Edible
Velvet Foot
Flammulina velutipes
Velvet foot has a white spore print, no ring, and a stem that turns dark brown and velvety toward the base. It also grows in clusters on wood in cold weather.
Deadly Galerina
Galerina marginata
Deadly
Also called funeral bell, autumn skullcap, deadly skullcap.
The deadly galerina is a small brown mushroom that grows in clusters on rotting logs and stumps. It contains amatoxins, the same toxins as the death cap. It is often mistaken for honey mushrooms, velvet foot and other small brown wood-loving species.
The tell
Small honey-brown caps in clusters on rotting wood, with rusty brown gills, a thin ring on the stem, and a rusty brown spore print.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- Convex, then flat or with a low central bump. Honey-brown to tawny or reddish brown when wet, fading to tan or buff as it dries, often in two tones. Smooth and slightly sticky when moist, with a faintly lined edge.
- Underside
- Gills attached to the stem, close, yellowish at first and then rusty brown.
- Stem
- Thin, brownish, darker toward the base, with fine whitish fibers. A thin membranous ring or ring zone near the top often catches rusty brown spores.
- Flesh
- Thin and brownish. Smell mild to mealy.
- Spore print
- Rusty brown.
- Size
- Cap 0.5 to 1.5 inches wide (1 to 4 cm); stem 1 to 3 inches tall (2.5 to 8 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Conifer and hardwood forests, on rotting logs and stumps, and sometimes in wood chips or moss over buried wood.
- Grows on
- Decaying conifer and hardwood.
- Season
- Mainly fall, also spring, and during mild spells in winter.
- Range
- Widespread across North America.
Lookalikes
What the deadly galerina gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Edible when well cookedHoney Mushroom
Armillaria mellea
Honey mushrooms are larger, with a white spore print, fine dark scales at the cap center and a thicker ring. Galerina spore prints are rusty brown.
Psilocybe species
Psilocybe mushrooms leave a dark purple-brown spore print, and many bruise blue. Galerina spore prints are rusty brown, and it does not bruise blue.
Edible when freshMica Cap
Coprinellus micaceus
Mica caps have grooved, glistening caps, no ring, and gills that turn black. Their spore print is dark brown to black.
More side-by-side comparisons
- Deadly Galerina vs Big Laughing Gym
- Deadly Galerina vs Brick Cap
- Deadly Galerina vs Candy Cap
- Deadly Galerina vs Deadly Webcap
- Deadly Galerina vs Fool's Conecap
- Deadly Galerina vs Ringless Honey Mushroom
- Deadly Galerina vs Shiitake
- Deadly Galerina vs Sulphur Tuft
- Deadly Galerina vs Wine Cap
- Deadly Galerina vs Yellowfoot
Edibility
What the field guides say
Deadly
The deadly galerina contains amatoxins, the same toxins found in the death cap and destroying angels. They shut down protein production in liver and kidney cells. Symptoms usually begin 6 to 24 hours after the meal with severe vomiting and diarrhea, often followed by a brief apparent recovery and then liver and kidney failure. Cooking, freezing and drying do not destroy amatoxins.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the deadly galerina
Is Galerina marginata deadly?
Yes. It contains amatoxins, the same toxins as the death cap, which destroy liver and kidney cells. Symptoms are delayed by 6 to 24 hours after eating.
How do you tell a deadly galerina from a honey mushroom?
The spore print is the clearest difference: rusty brown for the galerina, white for the honey mushroom. Honey mushrooms are also larger, with a thicker ring and small dark scales at the center of the cap.
Where does the deadly galerina grow?
On rotting logs and stumps of both conifers and hardwoods across North America, usually in clusters. It fruits mostly in fall but also in spring and in mild winter weather.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Galerina marginata
MushroomExpert.com
- Deadly Galerina
Missouri Department of Conservation
- Galerina marginata
Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia
- Galerina marginata
Index Fungorum
Also on Mushrooms.id
Related species
Toxic lookalike
Big Laughing Gym
Gymnopilus junonius
A large, orange-yellow cluster on wood with a ring on a thick stem and a rusty orange spore print.
Edible
Brick Cap
Hypholoma lateritium
Clusters of brick-red caps with a paler edge on hardwood stumps late in the fall, with grayish gills and a purple-brown spore print.
Lactarius rubidus
Photo coming
Edible
Candy Cap
Lactarius rubidus
Small orange-brown milk cap with thin, watery latex that smells strongly of maple syrup once dried.
Cortinarius rubellus
Photo coming
Deadly
Deadly Webcap
Cortinarius rubellus
Orange-brown, pointed cap, rusty brown gills, and yellowish bands of veil on the stem, in mossy conifer woods.
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