Sulphur Tuft vs Wavy Cap
Hypholoma fasciculare compared with Psilocybe cyanescens — 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
Bitter and mildly toxic. Grows in clusters on wood. Has a sulfur-yellow to greenish-yellow cap (not brown), greenish gills, and a bitter taste. Does not bruise blue. Spore print is purple-brown. The yellow coloring is distinctive.
Side-by-Side Identification
| Trait | Sulphur Tuft | Wavy Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 2-7 cm across. Convex, becoming broadly convex to flat. Sulfur-yellow at the margin, deepening to orange or tawny-brown at the center. Surface smooth, sometimes with faint veil remnants at the margin when young. | 2-5 cm across. Convex when young, flattening and developing the characteristic wavy, undulating margin with age. Caramel-brown to chestnut when moist, drying to pale buff or yellowish from the center outward (strongly hygrophanous). Surface is smooth and slightly sticky when wet. Bruises blue-green when damaged. |
| Gills | Adnate (broadly attached to the stem). Start sulfur-yellow, then turn greenish-yellow, and finally darken to purple-brown as spores mature. The green tinge in mid-development is distinctive. | Broadly attached to the stem (adnate). Pale brown when young, darkening to dark purple-brown as spores mature. Edges often slightly lighter. Bruise blue when damaged. |
| Stem | 5-10 cm tall, slender, curved, sulfur-yellow above and brownish below. Fibrous, often with faint ring zone from the veil. Hollow or stuffed. Grows in dense clusters with stems fused at the base. | 3-8 cm tall, 3-6 mm thick. White, often with a silky fibrous texture. Bruises strongly blue when handled. Usually has a thin, fragile partial veil that leaves a faint ring zone that catches purple-brown spores. Base often has white rhizomorphs extending into the wood chip substrate. |
| Spore print | Purple-brown to dark violet-brown. | Dark purple-brown to nearly black. This separates it from the deadly Galerina marginata, which has a rusty brown spore print. |
| Odor | Mushroomy but not distinctive. The intensely bitter taste is a more useful identification feature than the smell. | Farinaceous (mealy or flour-like) when fresh. |
| Habitat | Saprotrophic on dead wood, especially stumps, fallen logs, and buried roots of both broadleaf and coniferous trees. One of the most common wood-decay fungi in temperate forests. Found in all types of woodland, parks, and gardens wherever dead wood is present. | Saprotrophic on lignin-rich wood chips and mulch. Thrives in landscaped areas, park paths, garden borders, playgrounds, and any setting where hardwood or conifer chips have been spread. Also found on woody debris along riparian corridors. Prefers cool, moist conditions. |
| Season | Year-round, though most abundant from September through November. Can fruit in any month during mild weather. | Autumn through early winter, typically October through January. Fruiting is triggered by the first cold rains after temperatures drop below 15C (60F). In the Pacific Northwest, peak season is November. Can fruit into February in mild years. |
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.