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 Pholiota alnicola (Alder Scalycap). It grows in North America, Europe.
Dimensions: Cap 2-8 cm diameter, stem 2-8 cm tall * 0.5-1 cm diameter
Description:
Pholiota alnicola, also known as Alder Scalycap, has a yellow or yellowish-green cap with lemon-yellow gills that turn cinnamon over time. It also features a ring zone on the stem. This mushroom typically grows solitary or in clusters on dead or dying deciduous trees, particularly alder or birch, often in damp environments.
Cap bright yellow, occasionally with a hint of olive at the edge. It starts off convex and eventually flattens out. The surface is mostly smooth but may have pale velar remnants near the margin. When wet, it appears greasy, but it becomes dry when dry. The flesh is firm and yellow. Gills are adnate to slightly decurrent, whitish or pale yellow at first, later becoming dirty brownish yellow or rusty brown. They are at first covered by a quickly disappearing, whitish to yellowish partial veil. Stem yellow toward the top and rusty brown toward the base. It has mostly a ring zone resulting from the partial veil. Spore print reddish-brown.
Microscopic Features: Spores are ellipsoidal and smooth, measuring 8.5-11.5 x 5-5.5μm, and they have a noticeable germ pore.
Synonyms: Flammula alnicola is a synonym of Pholiota alnicola.
Pholiota alnicola on the First Nature Web site.
Pholiota alnicola 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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