Clitocybe odora is easily recognized by its pale blue-green color and its distinctive anise-like odor. The mushroom is edible, but not very many people go looking for it. C. odora is sometimes called the “Aniseed Funnel” or “Blue-Green Clitocybe,” but most people refer to it by its scientific name.
This little brown mushroom isn’t much to look at… at least during the daytime. At night, however, the unassuming mushroom reveals its most interesting feature: it glows in the dark! Known as the “Bitter Oyster,” “Luminescent Panellus,” or “Bitter Oysterling” (if you live in Europe), Panellus stipticus looks like a small, brown oyster mushroom. A helpful feature that separates it from most other oyster-like mushrooms is that it has a tough texture.
Note: This is an archived post. Click here to read the current version of this post. This Amanita is considered edible and many people eat it, although just as many people avoid it because it is easily confused with some deadly poisonous amanitas. Known as the “Blusher,” rubescens is notable because it stains pinkish when injured.
This is one of the strangest mushrooms on Earth. It is a gilled mushroom that parasitizes other mushrooms, which already makes it a rarity. Even less common, Asterophora lycoperdoides reproduces primarily through asexual “” This mushroom is commonly known as the “Star-Bearing Powder Cap” or the “Powdery Piggyback.” The former name is more common in the United States, while the latter is primarily used in the United Kingdom.
Fungi appear in the news with surprising frequency. However, many of those stories do not provide any new information. Below is a summary of what we’ve learned about fungi from November 2016 Through February 2017. Read below to learn about: mycorrhizas, A. bisporus engineering, fungal evolution, psilocybin research, fungal concerns in medicine, rock-eating fungi, and more! Visit the associated links to get the full story.
Note: This is an archived post. The current version of this post is available here. This is a beautiful little waxy cap that displays one of the most striking color changes of all mushrooms. Gliophorus psittacinus is easily identified by its slimy texture and bright green color that becomes yellow as the mushroom matures. Because the color fades, older specimens are easily confused with the many other yellowish waxy caps. For easy identification of this mushroom, you really need to find young specimens that are still green and slimy. As with other waxy caps, the flesh has a texture reminiscent of candle wax. However, to experience this, one would first have to get past the considerable sliminess of the cap and stipe. Because of its initial bright green color (which one might term “parrot green”), G. psittacinus is commonly called the “Parrot Mushroom” or “Parrot Waxcap.” Indeed, the root word...
Note: This is an archived post. You can read the current version here. Pluteus cervinus is one of the first gilled mushrooms to appear in the spring, although you can also find it during summer and fall. Commonly called the “Deer Mushroom,” it is distinguished by its free gills, pinkish spore print, radish-like odor, and unique, pointed cystidia (if you have a microscope). In Europe, the mushroom is called the “Deer Shield” (I think mushrooms in the genus Pluteus are called “shields” in Europe, though I’m not sure why) or the “Fawn Pluteus.” I was introduced to this mushroom as the “Fawn Mushroom,” which is not as common as “Deer Mushroom” in the United States.
Mushrooms come in all different colors, even green! Although green is an unusual color for mushrooms, certain mushrooms sporting green colors are common. The most frequently-encountered green mushrooms are from the Russula Of these, my favorite ones are the Quilted Green Russulas (also called Greencracked Brittlecaps), which belong to the Russula virescens species group. R. virescens can be found in North America, Europe, and Asia. However, preliminary DNA studies suggest that specimens found in North America actually belong to a few different species and should not be lumped in with R. virescens. Unfortunately, mycologists have yet to formally classify these American species. As a result, the North American species in the group can be called R. virescens for now.
“Is this mushroom edible?” What a difficult question to answer. The world of edible mushrooms is littered with lookalikes, various degrees of edibility, mushrooms that are edible only under certain conditions, and mushrooms that no one has assessed for edibility. For Hypholoma sublateritium, the question is even more complicated. There is no consensus on whether or not Brick Caps are edible. North American field guides are divided on the issue and European field guides usually list these mushrooms as inedible or poisonous. In my local mushroom club, they are considered edible and are a welcome find in the late fall, when it is usually slim pickings for mushrooms. Because of this ambiguity, community is an essential part of mushroom hunting (despite its culture of secrecy and competition). If you are serious about mushroom hunting, you should be involved with a local mushroom club to ensure that you learn information about...
Note: this is an archived post. Read the current version of this post here. If you are collecting for the table, this is one little brown mushroom (LBM) that you should definitely be familiar with. Most LBMs go unnoticed because they are heard to spot and are usually too small to consider worth eating. The “Deadly Galerina” is therefore usually not dangerous on its own. The real danger from this mushroom comes when it is accidentally collected along with a group of edible mushrooms. Galerina marginata contains amatoxins, which are also found in such infamous species as Destroying Angels (Amanita virosa complex, FFF#050) and Death Caps (Amanita phalloides, FFF#051). In England, G. marginata goes by the beautifully ominous name, “Funeral Bell.” Unfortunately for me, people in the United States prefer the much blander common name, “Deadly Galerina.”
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