# Fungi Library | Mushroom Identification, Field Marks & Lookalikes

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Explore the living fungi library: 108 mushroom profiles with field marks, dangerous lookalikes, licensed photos, cited safety guidance, and recent reviewed observations.

The living fungi library · 108 species

# fungi.

Field marks, dangerous lookalike checks, cited safety notes, and recent reviewed observations for the map's current species.

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Photo: [Matt Richmond](https://unsplash.com/photos/mushrooms-grow-on-a-dark-weathered-log-dcnWLYD4IFA) · AI-extended background

Explore the library

**Multiple field marks**Never one photo alone

**Lookalikes first**Danger is shown in context

**Live evidence**Recent reviewed observations

Current catalogue

## Browse mushroom guides

These pages teach what to examine. They cannot confirm edibility.

Search mushroom guides

## [Morel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/morel)

Morchella esculenta

A spring mushroom recognized by a pitted cap and a single hollow interior, with dangerous false-morel confusion to rule out.

Study field marks

## [King Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/king-bolete)

Boletus edulis

A stout, brown-capped bolete with pale pores and fine white netting on the upper stem.

Study field marks

## [Rainbow Chanterelle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/rainbow-chanterelle)

Cantharellus roseocanus

A western chanterelle with blunt forked ridges, solid pale flesh, and a young pinkish cap bloom.

Study field marks

## [Lobster Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/lobster-mushroom)

Hypomyces lactifluorum

A firm host mushroom transformed by a red-orange parasitic fungus that erases most of the original gills.

Study field marks

## [Oyster Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/oyster-mushroom)

Pleurotus ostreatus

Pale fan-shaped caps growing in shelves on wood, with gills descending a short off-center stem.

Study field marks

## [Shaggy Mane](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/shaggy-mane)

Coprinus comatus

A tall white ink cap whose shaggy cylinder dissolves from the rim into black liquid as it matures.

Study field marks

## [Gem-studded Puffball](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/gem-studded-puffball)

Lycoperdon perlatum

A pear-shaped puffball with detachable cone-shaped spines and a mandatory pure-white slice test.

Study field marks

## [Hedgehog Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/hedgehog-mushroom)

Hydnum repandum

A woodland mushroom with soft detachable teeth under the cap instead of gills or pores.

Study field marks

## [Lion's Mane](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/lions-mane)

Hericium erinaceus

A white hardwood fungus formed from one cushion of long dangling teeth, without a cap, gills, or stem.

Study field marks

## [Fly Agaric](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/fly-agaric)

Amanita muscaria

The iconic red or yellow Amanita with white veil warts, white gills, a ring, and a bulbous base marked by scaly rings.

Study field marks

## [Destroying Angel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/destroying-angel)

Amanita bisporigera

A deadly white Amanita pattern defined by free white gills, a ring, white spores, and a buried sack-like volva.

Study field marks

## [False Morel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/false-morel)

Gyromitra esculenta

A spring mushroom with brain-like folds and a chambered interior that overlaps true-morel habitat and can cause severe poisoning.

Study field marks

## [Chicken of the Woods](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/chicken-of-the-woods)

Laetiporus sulphureus

Bright orange and yellow shelves on wood, with a sulfur-yellow pore surface and no gills.

Study field marks

## [Golden Chanterelle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/golden-chanterelle)

Cantharellus cibarius

A golden woodland chanterelle with blunt forked ridges, solid pale flesh, and no true gill blades.

Study field marks

## [Giant Puffball](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/giant-puffball)

Calvatia gigantea

A stemless white ball that can grow larger than a basketball and must be cut open before any culinary consideration.

Study field marks

## [Hen of the Woods](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/hen-of-the-woods)

Grifola frondosa

A large gray-brown rosette of many spoon-shaped fronds joined to a branched base beside mature hardwoods.

Study field marks

## [Turkey Tail](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/turkey-tail)

Trametes versicolor

Thin flexible fans with velvety multicolored bands above and a dense white pore surface below.

Study field marks

## [Western Matsutake](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/western-matsutake)

Tricholoma murrillianum

A dense white pine mushroom with brown cap fibers, a sheathing ring, firm buried base, and a strong spicy odor.

Study field marks

## [Meadow Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/meadow-mushroom)

Agaricus campestris

A white grassland Agaricus whose free gills mature from pink to chocolate brown and whose base has no volva.

Study field marks

## [Black Trumpet](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/black-trumpet)

Craterellus cornucopioides

A thin charcoal funnel that is hollow to the base, with a smooth to faintly wrinkled gray outer surface and no gills.

