Welcome to Mushroom World
Step into the fascinating world of mushrooms with Mushroom World – your go-to resource for fungi information. Our site offers clear information and beautiful 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 limited our database to the most common ones. New species are also continuously added to the site.
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 Omphalotus illudens (Eastern jack-o'lantern). It grows in North America and Europe.
Dimensions: Cap 8-12 cm diameter, stem 4-14 cm tall * 1-2.5 cm thick
Description:
Omphalotus illudens, commonly known as the eastern jack-o'lantern mushroom, is a large, orange mushroom, with strongly decurrent gills, that is often found in clumps on decaying stumps, buried roots or at the base of hardwood trees. The mushroom is frequently confused with chanterelles.
Cap convex to flat, often with a low, central, pointed knob and an incurved margin which is soon becoming depressed on disc centre and inner limb. The surface is smooth to fibrillose and bright orange to orange-yellow. The flesh is firm, thin and yellow. Gills strongly decurrent (running down the stem), narrow to moderately broad, close and bright orange to pale orange coloured. The gills are luminescent when fresh. Stem cylindric or tapered to base. The surface is dry, smooth to minutely downy or somewhat scaly in age. The stem has no ring. Spore print creamy white.
Microscopic Features: The spores are ellipsoidal to globose in shape, smooth, and measure approximately 3.5-5µm in both length and width.
Omphalotus illudens on the First Nature Web site.
Omphalotus illudens on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.
Omphalotus illudens on Wikipedia.
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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