Tagged: tricholomatoid

agaric mushrooms with pale spores that don’t fit elsewhere

Lepista nuda 0

#223: Lepista nuda, The Blewit

Lepista nuda, often called Clitocybe nuda, is a popular edible mushroom known as the “Bewit” or “Wood Blewit.” I’ve put off writing about these mushrooms for a long time because they’re one of the most difficult edible mushrooms to positively identify. Until this fall, I wasn’t completely sure of my ability to identify these mushrooms. The problem is that Blewits have very few unique characteristics and can therefore be confused with many poisonous mushrooms. Blewits are definitely not beginner mushrooms. Young Blewits are a beautiful lilac color and can be confused with Cortinarius. With age, Blewits become tan and can be confused with Cortinarius, other clitocybioid mushrooms, and probably others as well. With so many possible lookalikes, remember: “When in doubt, throw it out!”

Neolentinus lepideus 0

#218: Neolentinus lepideus, The Train Wrecker

Neolentinus lepideus is a very tough whitish agaric with lots of scales that appears on dead conifer wood. Its gills have a serrated margin, a characteristic shared with pretty much every species that has “lentin” in its genus name. In the United States N. lepideus is called the “Train Wrecker” because it often appears on railroad ties. In most other parts of the world, the mushroom is simply called the “Scaly Lentinus.”

Omphalotus illudens 1

#007: Omphalotus illudens, The Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom

If the spirit of Halloween were a mushroom, it would be Omphalotus illudens. This agaric is commonly known as the “Jack-O-Lantern mushroom” for a few good reasons. First, it is bright orange, like the pumpkins that decorate doorsteps all over the United States in October. Not only is the cap orange, but so are the gills, the stipe, and the interior. Second, the mushroom’s gills glow in the dark, especially when they are young and fresh. Furthermore, the mushroom often has a sweet smell and is poisonous. Nothing says Halloween like something that is orange, glows in the dark, smells sweet, and has a sinister side.

Armillaria tabescens 3

#198: Armillaria tabescens

Armillaria tabescens, the “Ringless Honey Mushroom,” is out in force in my area, a sure sign that summer is drawing to a close. Field guides often note that A. tabescens is the easiest honey mushroom to identify. That is true, but it relies on you accurately identifying it as a honey mushroom. Honey mushrooms (Armillaria spp.) are typically medium-sized to large agarics that grow in dense clusters, have a partial veil that leaves a ring, produce thick black rhizomorphs, and fruit from dead or dying wood. Of those features, the only one A. tabescens displays reliably is dense clustered growth. This makes it very difficult to identify if you’re unfamiliar with honey mushrooms. Fortunately, there are not many large mushrooms that grow in dense clusters, so it’s always worth checking the Armillaria section of your field guide when you find some.

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca 2

#196: Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, The False Chanterelle

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca is a bright orange mushroom that appears on rotting wood and forest debris in the summer and fall. It is not a particularly interesting mushroom on its own, but it is worth knowing to make sure you don’t confuse it with other orange mushrooms like golden chanterelles. H. aurantiaca is called the “False Chanterelle” precisely for that reason; if you’re not paying attention, it would be easy to drop one of these into your chanterelle collection.

Mycena leaiana 4

#027: Gilled Mushrooms (Agarics)

The gilled mushrooms, informally referred to as ‘agarics,’ are the type of mushroom with which we are most familiar. The most common edible mushrooms (white/button/portabella mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms), Amanita muscaria – the most recognizable mushroom in the world and the inspiration for almost all mushroom art – and the ‘magic mushrooms’ are all gilled mushrooms. All these mushrooms share one feature: vertical plates of spore-producing tissue stacked under a sterile cap.

Clitocybe odora 0

#167: Clitocybe odora

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.

#150: Asterophora lycoperdoides 0

#150: Asterophora lycoperdoides

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.

#113: Moniliophthora perniciosa, Witches’ Broom Disease of Cacao Trees 1

#113: Moniliophthora perniciosa, Witches’ Broom Disease of Cacao Trees

Witches might not be real, but witches’ brooms certainly are – and they’re destroying chocolate! Yes, Halloween’s favorite treat (chocolate) is suffering at the hands of a disease with a Halloween-themed name: Witches’ Broom Disease.  Witches’ brooms are actually fairly common and occur on many different plants.  In chocolate trees (Cacao trees, Theobroma cacao, whose genus name literally means “food of the gods”), witches’ brooms are caused by the fungal pathogen Moniliophthora perniciosa and have an enormous economic impact on chocolate production in Central and South America.

#071: Flammulina velutipes, The Velvet Foot [Archived] 2

#071: Flammulina velutipes, The Velvet Foot [Archived]

Note: This is an archived post. The current version of this post is available here. This edible mushroom can be found in specialty markets under the names “Enokitake” and “” It can also be found in the wild in temperate areas across the Northern Hemisphere, but the wild mushrooms look nothing like the cultivated versions.  Flammulina velutipes has many common names, including: Velvet Foot, Enokitake, Enoki, Winter Mushroom, Velvet Stem, Velvet Shank, Golden Needle Mushroom, and others.  I am using the name Velvet Foot because it is among the most commonly used names and it sounds the most poetic.  According to Wikipedia, Enoki is the Japanese name for the Chinese Hackberry Tree, a tree in the hemp family on which F. velutipes is often found.  Thus, “Enokitake” means “Chinese Hackberry Tree Mushroom.”  Wikipedia also says that the Chinese names for this mushroom translate to Golden Needle Mushroom or Golden Mushroom. ...