Study field marks

## [Saffron Milk Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/saffron-milk-cap)

Lactarius deliciosus

An orange pine-associated milk cap with concentric cap zones, orange latex, and green staining where damaged.

Study field marks

## [Death Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/death-cap)

Amanita phalloides

A deadly olive, bronze, yellow, or pale Amanita with free white gills, a ring, white spores, and a buried sack-like volva.

Study field marks

## [Green-spored Parasol](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/green-spored-parasol)

Chlorophyllum molybdites

A large lawn parasol with brown cap scales, a movable ring, and gills that turn gray-green as its green spores mature.

Study field marks

## [Jack-o'-lantern](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/jack-o-lantern)

Omphalotus illudens

A poisonous orange mushroom in dense wood-based clusters, with sharp true gills descending the stem.

Study field marks

## [Deadly Galerina](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/deadly-galerina)

Galerina marginata

A small brown wood-growing mushroom with rusty gills and spores, a fragile ring zone, and potentially fatal amatoxins.

Study field marks

## [Common Earthball](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/common-earthball)

Scleroderma citrinum

A firm yellow-brown ball with a thick cracked rind and a purple-black interior that distinguishes it from edible-stage puffballs.

Study field marks

## [Common Ink Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/common-ink-cap)

Coprinopsis atramentaria

Smooth gray-brown clustered caps that dissolve into black ink and can trigger a severe alcohol reaction.

Study field marks

## [Rocky Mountain Porcini](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/rocky-mountain-porcini)

Boletus rubriceps

A high-elevation spruce bolete with a red-brown cap, white then yellow pores, and pale netting on a thick stem.

Study field marks

## [Spring King Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/spring-king-bolete)

Boletus rex-veris

A western spring porcini with a brown cap, thick netted stem, white-to-yellow pores, and little or no blue staining.

Study field marks

## [Aspen Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/aspen-bolete)

Leccinum insigne

An orange-capped bolete under aspen, with pale pores and a white stem covered in dark scabers.

Study field marks

## [Hemlock Reishi](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/reishi)

Ganoderma tsugae

A lacquered red-brown shelf on hemlock and other conifers, prized for tea and extracts rather than as a food mushroom.

Study field marks

## [Chaga](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/chaga)

Inonotus obliquus

A black, cracked, charcoal-like canker on birch trunks whose rusty orange interior is used for tea.

Study field marks

## [Jelly Ear](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/wood-ear)

Auricularia auricula-judae

A rubbery, ear-shaped brown jelly fungus on dead hardwood, especially elder, eaten widely after cooking.

Study field marks

## [Cauliflower Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/cauliflower-mushroom)

Sparassis crispa

A large cream rosette of flat, curly lobes at the base of conifers, easy to recognize and prized when fresh.

Study field marks

## [Indigo Milk Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/indigo-milk-cap)

Lactarius indigo

A striking blue milk cap whose cut gills bleed blue latex that slowly stains green.

Study field marks

## [Dryad's Saddle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/dryads-saddle)

Cerioporus squamosus

A large spring polypore with feathery brown scales, big angular pores, and a fresh watermelon-rind smell.

Study field marks

## [Beefsteak Fungus](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/beefsteak-fungus)

Fistulina hepatica

A red, tongue-shaped bracket on oak and chestnut whose marbled flesh oozes red juice like raw meat.

Study field marks

## [Candy Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/candy-cap)

Lactarius rubidus

A small orange-brown Pacific coast milk cap with watery latex and a maple-syrup aroma that intensifies when dried.

Study field marks

## [Pacific Golden Chanterelle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/pacific-golden-chanterelle)

Cantharellus formosus

The common golden chanterelle of the Pacific Northwest, with blunt, forked false gills and a pinkish tone.

Study field marks

## [Cinnabar Chanterelle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/cinnabar-chanterelle)

Cantharellus cinnabarinus

A small, brilliant red-pink chanterelle of eastern North American hardwood forests.

Study field marks

## [Yellowfoot](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/yellowfoot)

Craterellus tubaeformis

A slender brown-capped chanterelle relative with a hollow yellow stem and gray forked ridges, fruiting late into winter.

Study field marks

## [Wood Blewit](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/wood-blewit)

Collybia nuda

A lilac-violet mushroom of autumn leaf litter and compost with a fruity smell and a pinkish-buff spore print.

