Key to Pale-Spored, Gilled Mushrooms
by Michael Kuo
1. | Spore print not greenish. | 3 |
2. | Growing under conifers; gills well spaced, running down the stem, typically blackening by maturity; partial veil disappearing by maturity or leaving a thin ring zone. | |
2. | Growing in lawns and meadows; gills close or crowded, not running down the stem, greenish at maturity; partial veil leaving a persistent ring on the stem. | |
3. | Mushroom with a universal veil and/or a tissue-like to cob-webby or slimy partial veil (check "buttons" and young specimens to be sure) | 4 |
3. | Mushroom with neither a partial veil nor a universal veil. | 17 |
4. | Gills free from the stem at maturity, or nearly so. | 5 |
4. | Gills broadly to narrowly attached to the stem, notched, or running down the stem. | 7 |
5. | Universal veil slimy, not leaving a volva, patches, or warts; cap slimy when fresh and young; stem often slimy, or with a sheathed appearance; odor often mealy. | |
6. | With a universal veil that leaves a volva, concentric rings, a rim, or flaky patches at the base of the stem (a few species lack distinct volval remnants on the stem base; the most common and wide-spread of these have tissues that blush reddish to pinkish when bruised or in age); many species with warts or patches (though others have smooth caps); with a ring on the stem—or, if without a ring, typically with a strongly lined cap margin; spores amyloid or inamyloid, never dextrinoid. | |
6. | Without a universal veil that leaves a volva, concentric rings, or flaky patches on the stem base; not blushing reddish to pinkish when bruised—or, if blushing reddish, then the cap typically with scales rather than easily removed warts or patches; spores often dextrinoid, never amyloid. | |
7. | Gill edges conspicuously serrated or toothed. | Lentinus |
7. | Gill edges not conspicuously serrated. | 8 |
8. | Cap and stem not covered with powdery granules; microscopic features variable. | 9 |
9. | Growing on the ground. | 13 |
10. | Gills running well down the stem; mushroom whitish and fuzzy overall, bruising and discoloring yellowish. | |
10. | Not completely as above. | 11 |
11. | Cap and stem densely covered with well developed, reddish brown scales (reminiscent of some species of Pholiota); spores amyloid; growing in eastern North America. | |
11. | Not with the above combination of features. | 12 |
12. | Growing gregariously on hardwood logs along the Gulf Coast; cap whitish under small, brown scales (reminscent of Lepiota cristata); spores finely warty. | |
12. | Not completely as above. | |
13. | Stem bulbous, with yellow shades on the bulb and the ring; often growing in clusters; cap tan to tawny brown, with yellowish hairs; white partial veil remnants on cap margin. | |
13. | Not completely as above. | 14 |
14. | Cap large (10–40 cm across) and firm, whitish to dingy brown or grayish; gills running down the stem or beginning to do so; stem tapered, rooting (sometimes almost completely buried); ring sturdy and double-layered; growing under conifers; spores amyloid. | |
14. | Not completely as above. | 15 |
15. | Not completely as above. | 16 |
16. | Western and eastern in distribution; spores inamyloid. | |
17. | Fresh, young mushrooms producing a white, colorless, or colored "milk" or juice when injured (best observed by damaging the gills with a knife point, or by slicing the mushroom in half). | |
17. | Not producing a milk or juice when injured. | 18 |
18. | Flesh white, crumbly, and brittle; stem usually snapping like a piece of chalk; cap often about as wide as the stem is long, broadly convex to flat to shallowly vase-shaped when mature (never conical); gills not often waxy; spore print white, creamy, yellowish, or orangish; spores with amyloid ornamentation. | |
19. | Gills often waxy, thick, and well spaced (but if gills are flesh-colored or purplish, see also Laccaria); many species white or brightly colored (but many also gray to brown or black); cap often sticky to slimy when young and fresh; many species partial to colder weather, fruiting in spring or fall in north-temperate zones, or winter in warmer climates; growing from the ground; spores inamyloid (very rarely amyloid); basidia often elongated (more than 35 µm long). | |
20. | Growing on the ground, in leaf litter, in conifer duff, or on cones or nuts. | 38 |
21. | Gill edges conspicuously serrated or "toothed." | 22 |
21. | Gill edges not serrated. | 23 |
22. | Mushroom large and tough; cap scaly; growing from the wood of western North American conifers; spores inamyloid. | |
22. | Mushroom small to medium in size; cap scaly or not; habitat and distribution varying; spores amyloid | |
23. | Stem lateral, off-center, or absent (occasionally central when growing on top of a log). | 24 |
23. | Stem present and central. | 25 |
25. | Cap and stem with a dense layer of hairs; stem hard, slender, and dark; usually growing on sticks or small logs. | |
26. | Mushrooms medium-sized; growing in dense clusters on hardwoods (or from buried roots) in eastern North America; stem bases fused; caps brownish to yellowish; stems long and slender, whitish above and grayish to brownish below; gills whitish to pinkish, just beginning to run down the stem. | |
26. | Not completely as above. | 27 |
27. | Caps bright yellow to orangish yellow or dull yellow, very small (under 3 cm across), dry and granular (at least when young); gills distant; spores lemon-shaped, inamyloid. | |
27. | Not completely as above. | 28 |
28. | Growing in clusters on the deadwood of hardwoods from roughly Iowa to New York; caps medium-sized, bright yellow, with a central depression; gills white, running almost entirely down the stem. | |
28. | Not completely as above. | 29 |
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29. | Stem with a layer of orange to tawny hairs at the base; growing densely gregariously (often with hundreds of mushrooms present); cap small, flat to depressed, or with a small bump (but never conical), often with a lined margin; gills yellow to orange. | |
30. | Gills running down the stem; mushroom medium-sized or large, growing in clusters with stem bases tapered; cap some shade of orange or yellow. | |
