# Mushroom Identification **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326 "2017-06-07T00:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/1 "2017-06-07T00:22:30Z")
Okay Dopers! What kind of mushrooms are these? [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/4196/35015779901_e63cb8a125_k.jpg "zakalwe 0517 has shared 2 photos with you!") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155654137@N06/shares/uQMgC0) I could have sworn I had a copy of the Field Guide, but apparently it’s gotten lost in one several moves. I spent a while looking at Google, but damn. Location is Tallahassee, FL (if that helps). They are growing in the middle of pots filled with other plants (so the spores may have come in with the potting soil). It’s been rainy and hot lately. Don’t see any others around the yard, just in the pots. Mods, I’m not asking because I plan to eat them, just curious. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/2 "2017-06-07T01:18:58Z")
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii aka Lepiota. aka potting soil mushroom Look cool and wont mess with your plants but don’t eat them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/3 "2017-06-07T02:51:18Z")
Just remember these two simple rules. 1. You can eat any wild mushroom. 2. You can eat some wild mushrooms a second time. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/4 "2017-06-07T03:05:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Just remember these two simple rules. > > 1. You can eat any wild mushroom. > 2. You can eat some wild mushrooms a second time. 1. The ones you can eat a second time may look, smell, and taste indistinguishable from the ones you only get to eat once. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/5 "2017-06-07T03:09:33Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Leucocoprinus birnbaumii > > aka Lepiota. aka potting soil mushroom > > Look cool and wont mess with your plants but don’t eat them. I know exactly squat about mushrooms, but I always thought those were canary yellow? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/6 "2017-06-07T03:26:02Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Look cool and wont mess with your plants but don’t eat them. Never ever ever eat mushrooms unless you are 100% sure they are safe to eat. That means stuff in the supermarket is fine. Stuff you get from your foraging friend not so much. This just happened recently: [14 People Poisoned In California After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushrooms](https://weather.com/science/nature/news/california-death-cap-mushrooms) Some mushrooms are apparently very similar in looks and one is yummy and one will kill you. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/7 "2017-06-07T03:36:56Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Never ever ever eat mushrooms unless you are 100% sure they are safe to eat. > > That means stuff in the supermarket is fine. Stuff you get from your foraging friend not so much. > > This just happened recently: > > [14 People Poisoned In California After Eating ‘Death Cap’ Mushrooms](https://weather.com/science/nature/news/california-death-cap-mushrooms) > > Some mushrooms are apparently very similar in looks and one is yummy and one will kill you. I wonder if that’s a case of people from another part of the world confusing the mushroom for a look-alike that is edible in their country of origin. Seems to happen a good deal. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/8 "2017-06-07T03:54:29Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I know exactly squat about mushrooms, but I always thought those were canary yellow? They can get fairly pale, but there is always some yellow and there does appear to be a hint in that picture. Could be the right I.D. or it could be the right genus, but a closely related species like _L. cepaestipes_. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/9 "2017-06-07T04:01:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder if that’s a case of people from another part of the world confusing the mushroom for a look-alike that is edible in their country of origin. Seems to happen a good deal. Indeed in California it seems Asian and Eastern European immigrants of various sorts are often the victims. But it can nail anyone who confuses [Death caps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_cap) for [Coccoli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_calyptroderma). Damn things will sometimes even be found growing right next to each other. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/10 "2017-06-07T04:46:48Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Indeed in California it seems Asian and Eastern European immigrants of various sorts are often the victims. But it can nail anyone who confuses [Death caps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_cap) for [Coccoli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_calyptroderma). Damn things will sometimes even be found growing right next to each other. Good enough reason not to eat or forage for Coccoli for me. There’s plenty other mushrooms that don’t have deathly poisonous lookalikes out there. (And, yes, around here the stories I’ve heard are also about Eastern Europeans picking mushrooms that are safe back in the homeland with no native lookalikes, only to discover that here in North America, there are some.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/11 "2017-06-07T06:12:50Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > 1. The ones you can eat a second time may look, smell, and taste indistinguishable from the ones you only get to eat once. True only to the untrained. If it were really impossible to distinguish one species from another, there wouldn’t be defined species. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/12 "2017-06-07T06:35:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > True only to the untrained. If it were really impossible to distinguish one species from another, there wouldn’t be defined species. Some are nearly impossible to differentiate. I go on forays with renowned phd mycologists and there is always a pile of lbms. Little brown mushrooms they call them. Outside of DNA typing they are impossible to tell apart. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/13 "2017-06-07T08:44:39Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Some are nearly impossible to differentiate. I go on forays with renowned phd mycologists and there is always a pile of lbms. Little brown mushrooms they call them. Outside of DNA typing they are impossible to tell apart. I guess those are an exception… except, LBMs are a little outside of the range of what most people would consider a ‘mushroom’ (at least in terms of it being worthwhile even to ask ‘should I eat this?’) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/14 "2017-06-07T11:02:13Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Leucocoprinus birnbaumii > > aka Lepiota. aka potting soil mushroom > > Look cool and wont mess with your plants but don’t eat them. Less than an hour! I love the Dope! > [@TruCelt](#): > > I know exactly squat about mushrooms, but I always thought those were canary yellow? > [@Tamerlane](#): > > They can get fairly pale, but there is always some yellow and there does appear to be a hint in that picture. Could be the right I.D. or it could be the right genus, but a closely related species like _L. cepaestipes_. Indeed they are a light yellow. Didn’t really come through on the picture. Thanks for the help folks! