Summary:
Section Cosmeoexonema. Nolanea proxima is recognized in the field by a non-umbonate, bicolorous cap 1-4cm broad, with disc and striations dark gray brown to nearly fuscous, brownish gills, and a silvery brown stem 0.1-0.4cm broad at top, which darkens with age. Microscopically it has isodiametric spores and two kinds of pigmentation, intracellular and coarsely incrusted. (Largent(1)). N. proxima forma proxima has a bald to slightly striate stem and a distinctly farinaceous odor, (Largent). Nolanea proxima is not to be confused with Entoloma proximum E. Horak (1978), which is the reason that the species had to be changed for the homotypic synonym in Entoloma. Nolanea proxima forma proxima is very common in the western United States.

Cap:
1-4cm across, convex to broadly convex, appearing depressed because of disc coloring, rarely if ever umbonate and never papillate, margin incurved to decurved [downcurved] at first, becoming uplifted, margin splitting radially readily; hygrophanous, bicolorous with the disc and striations dark gray brown to nearly fuscous, elsewhere medium to dark brown with margin area a bit lighter, eventually fading to brownish orange overall; shiny, bald, translucent-striate to the disc

Flesh:
0.1-0.25cm thick near gill attachment; colored as cap surface

Gills:
"adnexed, subdistant, narrow to moderately broad", 0.3-1cm broad; pale brownish or light grayish brown, then pallid, [presumably becoming pinkish], edges colored as faces and even

Stem:
2.2-9cm x 0.1-0.4cm at top, equal to slightly widened at base (0.25-0.5cm wide), round in cross-section but often flattened and then 0.3-1cm x 0.2-0.4cm at top, fragile, breaking and splitting easily; silvery brown becoming dark brown when old in streaks or entirely; bald except often somewhat scurfy at top, "at most slightly longitudinally striate", basal tomentum moderate

Veil:
[absent]

Odor:
farinaceous, often strongly so

Taste:
farinaceous, often strongly so

Microscopic spores:
spores 6.5-11.0 x 6.1-10.0(11.2) microns, 5-6 sided, distinctly angular, [smooth, inamyloid]; basidia 4-spored, 33.6-53.9 x 8.7-11.2 microns; pleurocystidia absent, cheilocystidia absent; pigmentation under low power uniform and medium brown throughout cap trama, dark brown in upper trama and into cap cuticle, under high powers moderately to strongly incrusted on outer walls of slender hyphae of cap cuticle and cap trama, often forming zebra-like rings, in addition uniform and distinctly cytoplasmic in outer hyphae of suprapellis of cap and often in form of pigment globules, hyphae of stem trama with irregular thickenings on inner walls; clamp connections present at base of basidia, absent in other tissues

Spore deposit:
[presumably pinkish brown]

Notes:
Material was studied from WA, ID, and CA, and there are collections with inadequate notes from BC, OR, CO, and MT fit this species better than any other, (Largent).

EDIBILITY

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Entoloma propinquum Noordel. & Co-David
Entoloma propinquum Noordel. & Co-David