31. | Mushroom fairly small and fragile; stem thin (less than 0.5 cm), usually hollow and not tough or wiry; cap usually conical or bell-shaped (not often convex or flat); margin or entire cap frequently lined to pleated when moist; many species growing in clusters. | |
32. | Cap rubbery and slimy when fresh and young; stem finely velvety, the fuzz becoming dark brown to black with maturity. | |
33. | Stem base often attached to long, white mycelial cords; cap radially streaked, medium-sized to large, grayish brown to olive brown or brown; gills attached to stem but not running down it; stem white. | |
34. | Gills running down the stem; cap usually small, often orangish, yellowish, brownish, or black. | |
34. | Gills not running down the stem. | 35 |
35. | Flesh (and often the gills) yellow or yellowish. | |
35. | Flesh white or whitish (or insubstantial and grayish, watery brown, etc.); gills variously colored. | 36 |
36. | Stem tough and hard or wiry; cap convex, tiny or small (usually under 3 cm across); dried-out mushrooms regaining their previous appearance when placed in water; some tiny species with gills attached by means of a "collar" around the stem. | |
37. | Cap convex, with an unlined margin; either A) cap evenly whitish; growing alone or in pairs from the wounds of living elms or box elders; or B) cap whitish but mottled; growing in clusters on various trees. | |
38. | Growing in dense clusters under hardwoods in eastern North America; stem bases fused; caps medium-sized, brownish to yellowish; stems long and slender, whitish above and grayish to brownish below; gills whitish to pinkish; spores smooth, ellipsoid, and inamyloid. | |
38. | Not completely as above. | 39 |
39. | Gills yellowish orange to bright orange, repeatedly forked, running down the stem; cap surface soft to the touch; at least some spores dextrinoid. | |
39. | Not completely as above. | 40 |
40. | Gills thick, often distant, flesh-colored to purplish, attached to the stem but not often running down it; cap some shade of brown, light brown, orange brown, reddish brown, reddish, orangish, or purplish (but often fading to whitish); stem tough. | |
41. | Cap gray, grayish brown, or blackish; stem and flesh bruising and discoloring grayish, bluish gray, or blackish; stem cartilaginous (not soft, thick, and fleshy). | Lyophyllum |
42. | Stem slender (less than 0.5 cm in width). | 43 |
42. | Stem greater than 0.5 cm in width. | 49 |
43. | Mushroom tiny; growing on pine cones or magnolia cones. | |
44. | Mushroom small and fragile; stem usually hollow and not tough or wiry; cap usually conical or bell-shaped (not often convex or flat); margin or entire cap frequently lined to pleated when moist. | |
45. | Cap often with a central "belly button" by maturity, often orangish or yellowish; gills usually running down the stem, often yellow, orange, or pinkish; stem thin and cartilaginous; many species growing with lichens, mosses, or grass. | |
46. | Gills usually running down the stem by maturity; cap convex, flat, or shallowly depressed to vase-shaped; stem fleshy (not tough, cartilaginous, or differently textured than the cap); some species with a sweet or anise-like odor; most species featuring white, brownish, yellowish brown, or purplish colors; cystidia usually absent (or, if present, boring). | |
47. | Stem tough and hard or wiry; cap convex, tiny or small (usually under 3 cm across); dried-out mushrooms regaining their previous appearance when placed in water; often binding leaf litter or conifer duff; some tiny species with gills attached by means of a "collar" around the stem. | |
48. | Cap soon more or less flat; stem usually tough, narrow, and straight; spores with small amyloid warts; distinctive cystidia often present. | |
49. | Mature cap huge (like, between a foot and a yard across!); found in Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America; stem with prominent brownish scales by maturity; cap brownish to whitish. | |
50. | Cap dry and unpolished; margin usually inrolled when young; gills attached to the stem or running down it, usually separable from the cap as a layer (illustration); flesh tough; stem terminating in a prominent mass of white mycelial material; odor often foul or mealy; taste sometimes bitter; spores amyloid; spiny. | |
51. | Growing in dense clusters, usually in areas where the ground has been disturbed (roadbeds, paths, landscaping areas, etc.); cap medium-sized, white to brown or grayish; spores inamyloid and round or nearly so (or if ellipsoid then cap is white). | |
52. | Gills running down the stem or broadly attached to it; cap convex or flat—or, often, shallowly depressed to vase-shaped; stem fleshy (not tough, cartilaginous, or differently textured than the cap); some species with a sweet or anise-like odor; most species featuring white, brownish, yellowish brown, or purplish colors (but a few are orange). Cystidia absent—or, if present, boring. | |
53. | Cap gray, grayish brown, or blackish; stem and flesh bruising and discoloring grayish, bluish gray, or blackish; stem cartilaginous (not soft and fleshy). | Lyophyllum |
54. | Cap soon more or less flat; stem usually tough, narrow, and straight; spores with small amyloid warts; distinctive cystidia often present. | |
55. | Stem base often attached to long, white mycelial cords; cap radially streaked, medium-sized to large, grayish brown to olive brown or brown; gills attached to stem but not running down it; stem white. | |
56. | Cap size small to medium; gills usually not notched; stem cartilaginous or somewhat fleshy. | |
56. | Cap size medium to large; gills usually notched at point of attachment to stem; stem fleshy. | 57 |
58. | Flesh staining red when sliced; cap gray; spores 7–9 µm long. | Pseudotricholoma umbrosum |
58. | Flesh not staining red; cap dull orangish to pale tan; spores 3–5.5 µm long. | |
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Cite this page as:
Kuo, M. (2020, July). Key to pale-spored, gilled mushrooms. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/gilled_pale.html
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