Honey Fungus vs Deadly Webcap
Armillaria mellea compared with Cortinarius rubellus — how to tell them apart in the field.
This is a dangerous confusion.
At least one of these species is potentially deadly. Never eat a wild mushroom based on a photo comparison alone — verify with local experts.
How to Tell Them Apart
Grows in clusters on wood (not from soil), has a white spore print, and a prominent ring on the stem. Color can overlap with Webcaps, but the clustered growth on dead wood is distinctive.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Honey Fungus | Deadly Webcap |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 3–15 cm across. Convex when young, flattening with age. Honey-yellow to tawny brown, sometimes with an olive tinge. Surface has fine dark scales or hairs concentrated at the center. Sticky when wet. | 3-8 cm across. Conical to convex, often with a distinct pointed umbo (central bump). Tawny orange to rusty brown, with fine radial fibers on the surface. Slightly hygrophanous, becoming paler as it dries. |
| Gills | White to pale cream when young, developing pinkish-brown spots with age. Slightly decurrent (running down the stem). Moderately spaced. | Broadly attached to the stem. Initially yellow-orange, becoming rusty brown with age as spores mature. Fairly widely spaced. |
| Stem | 5–15 cm tall, 1–2 cm thick. Tough and fibrous — the lower portion is often too woody to eat. Pale above the ring, darker brown and somewhat scaly below. Has a prominent white to yellowish ring (annulus) near the top. | 5-11 cm tall, same color as the cap or slightly paler. Fibrous and often slightly thickened at the base. Young specimens show remnants of the rusty cortina (cobweb veil) on the upper stem. |
| Spore print | White to pale cream. | Rusty brown. |
| Odor | Pleasant, slightly sweet and mushroomy. Some describe it as faintly honey-like. | Slightly radish-like or faintly earthy. Not strongly distinctive. |
| Habitat | Parasitic on living trees and saprotrophic on dead wood. Attacks hardwoods and conifers alike — oaks, maples, birches, spruces, firs. Spreads underground via thick black rhizomorphs (bootlace-like cords) that can extend several meters through soil to infect new hosts. Commonly found at the base of weakened or dying trees, on stumps, and on buried roots. | Mycorrhizal with conifers, especially spruce and pine. Found in damp, mossy coniferous forests, often at higher elevations or in northern latitudes. Grows in acidic, nutrient-poor soils. |
| Season | Late summer through late autumn. Peak fruiting is September–November in the Northern Hemisphere. Often appears in large flushes after autumn rains. | August through November. Most common in September and October in northern Europe. |
Found one of these in the wild? Don't rely on memory — identify it from a photo with Orangutany and check it against both species before you touch it.