Mica Cap vs Funeral Bell
Coprinellus micaceus compared with Galerina marginata — 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
DEADLY POISONOUS. A critical look-alike that also grows in clusters on dead wood. Smaller, with a brown cap that lacks mica granules and does NOT deliquesce. Has a distinct membranous ring on the stem and a brown (not black) spore print. Contains amatoxins identical to those in the Death Cap. Always check for the ring and spore print color if in any doubt.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Mica Cap | Funeral Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 1–4 cm across. Egg-shaped to cylindrical when young, expanding to bell-shaped (campanulate) and finally flattening with age. Surface tawny-brown to date-brown, paler toward the margin, with a darker rusty-brown center. Young caps covered in fine, glistening, mica-like granules (veil remnants) that are easily washed off by rain. Margin becomes striate and eventually splits and curls upward as the cap deliquesces. Flesh thin and fragile. | 1.5-5 cm across. Convex when young, flattening with age. Honey-brown to tawny when moist, drying to a pale tan from the center outward (hygrophanous). Smooth, slightly sticky when wet. Margin often shows faint striations when moist. |
| Gills | Crowded and narrowly attached (adnate) to nearly free. White when very young, quickly progressing through pale tan to brown, then dark brown, and finally black as they liquefy (deliquesce) from the margin inward. The black inky liquid is loaded with mature spores. | Attached to slightly decurrent. Crowded, yellowish-brown becoming rusty brown as spores mature. Edges may appear slightly lighter. |
| Stem | 4–10 cm tall, 2–5 mm thick. White to pale cream, smooth or finely silky. Hollow. Fragile and easily broken. No ring, though very young specimens may show a faint fibrillose zone. Base may be slightly swollen where multiple stems are fused together in a cluster. | 3-8 cm tall, 3-8 mm thick. Pale above the ring, darker brown below. Has a fragile, membranous ring (annulus) that often darkens with deposited spores. Base may have whitish mycelial threads. |
| Spore print | Dark brown to black. | Rusty brown to orange-brown — a critical identification feature that separates it from Psilocybe species (which have purple-brown to black spore prints). |
| Odor | Mild, not distinctive. Faintly mushroomy. | Mealy or flour-like when fresh. Some describe it as faintly earthy. |
| Habitat | Saprotrophic on dead or buried hardwood — stumps, roots, fallen logs, and old timber. Commonly found at the base of deciduous trees (especially elm, oak, beech, and ash), along roadsides, in parks, gardens, cemeteries, and disturbed urban areas. Almost always grows in dense clusters of 10 to 100+ fruiting bodies. Can also appear in lawns or flower beds where buried wood is present beneath the soil. | Strictly saprotrophic — feeds on dead and decaying wood. Found on logs, stumps, buried roots, and wood chip mulch. Prefers conifer wood but also appears on hardwoods. Common in forests, parks, gardens, and landscaped areas with wood chip beds. |
| Season | Spring through late autumn, typically April through November in temperate regions. Can fruit year-round in mild climates. Peak fruiting in autumn. Often produces multiple flushes from the same buried wood source throughout the season. | Fruits from spring through late autumn, with peak fruiting in September-November in temperate regions. Can appear year-round in mild, wet climates like the Pacific Northwest. |
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.