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 Russula vesca (The Flirt). It grows in Europe, North America?.
Dimensions: Cap 5-10 cm diameter, stem 3-10 cm tall * 1.5-3 cm thick
Description:
Russula vesca, also known as The Flirt, is a medium to large Russula with a cap that varies from violet to buff in colour. A distinctive feature is its cuticle, which shrinks from the margin. It possesses pale cream gills and a whitish stem. This mushroom grows either solitarily or in scattered groups on the soil under broadleaf trees
Cap variable from violaceous to buff, generally pallid, sometimes with a greenish tinge It is first convex, becoming flattened-convex and later slightly depressed. The cuticle is peeling halfway to the centre and retracting from the margin. The flesh is white, brittle and firm.Gills adnexed, with a white colour or a very pale cream hue. They are spaced relatively close together, splitting in a forked manner close to the stem. Stem whitish sometimes with a violaceous tinge and more or less equal in width. The stem flesh is white, stuffed, firm and brittle. The stem has no ring. Spore print white.
Microscopic Features: The spores are ovoid (egg-shaped), measuring 6.4-8 x 5.3-5.8µm. They have warts up to 0.5µm tall, often separate but occasionally connected.
Note: It is unclear to me whether this species occurs in North America. Some sources say it does, while others say it does not.
Russula vesca on the www.first-nature.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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