Welcome to Mushroom World
Step into the enchanting world of fungi with Mushroom World – your trusted companion for learning about mushrooms.
Whether you're a curious beginner or a seasoned nature enthusiast, our site provides clear, accessible information and beautiful images to help you better understand and appreciate the mushrooms you encounter.
If you're curious about what fungi actually are, and how they differ from plants and animals, be sure to visit our what are fungi? page for an easy-to-understand explanation.
With thousands of mushroom species known to science, we've chosen to focus on the most common and easily recognisable ones. Each entry includes helpful descriptions, identification tips, and high-quality images, and we’re always working to expand our collection with new species and updated content.
Come and explore the wonders of mushrooms with us. We hope you find our site informative, inspiring, and a valuable resource on your journey of mushroom discovery.
What you can do on Mushroom World
Browse the database
Explore mushrooms from the alphabetical list or search by name or properties.
Identify a mushroom
Know some characteristics but not the name? Use our mushroom identification helper to narrow it down.
New to identification? Start with identification basics.
Test your knowledge
Try our identification quiz and see how many mushrooms you recognise. Each run gives you new questions.
Upload your photos
Have good mushroom photos to share? Use the upload form and we will see if we can include them on the site.
Today's Mushroom
A quick highlight from our database
Today's mushroom is Amanita muscaria (Fly Amanita). It grows in North America, Europe, Asia.
Dimensions: Cap 8-10 cm diameter; stem 8-18 cm tall * 1-2 cm diameter
Description:
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the Fly Agaric or Fly Amanita, is a medium to large, fleshy agaric, with a red cap, white patches, white gills, a ring, and a bulbous base. It grows scattered or in groups on poor and sandy soils and the fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like white eggs.
Cap first round to hemispherical, and finally to plate-like and flat in mature specimens, often with a low, shallow depression on disk when fully expanded. Surface shiny, deep scarlet, fading to orange-red or orange-yellow in older specimens, adorned with numerous small, cottony warts that are initially yellow but very quickly fade to white. Gills white, free or barely touching the stem, crowded. Stem white, robust, and has a slightly brittle, fibrous texture. At the base is a bulb that bears universal veil remnants in the form of two to four distinct rings or ruffs. Between the basal universal veil, remnants and gills are remnants of the partial veil (which covers the gills during development) in the form of a white ring. It can be quite wide and flaccid with age. Spore print white.
Microscopic Features: The spores are ellipsoidal in shape and measure 8.2-13 μm in length and 6.5-9 μm in width. They are inamyloid.
Amanita muscaria on the First Nature Web site.
Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.
If you are interested in this mushroom, look it up in our database for more detailed photographs and additional information.
Many mushrooms are poisonous, and some can be lethally toxic. Distinguishing between edible and poisonous mushrooms can be very challenging. Therefore, we strongly advise against consuming wild mushrooms. This website does not contain any information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.
Although efforts have been made to ensure accuracy on this website, the information may contain errors and omissions. Therefore, all content provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be relied upon or used as a basis for consuming any plants or mushrooms.
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