Tricholoma virgatum, commonly known as the ashen knight, is a mushroom

Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

 of the agaric

Agaric

An agaric is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus that is clearly differentiated from the stipe , with lamellae on the underside of the pileus. "Agaric" can also refer to a basidiomycete species characterized by an agaric-type fruiting body...

 genus Tricholoma. It was first described scientifically as Agaricus virgatus by Elias Fries in 1818, and later transferred to the genus Tricholoma by Paul Kummer

Paul Kummer

Paul Kummer was a priest, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological nomenclature. Earlier classification of agarics by pioneering fungal taxonomist Elias Magnus Fries designated only a very small number of genera, with most species falling into...

 in 1871. It is found in the deciduous and coniferous forests of Europe and North America. The mushroom is inedible, and has a bitter and peppery taste and musty odor.