more authors and texts have followed Kummer. The genus, as strictly defined, appears to be polyphyletic when looking at data produced by the molecular study by Moncalvo in 2002, with species of Nolanea, Leptonia and Inocephalus interspersed with various Entoloma species in a broadly monophyletic entolomatoid group. Ecology Most species are saprobic, though some may form mycorrhizal relationships. They may be found in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, peat-bogs and moors, and Arctic or alpine conditions. Several species including Entoloma saepium, E. clypeatum, E. aprile and E. saundersii are thought to form mycorrhizal relationships with members of the Rosaceae including Malus, Pyrus, Crataegus and Prunus. Distribution Entolomas are found the world over, from the equator to polar regions. Some Arctic species are circumpolar in their distribution. Others are widely distributed and some, such as E. sericeum and E. incanum may have been spread by man. Toxicity Although some of the spring entolomas, such as E. clypeatum, are consumed, especially in Europe, edibility is unknown for many species, and some are definitely poisonous and dangerous. E. rhodopolium has been found to contain significant quantities of the mycotoxin muscarine. Most entolomas are very difficult to identify, but Entoloma abortivum is edible. References External links Mushroom Expert - The genus Entoloma Tom Volk's Fungi of the Month - Entoloma abortivum Entolomataceae Agaricales genera Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries