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 Mycena metata (Frost Bonnet). It grows in Europe.
Dimensions: Cap 1-2 cm diameter, stem 4-8 cm tall * 0.1-0.2 cm thick
Description:
Mycena metata, also known as the Frost Bonnet, is a small, delicate mushroom commonly found in temperate forests, particularly in moist and shaded areas. The cap is typically conical, ranging from pale white to light grey, and often exhibits a faint silvery sheen. The mushroom is commonly found in small groups on needles and other debris in coniferous woods.
Cap beige or pale flesh-coloured, with the centre tinged darker. It starts out conical and becomes expanded to a bell shape, with translucent striations almost reaching the centre when moist. The flesh is pale, watery, and thin. Gills reach the stipe, are ascending, and narrowly adnate. They range in colour from white to pale grey, often turning a pale brownish flesh colour to dingy pink with age. Stem hollow, cylindrical, and equal in thickness, ranging from straight to curved. It is fragile, pruinose, and becomes smooth with age. The colour varies from whitish or grey to grey-brown, usually darker towards the base, which is densely covered with long, white fibrils. It has no ring.
Spore print white.
Microscopic Features: The spores are hyaline, smooth, broadly ellipsoid, and amyloid, often containing droplets, and measure 7–9.5 × 3.5–4.5 µm.
Mycena metata on the mycena.no 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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