Deadly
Deadly Galerina
Galerina marginata
Galerina is brown rather than yellow, has brown gills with no green tint, a ring on the stem, and a rusty brown spore print. It contains amatoxins.
Sulphur Tuft
Hypholoma fasciculare
Toxic lookalike
Also called sulfur tuft, clustered woodlover.
Sulphur tuft is one of the most common clustered mushrooms on rotting stumps and logs. Its yellow caps and greenish gills set it apart, and it is poisonous. It grows alongside brick caps and honey mushrooms.
The tell
Dense clusters of sulfur-yellow caps on dead wood, with greenish-yellow gills that darken to purple-brown.
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 to flat, 0.75 to 3 inches across. Sulfur yellow to greenish yellow, often orange-brown at the center. Smooth, with dark veil fibers at the edge when young.
- Underside
- Gills attached and crowded. Sulfur yellow to greenish yellow when young, becoming olive and then purple-brown as the spores mature.
- Stem
- Slender, yellow, often brownish toward the base, with many stems joined in a cluster. A faint ring zone from the veil catches falling spores and turns purple-brown.
- Flesh
- Yellow. Taste documented as very bitter.
- Spore print
- Purple-brown to dark purple-black.
- Size
- Cap 0.75 to 3 inches (2 to 8 cm); stem 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) tall.
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- In dense clusters on stumps, logs and buried wood of both hardwoods and conifers, in forests, parks and yards.
- Grows on
- Dead wood of hardwoods and conifers, including buried roots.
- Season
- Spring through late fall, and into winter where the weather stays mild.
- Range
- Throughout North America.
Lookalikes
What the sulphur tuft gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
EdibleBrick Cap
Hypholoma lateritium
The brick cap has a brick-red cap center and whitish to gray gills with no green tint. It grows on hardwoods, usually late in the fall, and its flesh is mild rather than bitter.
Edible when well cookedHoney Mushroom
Armillaria mellea
Honey mushrooms have white to cream gills, a distinct ring, and a white spore print. Sulphur tuft gills are greenish yellow and its print is purple-brown.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Toxic lookalike
Field guides list sulphur tuft as poisonous. It causes gastrointestinal illness, with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and its flesh is intensely bitter. Its main relevance to foragers is as a lookalike for the brick cap and the honey mushroom.
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 sulphur tuft
Is sulphur tuft poisonous?
Yes. Field guides list it as poisonous, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Its flesh is also strongly bitter.
What is the difference between sulphur tuft and brick cap?
Sulphur tuft has a yellow to greenish-yellow cap and greenish-yellow gills, and grows on both hardwoods and conifers. Brick cap has a brick-red cap center and grayish gills with no green, and grows on hardwoods. Both leave a purple-brown spore print.
Where does sulphur tuft grow?
In dense clusters on rotting stumps, logs and buried wood, in forests, parks and yards across North America. It fruits from spring through late fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Hypholoma fasciculare
MushroomExpert.com
- Hypholoma fasciculare
Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)
- Hypholoma fasciculare
Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia
- Hypholoma fasciculare
Index Fungorum
Also on Mushrooms.id
Related species
Edible when well cooked
Ringless Honey Mushroom
Desarmillaria caespitosa
Large clusters of dry, honey-brown caps at the base of hardwoods, with no ring on the stem and a white spore print.
Edible
Velvet Foot
Flammulina velutipes
Sticky orange-brown caps on dead hardwood in cold weather, on stems that turn dark brown and velvety from the base up.
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