Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Agaricales OrderFruiting body containing fibers (usually in the stalk)
Brown, Olive, Orange or Tan Spored SuborderGills not free
Spore print tan, orange, deep ochre, yellowish olive, olive brown, rusty or cinnamon brown or deep brown
Ring usually either absent or not membranous
Lignicolous Brown Spored FamilyGrowing on wood
Medium To Big Lignicolous Brown Spored SubfamilyCap usually more than 2" across, and sometimes up to 8; usually tan, yellow, or pumpkin-colored
Diagnosis
Narrow down your identification:
Burnt Ground Pholiota Section- Growing on charred wood or burnt ground
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Often quite dark-colored (as if burnt)
Scaly Pholiota Section- Growing on wood
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Cap and stem with many pointy or patchy scales
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Sometimes the scales wash off the cap in the rain (with a slippery cap, it's especially easy for that to happen); but they usually remain on the stalk (which is protected from the rain by the cap)
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Cap typically yellowish
Smooth Pholiota Section- Growing on wood
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Neither cap nor stem scaly; perhaps with just a few scattered flakes or patches
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Not as likely to be yellow as the Scaly Pholiotas
