Known as Grünling in German, gąska zielonka in Polish, míscaro in Portuguese and canari in French, it has been treasured as an edible mushroom worldwide and is especially abundant in France and Central Portugal.

[7] As yet, there have been no reported cases of poisoning in North America,[8] and there is speculation that the respective mushrooms may in fact be different species that are very similar in appearance.

The basic mechanism of poisoning is suspected to be rhabdomyolysis, damaging of the cell membrane of skeletal muscle fibres.

[11] A 2018 research conducted in Poland with the recruitment of ten healthy volunteers, who ate 300 grams per head (about twice the normal dose) of fried T. equestre in a single meal, with no reported consequences or alterations.

[12] However, a 2020 systematic review highlights several studies indicating elevated plasma creatine kinase (CK) pro-inflammatory activities, in addition to its effect on other liver function biomarkers, underlining a cause for concern and suggestions "not to harvest and consume this species".

It can easily be mistaken for a variety of other members of the genus Tricholoma, such as T. auratum, T. aestuans,[citation needed] T. intermedium, T. sejunctum, and T.