Funeral Bell vs Flying Saucer
Galerina marginata compared with Psilocybe azurescens — 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
DEADLY. Can grow in similar wood-rich habitats. Galerina has a rusty brown spore print (not purple-brown), does NOT bruise blue, and has a more persistent membranous ring. The absence of blue bruising and the wrong spore print color are the critical distinguishing features.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Funeral Bell | Flying Saucer |
|---|---|---|
| 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, expanding to broadly convex or flat with a pronounced central umbo. Caramel to chestnut brown when moist, drying to a pale straw color or buff (strongly hygrophanous). Surface is smooth, slightly viscid when wet, often with a silky sheen when dry. Bruises intensely blue-black. |
| Gills | Attached to slightly decurrent. Crowded, yellowish-brown becoming rusty brown as spores mature. Edges may appear slightly lighter. | Broadly attached (adnate) to slightly descending. Two-toned: pale brown at first, darkening to dark chocolate-brown or purple-brown. Bruise blue-black when damaged. Edges may be 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. | 9-20 cm tall, 3-6 mm thick. White, silky-fibrous, often curved at the base. Bruises intensely blue throughout. Has a fibrous annular zone from the partial veil, often stained dark by deposited spores. Base densely covered with white rhizomorphs that bind into the sandy substrate. |
| 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 purple-black. |
| Odor | Mealy or flour-like when fresh. Some describe it as faintly earthy. | Farinaceous (mealy), similar to fresh flour or cucumber. |
| 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 decaying wood buried in sandy coastal soils. Associated with European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) and coastal dune environments. Grows in sandy, wood-rich substrates, including driftwood deposits, woody debris piles, and wood chip mulch near the coast. Strongly associated with the maritime climate of the Pacific Northwest coast. |
| 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 September through January, with peak fruiting in late October through November. Triggered by autumn rains and cool coastal temperatures between 5-15C (40-60F). Some years produce massive flushes; other years are sparse, depending on rainfall timing. |
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.