Hypsizygus tessulatus (Bull. ex Fr.) Singer Cap 5-15cm across, convex becoming flatter and rather sunken; white to buff yellow, creamy tan or crust brown in the center; moist, smooth, minutely hairy, becoming cracked with scaly patches. Gills adnexed to sinuate, close to subdistant, broad; whitish becoming cream. Stem 40-110 x 10-30mm solid, off-center, enlarged toward the base; white; dry, smooth, sometimes hairy. Flesh thick, firm; white. Odor mushroomy. Taste mild. Spores globose, smooth, 5-7 x 5-7µ. Deposit white to buff. Habitat singly or scattered on old hardwood trees, especially elm, often quite high up. Frequent. Found Europe and northern North America. Season September-December. Edible but tough. Comment Formerly known as Pleurotus ulmarius, sensu American authors. There are commercially grown forms of this mushroom grown and sold in supermarkets and specialist shops, usually referred to as Buna-shimeji syn Hon-shimeji, the Brown Beech Mushrooms, there is a white form called Bunapi-shimeji.