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 mainly found in Europe and North America.

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 this site cannot help you, we recommend mushroomobserver.org, a community site for mushroom identification. There are also many Facebook groups for mushroom identification, like the public Mushroom Identification group.

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 Strobilomyces strobilaceus (Old Man of the Woods). It grows in Europe, North America and Asia.

Dimensions: Cap 4-10 cm diameter, stem 8-12 cm tall * 2 cm thick

Description: Strobilomyces strobilaceus, commonly known as Old Man of the Woods, is a medium to large bolete which is characterized by very soft dark grey to black pyramidal and overlapping scales on the cap surface. It is commonly found in forests with a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees in moist and shaded environments.

Cap at first convex-shaped and flatten out with age. It is covered with upright blackish scales that are woolly when the caps are young, becoming firmer on ageing specimens. The underlying cap colour ranges from almost white through shades of greyish brown to almost entirely black. Pores on the underside of the cap are hexagonal, coloured dirty white or grey. The flesh is thick and initially white but will stain pink and then slate grey and black after exposure to the air. Stem coloured like the cap and has a woolly surface and a thick, ascending ring-like structure at the top. Spore print blackish brown to black.

Microscopic Features: Spores are ellipsoidal, measuring 9-15 x 8-12μm, and have a finely meshed pattern.

Synonyms: The name Strobilomyces floccopus is commonly used for the mushroom in North America.

Strobilomyces strobilaceus on the First Nature Web site.
Strobilomyces genus on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.

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.