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/15 "2017-06-07T11:30:48Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Some mushrooms are apparently very similar in looks and one is yummy and one will kill you. Sure, but there are others that are relatively easy to definitively ID. We harvest Dryad’s Saddle, Shaggy Manes, Chicken-of-the-Woods, Oysters, Chanterelles, Morels, and a few other species from our woods. We also have spots where various _Aminita spp_ pop up each year. We belong to a mushroom club, and get definitive ID from a mycologist before ingestion of any new find. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/16 "2017-06-07T11:55:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Just remember these two simple rules. > > 1. You can eat any wild mushroom. > 2. You can eat some wild mushrooms a second time. There was a restaurant in Reading, PA called Joe’s\* whose main claim to fame was that every [dish](http://www.joelpalmerhouse.com/menu/) had wild mushrooms in it, on it, or next to it. Friends and family would go out about twice a year to gather them from the hills around town and they bragged they hadn’t lost anyone yet. I remember hearing a story as a kid about a family that had gathered some mushrooms and fried them up as an accompaniment for dinner. The cat was offered some and snarfed them right down, then a few minutes later started screaming. As one the family stood, and rushed out the door to the nearest ER for a stomach-pumping. As they drove back, they were mourning the cat who had died to give them a warning – and found her with a half-dozen kittens. \*It has apparently moved to [Oregon](http://forums.roadfood.com/Joe39s-Restaurant-Reading-PA-reborn-in-Oregon-m590207.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/17 "2017-06-07T12:23:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Sure, but there are others that are relatively easy to definitively ID. Agreed - I think there’s a popular notion that there is just some portion of risk arising from unsolvable mystery in identifying fungi - in practical terms, there isn’t - it’s just unfamiliarity with the domain and its members. If you’d never seen a blackberry before in your life, and someone described one to you, there are things you might accidentally eat, and die, or be very ill as a result, and yet, nobody talks about the scary risks of picking blackberries. ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/18 "2017-06-07T12:31:31Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Agreed - I think there’s a popular notion that there is just some portion of risk arising from unsolvable mystery in identifying fungi - in practical terms, there isn’t - it’s just unfamiliarity with the domain and its members. > > If you’d never seen a blackberry before in your life, and someone described one to you, there are things you might accidentally eat, and die, or be very ill as a result, and yet, nobody talks about the scary risks of picking blackberries. Well, what are the poisonous lookalikes for blackberries? I’ve picked blackberries off bushes before and eaten them in large quantities and nothing ever happened and I thought all of them looked the same. So what are the dodgey ones? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/19 "2017-06-07T14:01:15Z")
> [@dude\_robert](#): > > Well, what are the poisonous lookalikes for blackberries? I’ve picked blackberries off bushes before and eaten them in large quantities and nothing ever happened and I thought all of them looked the same. So what are the dodgey ones? OK, remember my scenario here is “If you’d never seen a blackberry before in your life, and someone described one to you” - so working on a written description that is something like this: > [@](#): > > Blackberries are small to medium blue-black fruits composed of a cluster of smaller fruitlets containing hard, edible seeds - they are juicy and tart and contain high levels of Vitamin C So you come across [this](http://www.jubileehealthplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ivy-berry.png), and eat it. You’re now dead. Or maybe you come across [this](http://c8.alamy.com/comp/FJ3T4N/buckthorn-rhamnus-catharticus-black-berries-on-a-branch-with-leaves-FJ3T4N.jpg), and eat it, and spend the next 24 hours shitting through the eye of a needle. Or maybe it’s [this](http://www.poison.org/~/media/images/shared/articles/2012-aug/pokeberries-look-like-grapes-but-are-poisonous-2.jpg?h=283&w=376&la=en) - pain, nausea, bloody vomiting and bloody diarrhea is what happens next Or maybe you get lucky, and pick [these](https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/images/Black-Mulberry-Chelsea.jpg) - which are not blackberries, but happen to be edible and delicious. These might seem like absurd examples, and maybe you’ll say “oh yeah, but blackberry plants have thorns”, or some other identifying detail, but that’s the point - the identifying details make it possible to be sure of what you’re picking, be it blackberries, or chanterelles - the only real difference is familiarity with the domain. ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326/20 "2017-06-07T14:45:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > OK, remember my scenario here is “If you’d never seen a blackberry before in your life, and someone described one to you” - so working on a written description that is something like this: > > So you come across [this](http://www.jubileehealthplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ivy-berry.png), and eat it. You’re now dead. > > Or maybe you come across [this](http://c8.alamy.com/comp/FJ3T4N/buckthorn-rhamnus-catharticus-black-berries-on-a-branch-with-leaves-FJ3T4N.jpg), and eat it, and spend the next 24 hours shitting through the eye of a needle. > > Or maybe it’s [this](http://www.poison.org/~/media/images/shared/articles/2012-aug/pokeberries-look-like-grapes-but-are-poisonous-2.jpg?h=283&w=376&la=en) - pain, nausea, bloody vomiting and bloody diarrhea is what happens next > > Or maybe you get lucky, and pick [these](https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/images/Black-Mulberry-Chelsea.jpg) - which are not blackberries, but happen to be edible and delicious. > > These might seem like absurd examples, and maybe you’ll say “oh yeah, but blackberry plants have thorns”, or some other identifying detail, but that’s the point - the identifying details make it possible to be sure of what you’re picking, be it blackberries, or chanterelles - the only real difference is familiarity with the domain. Oh, I see. I was just interested in the blackberry lookalikes. Do you know what the names are of those other berries? Thanks… Also, I guess those pokeberries look pretty similar to normal blackberries. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-identification/788326.md?page=2)