Study field marks

## [Parasol Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/parasol-mushroom)

Macrolepiota procera

A towering meadow mushroom with a scaly brown cap up to 30 cm, a snakeskin-patterned stem, and a movable double ring.

Study field marks

## [Shaggy Parasol](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/shaggy-parasol)

Chlorophyllum rhacodes

A shaggy-scaled parasol of conifer litter and compost whose cut flesh stains saffron then reddish brown.

Study field marks

## [Honey Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/honey-mushroom)

Armillaria mellea

Dense clusters of honey-colored caps on wood and roots, linked by black bootlace strands under bark.

Study field marks

## [Velvet Shank](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/velvet-shank)

Flammulina velutipes

A cold-season cluster of sticky orange-brown caps on dead hardwood, with a velvety dark stem.

Study field marks

## [Wine Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/wine-cap)

Stropharia rugosoannulata

A large burgundy mushroom of wood chips and gardens with a ridged cogwheel ring and purple-black gills.

Study field marks

## [Bay Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/bay-bolete)

Imleria badia

A chestnut-brown bolete of conifer woods whose cream pores bruise blue when pressed.

Study field marks

## [Slippery Jack](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/slippery-jack)

Suillus luteus

A slimy brown pine bolete with a prominent purplish ring, now common in pine plantations worldwide.

Study field marks

## [Old Man of the Woods](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/old-man-of-the-woods)

Strobilomyces strobilaceus

A shaggy gray-and-black bolete that looks like a pine cone, with gray pores bruising red then black.

Study field marks

## [Pine Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/pine-bolete)

Boletus pinophilus

A porcini with a wine-red to mahogany cap, found under pines and spruce across Europe.

Study field marks

## [Summer Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/summer-bolete)

Boletus reticulatus

An early porcini with a pale, often cracked brown cap and a fine white net over the entire stem.

Study field marks

## [Orange Birch Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/orange-birch-bolete)

Leccinum versipelle

A bright orange bolete under birch with a scabrous, black-flecked stem and flesh that darkens when cut.

Study field marks

## [Brown Birch Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/brown-birch-bolete)

Leccinum scabrum

A common brown-capped bolete of birch with a white stem covered in dark scabers.

Study field marks

## [St George's Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/st-georges-mushroom)

Calocybe gambosa

A stocky white spring mushroom of grassland and hedgerows with crowded white gills and a strong mealy smell.

Study field marks

## [Fairy Ring Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/fairy-ring-mushroom)

Marasmius oreades

A small tan lawn mushroom with widely spaced gills and a tough, bendable stem, growing in rings.

Study field marks

## [Horse Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/horse-mushroom)

Agaricus arvensis

A large white grassland Agaricus with an aniseed smell, a cogwheel ring, and gills maturing to chocolate brown.

Study field marks

## [Amethyst Deceiver](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/amethyst-deceiver)

Laccaria amethystina

A slender, intensely violet woodland mushroom with thick, widely spaced gills that fades when dry.

Study field marks

## [The Blusher](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/blusher)

Amanita rubescens

A reddish-brown Amanita with pale warts whose flesh and bruises turn pinkish red, especially at the stem base.

Study field marks

## [Caesar's Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/caesars-mushroom)

Amanita caesarea

A brilliant orange Amanita with yellow gills and a large white sac volva, prized in southern Europe since Roman times.

Study field marks

## [American Caesar's Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/american-caesars-mushroom)

Amanita jacksonii

A red-orange Amanita of eastern North America with a striate cap margin, yellow gills, and a white sac volva.

Study field marks

## [Charcoal Burner](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/charcoal-burner)

Russula cyanoxantha

A variably colored Russula in violet, green, and gray whose gills are flexible rather than brittle.

Study field marks

## [Shrimp Russula](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/shrimp-russula)

Russula xerampelina

A red to purple-brown Russula that smells of shrimp or crab with age and bruises yellow-brown.

Study field marks

## [Weeping Milk Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/weeping-milk-cap)

Lactifluus volemus

An orange-brown milk cap that releases abundant white latex staining brown, with a fishy smell.

Study field marks

## [Pig's Ear](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/pigs-ear)

Gomphus clavatus

A purple, club-shaped relative of chanterelles with a wrinkled, veined underside, declining in parts of Europe.

Study field marks

## [Coral Tooth Fungus](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/coral-tooth)

Hericium coralloides

A white, branching fungus on dead hardwood with rows of short spines hanging from every branch.

