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Fairy Ring and Fried Chicken Mushroom Look-alikes
These look-alikes can make you seriously ill. Get the identification right before you eat anything. Small whitish lawn and woodland mushrooms include several muscarine-containing toxins. The ivory funnel (sweating mushroom), fiber caps (Inocybe), and the lead poisoner are all easily confused with the fairy ring and fried chicken mushrooms. Spore prints and habitat are essential here.
The dangerous species
⚠ do not eatIvory Funnel (Sweating Mushroom)
Clitocybe dealbata / C. rivulosa
Archenzo · CC BY 3.0
How to tell it apart
- A small white or white dusted with buff-coloured mushroom, the 2–4 cm diameter cap is flattened to depressed with adnate to decurrent crowded white gills — Wikipedia ↗
- Clitocybe rivulosa is a deadly poisonous and fairly common species that grows in habitats where people expect to find edible mushrooms. — First Nature ↗
⚠ do not eatInocybe (Fiber Cap)
Inocybe spp. (various species)
Dr. Hans-Günter Wagner · CC BY-SA 2.0
How to tell it apart
- The cap often appears fibrous, giving the genus its common name of 'fiber caps'. — Wikipedia ↗
- Many Inocybe species contain large doses of muscarine, and no easy method of distinguishing them from potentially edible species exists. — Wikipedia ↗
⚠ do not eatLead Poisoner
Entoloma sinuatum (E. lividum)
Holger Krisp · CC BY 3.0
How to tell it apart
- Yellowish white initially, the sinuate, crowded gills of Entoloma sinuatum turn more pinkish as the spores mature. — First Nature ↗
- Symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and headache occur 30 minutes to 2 hours after consumption and last for up to 48 hours. — Wikipedia ↗
The notes above are an educational starting point, not a substitute for a field guide or an experienced forager. If you are not completely certain, do not eat it.
