Funeral Bell vs Green-Staining Gymnopilus
Galerina marginata compared with Gymnopilus viridans — how to tell them apart in the field.
This is a dangerous confusion.
At least one of these species is toxic. Never eat a wild mushroom based on a photo comparison alone — verify with local experts.
How to Tell Them Apart
A critically dangerous look-alike that also grows in clusters on dead wood. Galerina marginata contains amatoxins and is potentially lethal. Key differences: Galerina is smaller, has a brown spore print (not rusty orange), thinner flesh, and a more fragile stem. Always check the spore print when identifying wood-inhabiting brown mushrooms.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Funeral Bell | Green-Staining Gymnopilus |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 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. | 3–10 cm across. Convex when young, expanding to broadly convex or nearly flat with age. Surface dry, fibrillose to slightly scaly. Color ranges from tawny-orange to golden-brown, developing greenish to olive-green stains with handling or age. Margin may be slightly inrolled when young. |
| Gills | Attached to slightly decurrent. Crowded, yellowish-brown becoming rusty brown as spores mature. Edges may appear slightly lighter. | Attached (adnate to slightly decurrent). Moderately crowded. Pale yellow to rusty orange as spores mature. May develop greenish tones near cap margin. Edges slightly uneven. |
| Stem | 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. | 4–10 cm tall, 1–2.5 cm thick. Solid, fibrous. Pale yellowish to tawny, often with a fibrillose or slightly scaly surface. Partial veil may leave a faint ring zone that catches rusty spore deposits. Base may show greenish staining. |
| Spore print | Rusty brown to orange-brown — a critical identification feature that separates it from Psilocybe species (which have purple-brown to black spore prints). | Rusty orange-brown. |
| Odor | Mealy or flour-like when fresh. Some describe it as faintly earthy. | Not distinctive. Taste bitter, as with most Gymnopilus species. |
| Habitat | 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. | Saprotrophic on dead conifer wood. Found on fallen logs, stumps, and buried roots in moist coniferous forests. Prefers mature and old-growth stands of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce. Fruits in small to medium clusters. |
| 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. | Late summer through autumn, typically August through November. Most collections are from September and October during the wet season in 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.