Study field marks

## [Golden Oyster](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/golden-oyster)

Pleurotus citrinopileatus

Bright yellow clusters of oyster mushrooms on hardwood; native to East Asia and invasive in North American forests.

Study field marks

## [Mica Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/mica-cap)

Coprinellus micaceus

Small tawny bell-shaped caps sprinkled with glittering granules, in dense clusters on wood.

Study field marks

## [Aborted Entoloma](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/aborted-entoloma)

Entoloma abortivum

Whitish, lumpy masses beside gray gilled Entoloma mushrooms, formed where Entoloma and honey mushrooms interact.

Study field marks

## [Sheathed Woodtuft](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/sheathed-woodtuft)

Kuehneromyces mutabilis

A clustered brown mushroom on stumps with two-toned drying caps and a scaly stem below the ring.

Study field marks

## [Matsutake](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/matsutake)

Tricholoma matsutake

A prized, spicy-smelling mushroom of red pine forests in East Asia and northern Europe with a sheathing ring.

Study field marks

## [Llao Llao](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/llao-llao)

Cyttaria hariotii

Golden, pitted balls that grow from galls on southern beech branches in Patagonia.

Study field marks

## [Deer Mushroom](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/deer-mushroom)

Pluteus cervinus

A brown-capped mushroom on dead wood with free white gills that turn pink and a pink spore print.

Study field marks

## [Crown-tipped Coral](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/crown-tipped-coral)

Artomyces pyxidatus

A candelabra-like coral fungus on rotting hardwood, each branch ending in a small crown of points.

Study field marks

## [Panther Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/panther-cap)

Amanita pantherina

A brown Amanita with pure white warts, a striate margin, and a rimmed bulb, more toxic than the fly agaric.

Study field marks

## [European Destroying Angel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/european-destroying-angel)

Amanita virosa

A pure white, deadly Amanita of northern European woods with a shaggy stem and a large sac-like volva.

Study field marks

## [Western Destroying Angel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/western-destroying-angel)

Amanita ocreata

A white, deadly Amanita of California and the Pacific coast that fruits in late winter and spring under oaks.

Study field marks

## [Smith's Amanita](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/smiths-amanita)

Amanita smithiana

A shaggy white Amanita of Pacific Northwest conifer forests that causes delayed kidney failure.

Study field marks

## [False Death Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/false-death-cap)

Amanita citrina

A pale lemon to white Amanita with a large rimmed bulb and a raw-potato smell, easily confused with the death cap.

Study field marks

## [Sulphur Tuft](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/sulphur-tuft)

Hypholoma fasciculare

Dense clusters of sulphur-yellow caps with greenish gills on stumps, bitter tasting and poisonous.

Study field marks

## [Fool's Funnel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/fools-funnel)

Collybia rivulosa

A small, frosty-white lawn mushroom with decurrent gills that contains muscarine and grows beside fairy rings.

Study field marks

## [Deadly Webcap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/deadly-webcap)

Cortinarius rubellus

An orange-brown webcap of wet conifer forests containing orellanine, which causes delayed kidney failure.

Study field marks

## [Fool's Webcap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/fools-webcap)

Cortinarius orellanus

A tawny-orange webcap of European broadleaf woods whose toxin, orellanine, destroys the kidneys.

Study field marks

## [Brown Roll-rim](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/brown-roll-rim)

Paxillus involutus

A brown mushroom with a strongly inrolled rim and soft gills that bruise brown, once eaten but now known to be dangerous.

Study field marks

## [Devil's Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/devils-bolete)

Rubroboletus satanas

A stout pale-capped bolete with red pores and a red-netted stem, found on chalky soils under oak and beech.

Study field marks

## [Bitter Bolete](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/bitter-bolete)

Tylopilus felleus

A king-bolete lookalike with pinkish pores, a dark net on the stem, and a taste so bitter it ruins a meal.

Study field marks

## [The Sickener](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/the-sickener)

Russula emetica

A scarlet Russula of wet conifer woods with pure white gills and a burning, acrid taste.

Study field marks

## [Woolly Milk Cap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/woolly-milk-cap)

Lactarius torminosus

A pinkish, zoned milk cap with a woolly, bearded margin and acrid white latex, found with birch.

Study field marks

## [Yellow Stainer](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/yellow-stainer)

Agaricus xanthodermus

A white Agaricus that instantly stains chrome yellow when scratched, especially at the cut stem base, and smells of ink.

Study field marks

## [False Chanterelle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/false-chanterelle)

Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca

An orange mushroom with thin, crowded, repeatedly forked true gills, often mistaken for a chanterelle.

