Common Cavalier Melanoleuca polioleuca (Fr) Kühner & Maire (illustrated 35% life size) Cap 3–8cm, convex then flattened, often slightly depressed with a central boss; dark brown when moist, drying buff; smooth. Stem 40–70×8–14mm, slightly bulbous; whitish; covered in dark grey-brown, longitudinal fibres. Flesh white in cap, flushed ochraceous to ochre-brown from stem base upwards; taste and smell not distinctive. Gills crowded, sinuate; whitish to cream. Spores 7–8.5×5–5.5¼, elliptical, minutely ornamented; amyloid. Spore print cream. Cheilocystidia harpoon-shaped, thin-walled, hyaline. Habitat woods and pastures; late summer to late autumn. Frequent. Edible but not recommended. Note this is now thought to be the correct name for the species previously referred to as Melanoleuca melaleuca.
