Good Mushroom Bad Mushroom. John Plischke

DESCRIPTION

      Galerina mushrooms are typically brownish colored, and for the most part are very difficult to identify to species, many requiring a microscope. It is important to learn about this mushroom because it has been responsible for numerous poisonings. Can be mistaken for other mushrooms, including Stump Mushrooms, the Velvet Foot, and Magic Mushrooms. In the recent past this mushroom was called Galerina autumnalis. It is from ½" – 4" tall.

      Flesh: Creamy to brownish. Much thinner than the gills and usually less than ¹⁄₁₆" thick.

      Cap: ½" – 2½" wide and ⅛" – ⁵⁄₁₆" tall. Brownish to light yellowish brown with hints or spots of orangish. Typically becomes lighter as it ages or dries out, when tan tones then develop at places. Convex, becoming almost flat with age. Outer edge of its margin can be lined.

      Gills: ¹⁄₁₆" to ¼" deep, and attached to the stalk. Yellowish brown, becoming spore colored as they mature.

       Deadly Galerina on moss-covered wood

      Spore Print: Rusty brown.

      Stalk: ½" – 3¾" tall and ⅛" – ⅜" wide, and often wider at the base. The partial veil leaves a ring that does not stick out much on the stalk. Stalk gets darker as the mushroom matures. Brownish, but can be whitish at places; also smooth and hollow. Has white colored mycelium that can occasionally be seen when pulled out of loose, rotted wood.

       WHERE, WHEN & HOW TO LOOK

      Where: On rotten wood such as logs usually missing the bark. On both hardwood and conifers.

      When: May to December, more commonly, but some all year. Can even be found frozen in December.

      How they appear: In small groups to scattered or in larger amounts.

      How common…how rare? Common in the U.S. and in eastern and western Canada.

       LOOK-ALIKES

      American and European DNA collections of both G. marginata and G. autumnalis have been compared and they are identical, proving they are a single species, now called Galerina marginata. This name was chosen because it was published first.

       EDIBILITY

      Extremely Poisonous. Can cause death. The lucky ones who survive have extended hospital stays and thousands of dollars in medical bills. Two common stories told by survivors of poisoning by this mushroom: 1) “I thought I could skip the spore printing because it took too long.” If they had taken the time, they would have seen that this mushroom has a rusty brown print and the mushroom that they thought it was had a white spore print; and 2) “I did do the spore print, but I thought the book was wrong.” When you’re dealing with possible fatal poisoning, it’s a good idea to trust the book. And always spore print. It may save your life.

FLY AGARIC

       (Amanita amerimuscaria nom. prov.)

       DESCRIPTION

      This mushroom gets its common name because it has been used to “kill” flies. In the recent past there were three forms: Amanita muscara var. formosa (yellowish orange capped; Amanita muscaria var. muscaria (reddish capped); and var. alba (whitish capped). These color forms from the lower 48 states and Canada have now been combined under one name because of DNA testing. The ameri was added in front of species Muscaria to indicate that ones found in North America differ from ones found in Alaska, Europe and Asia; however, one in the Pacific Northwest appears to be a form of the European ones.

      Flesh: White.

      Cap: 2" – 12" wide. Convex, becoming almost flat with age. Color forms can be yellowish orange (more common in the East), reddish (more common in parts of the West), or whitish, which is uncommon. Colors often fade some with age. Outer edge has small lines around it. Sticky when wet, and can be shiny. Whitish raised patches or warts on top.

       Fly Agaric – yellow-orange form

      Gills: Free and crowded. White to whitish. Sometimes barely attached to the stalk.

      Spore Print: White.

      Stalk: 2" – 7¼" tall and ¼ – 1⅜" thick. Whitish but can develop yellowish tones at places. Its universal veil leaves the warts on the cap and on the multiple layers of rings around its roundish, bulb-like base. The rings are one of the keys for ID’ing.

       WHERE, WHEN & HOW TO LOOK

      Where: On the soil under fir, spruce, pine, hemlock, birch, oak – also under madrone, but not often. Typically found under conifers.

      When: June to November. California, fall through the winter into spring

      How they appear: Singly to in small or extremely large groups. Can be either scattered about or growing in a circle around a conifer.

      How common…how rare? Very common.

       LOOK-ALIKES

      Many Amanitas, including: A. muscaria var. persicina, which differs by being peach colored and from the South; the edible but not recommended American Caesar’s Mushroom (A. caesarea)