Study field marks

## [Ghost Fungus](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/ghost-fungus)

Omphalotus nidiformis

A creamy, fan-shaped Australian mushroom that glows green in the dark and causes vomiting when eaten.

Study field marks

## [Stinking Dapperling](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/stinking-dapperling)

Lepiota cristata

A small white Lepiota with a brown center and concentric scales, a fragile ring, and a rubbery chemical smell.

Study field marks

## [Deadly Fibrecap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/deadly-fibrecap)

Inosperma erubescens

A cream fibrous-capped spring mushroom that reddens with age and has caused fatal muscarine poisoning.

Study field marks

## [Ringed Conecap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/ringed-conecap)

Pholiotina rugosa

A small brown lawn and mulch mushroom with a movable ring and rusty spores that contains deadly amatoxins.

Study field marks

## [Livid Pinkgill](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/livid-pinkgill)

Entoloma sinuatum

A large pale gray-buff mushroom with yellowish gills that turn pink, a mealy smell, and a pink spore print.

Study field marks

## [Man on Horseback](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/man-on-horseback)

Tricholoma equestre

A yellow knight mushroom of sandy pine forests once widely eaten, now linked to fatal muscle breakdown.

Study field marks

## [Early False Morel](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/early-false-morel)

Verpa bohemica

An early-spring morel lookalike whose wrinkled cap hangs free from the top of a cotton-filled stem.

Study field marks

## [White Saddle](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/white-saddle)

Helvella crispa

A pale, saddle-shaped cup fungus on a deeply furrowed, chambered stem, toxic raw.

Study field marks

## [Angel Wings](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/angel-wings)

Pleurocybella porrigens

Thin, pure white, ear-shaped caps on rotting conifer wood, once eaten and now linked to fatal brain illness.

Study field marks

## [Artist's Conk](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/artists-conk)

Ganoderma applanatum

A large, woody, perennial bracket with a dull crusty top and a white pore surface that bruises brown when scratched.

Study field marks

## [Birch Polypore](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/birch-polypore)

Fomitopsis betulina

A smooth, pale, kidney-shaped bracket that grows only on birch, carried by Ötzi the Iceman 5,300 years ago.

Study field marks

## [Tinder Fungus](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/tinder-fungus)

Fomes fomentarius

A gray, hoof-shaped perennial bracket on birch and beech, used for millennia to carry fire.

Study field marks

## [Scarlet Elf Cup](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/scarlet-elf-cup)

Sarcoscypha coccinea

A brilliant scarlet cup fungus on mossy fallen sticks in winter and early spring.

Study field marks

## [Orange Peel Fungus](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/orange-peel-fungus)

Aleuria aurantia

A bright orange cup fungus on bare, disturbed soil that looks like discarded orange peel.

Study field marks

## [Common Stinkhorn](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/common-stinkhorn)

Phallus impudicus

A white spongy stalk topped with foul-smelling olive slime that hatches from a buried egg and attracts flies.

Study field marks

## [Collared Earthstar](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/collared-earthstar)

Geastrum triplex

A puffball whose outer skin splits into star-shaped rays, often with a saucer-like collar under the spore sac.

Study field marks

## [Scarlet Waxcap](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/scarlet-waxcap)

Hygrocybe coccinea

A brilliant scarlet waxcap of old, unfertilized grasslands, where it signals valuable habitat.

Study field marks

## [Witches' Butter](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/species/witches-butter)

Tremella mesenterica

A bright yellow, lobed jelly fungus on dead hardwood branches in cool, wet weather.

Study field marks

## Identification is a process, not a picture match

Confirm cap, underside, stem, base, interior, spore print, substrate, and habitat. Use multiple reputable sources and a qualified local expert before considering consumption.

Read safety rules

## Build your field skills

All practical guides

Mushrooms

## [Mushroom foraging for beginners](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/foraging/beginners)

Start with observation, local teaching, and a small study collection before considering food use.

Read the guide

Seasons

## [When is mushroom season? Reading regional field signals](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/foraging/mushroom-season)

Mushroom seasons vary by species, habitat and climate; dated observations help plan visits but do not predict a harvest.

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Herbs

## [Wild herb gathering: a field reference workflow](https://worldmushroomforaging.org/learn/foraging/wild-herb-gathering)

Identify the exact plant, relevant part and growth stage, then check local permissions and safety before considering gathering.

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Shape the next release

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