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Newbie request


dpinkerton

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I'm a new mushroom hunter who got interested by stumbling upon a cauliflower mushroom a few weeks ago and turning it into soup. I took my kids out yesterday for a hunt, had a great time, and came back with a lot of different varieties. I learned quickly that identification is a daunting task. However, I assumed that this 5-6" specimen would be easy to find in the guide. I was wrong. Since I expect that someone probably knows this without much effort I figured I would start with it. I thought it could be anything from a hated amanita to a red-brown trich to a honey mushroom. Amazing how unclear this can be to the untrained. Would appreciate an id here and a little education to get me going. Don't plan on ingesting anything we found regardless. Thanks!

This was growing in grass beside some blue spruce I think. Western PA.

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Looks like a Armillaria or honey mushroom. The only thing that has me puzzled is that I have not personally found it in association with conifers, although mushroom expert says A. Mellea does occasionally occur with conifers. DaveW should be around shortly to clear this up.

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I think this is an Armillaria (Honey). I recommend taking a spore print, which should be white for Armillaria. Tricholomas also have white prints, but none of them have a well-formed ring (annulus) on the stalk. Young specimens of Cortinarius can have very pale gills, but the spore prints are all brown, usually rusty brown.

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Correction for above... Tricholoma caligatum and T. magnivelare (Matsutake) each have a ring on the stalk. T. aurantium has a ring zone.

Momentarily forgot about the Matsutakes. I hardly ever see T. caligatum and I've never found T. magnivelare.

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