Welcome to Mushroom World

Step into the fascinating world of mushrooms with Mushroom World - your go-to resource for fungi information. Our site is a comprehensive resource offering information and stunning images of mushrooms. 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.

Since there are thousands of known species of mushrooms, we have tried to limit those we list to the most common ones. New species are also continuously added to the site.

So come on in 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.

Below is an overview of the main features and functionalities of our site.

Browse the database

You can browse the database from the alphabetical list or search the database based on mushroom names or properties.

Help identify a mushroom

If you know the characteristics of a mushroom but need help identifying it, try using our mushroom identification helper. It is a tool designed to assist you in identifying mushrooms that you may come across. If you're new to mushroom identification, be sure to check out our mushroom identification basics guide for an easy introduction to key features and terminology.

Identification Quiz

We have also created a quiz where you can test your fungi identification knowledge. You can repeat the quiz as many times as you want, each time with new questions.

Upload mushroom pictures

If you have pictures of mushrooms you would like to have included on our site, please use the upload form to upload these files and we will see if we can include them.

Today's Mushroom

Today's mushroom is Macrolepiota procera (Parasol Mushroom). It grows in Europe, North America.

Dimensions: Cap 10-25 cm diameter; stem 15-30 cm tall * 1-1.5 cm diameter

Description: Macrolepiota procera, also known as the Parasol Mushroom, is a spectacularly large, distinctive, pale brownish agaric with a scaly cap, white gills, and a pale brownish stem with a snakeskin pattern and ring. It grows solitary, scattered, or clustered on soil in open grassy places and in mixed woods. The mushroom is in North America commonly confused with Chlorophyllum molybdites (The Vomiter), which is more common there.

Cap pallid brown decorated with darker brown broad scales. It starts off egg-shaped and then bell-shaped until the cap margin detaches from the stripe. The base colour becomes lighter with age. Dark scales appear on top when the brown surface cracks up from the smooth, central bump. The cap flesh is white and does not change significantly when cut. Gills white or pale cream, broad, crowded, free and terminating some distance from the stipe. Stem is distinctive grey-brown with banded markings on a whitish background, long and thin with an onion-shaped base. Above the double-edged ring that often falls off, it is evenly brown and below this, it is irregularly striped in a zigzag pattern. Spore print white or very pale cream.

Microscopic Features: The spores are ellipsoidal in shape, smooth, and have a thick wall. They measure approximately 12-18 x 8-12µm and possess a small germ pore.

Similar species include Chlorophyllum molybdites (The Vomiter) which has a stouter stalk and a greenish spore print.

Note: Multiple "parasol mushrooms" in North America may be identified as the Eurasian species Macrolepiota procera. Many, if not all, of these species are undescribed and unnamed.

Macrolepiota procera on the First Nature Web site.
Macrolepiota procera on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.
Macrolepiota procera on the www.mushroomknowhow.com Web site.

The second and fourth photos are by Chrumps and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of the mushroom.

If you are interested in this mushroom, look it up in our database. You can find more detailed pictures there.

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.