Funeral Bell vs Teonanácatl
Galerina marginata compared with Psilocybe mexicana — 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.
Funeral Bell
Galerina marginata
Deadly
Teonanácatl / Mexican Magic Mushroom
Psilocybe mexicana
ToxicPsychoactive
How to Tell Them Apart
DEADLY POISONOUS. Similar small brown mushroom with brown spore print (not purple-brown). Grows on decaying wood, not grassy slopes. Has a ring on the stem. Always take a spore print — Galerina has rusty-brown spores, Psilocybe has purple-brown.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Funeral Bell | Teonanácatl |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 1-3 cm across. Conical to campanulate (bell-shaped), sometimes with a small umbo. Straw-yellow to brown, darker when moist, paler when dry. Surface smooth, slightly hygrophanous. Margin sometimes slightly translucent-striate when wet. |
| Gills | Attached to slightly decurrent. Crowded, yellowish-brown becoming rusty brown as spores mature. Edges may appear slightly lighter. | Adnate to adnexed, moderately spaced. Gray to purple-brown at maturity. Edges whitish. |
| 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. | 4-12 cm tall, 1-3 mm thick. Thin, wiry, and flexible. Yellowish to reddish-brown, darker toward the base. Hollow. May show faint blue-green bruising when handled. |
| 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. |
| Bruising | — | Blue-green bruising on stem and cap when damaged, though often faint. Indicates presence of psilocybin. |
| Odor | Mealy or flour-like when fresh. Some describe it as faintly earthy. | — |
| 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. | Grows in small groups on mossy, grassy slopes and trails in subtropical cloud forests, often among mosses and grasses at elevations of 1,000-1,800 meters. Also found in meadows and roadsides at the margins of forests. Occasionally in disturbed grassy areas. |
| 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. | May through October, corresponding with the rainy season in southern Mexico and Central America. Peak fruiting in June through August. |
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.