Funeral Bell vs Allen's Psilocybe
Galerina marginata compared with Psilocybe allenii — 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. Small brown wood-chip mushroom containing amatoxins. Has a brown spore print (not purple-brown), a membranous ring, rusty-brown gills, and does NOT bruise blue. Can fruit alongside Psilocybe species — the most dangerous misidentification risk in this habitat.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Funeral Bell | Allen's Psilocybe |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 1.5-6 cm diameter. Convex to broadly convex, sometimes with a low umbo. Chestnut to caramel brown when moist, drying to pale buff (strongly hygrophanous). Surface smooth, slightly viscid. Margin even to slightly wavy. Bruises blue. |
| Gills | Attached to slightly decurrent. Crowded, yellowish-brown becoming rusty brown as spores mature. Edges may appear slightly lighter. | Adnate to sinuate, close. Pale brown when young, darkening to purple-brown to dark violet-brown at maturity. Edges slightly lighter. |
| 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. | 4-9 cm tall, 3-7 mm thick. White, silky fibrous surface. Bruises blue readily. Partial veil leaves a fragile, often evanescent annular zone that darkens with spore deposit. |
| 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). | Dark purple-brown to violet-brown. |
| Odor | Mealy or flour-like when fresh. Some describe it as faintly earthy. | Farinaceous (flour-like) when fresh. Bluing reaction: all parts bruise blue to blue-green within minutes of handling — a key diagnostic feature caused by psilocin oxidation. |
| 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. | Urban and suburban landscapes with wood chip mulch, garden beds, park trails, highway medians, and commercial landscaping. Strongly associated with hardwood chips (alder, maple, eucalyptus, oak). Occasionally on woody debris in disturbed soils. Rarely in undisturbed forest. |
| 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 autumn through early winter (October-February), with peak fruiting after the first sustained rains and cool temperatures. In mild coastal climates, fruiting can extend into March. |
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.