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Fungus identification

Discovering a fungus that I don't know the name of is an excitement I can't quite explain. Knowing that the organism in front of me has an important part to play in its environment and being there to witness it is something quite special. But of course I, like you, am a curious human who wants to know what it's called, whether I can eat it and how it fits in with the eco-system. I like to put the final piece of the jigsaw together to put what I'm looking at into the context of the wider world.


Identifying fungi is no mean feat. It's important to note that many fungi look alike, and some edible species grow alongside identical-looking deadly ones. Always cross-reference using multiple sources (I have included some of my favourites at the bottom of this post) and never eat a mushroom you've found without confirmation from an expert that it is edible. I am not an expert.

There are many factors that should be considered when trying to identify fungi. I will attempt to break it down into manageable steps.

1. Habitat
  • Note down the surroundings: are you in a field, a park, a wood?
  • What is the substrate of your fungus? Is it on wood? If so, is it dead or living? Deciduous or coniferous? 
  • Is it growing on the soil? Is it under a particular tree? 
  • Is it in a field or meadow? 
  • Is it on manure?

 2. Shape
  • Fungi come in lots of different shapes. Does your fungus have a cap and stem, like a mushroom? 
  • Is it growing laterally on wood, like a bracket? 
  • Is it in the shape of a cup, an ear, a cauliflower?
Bracket fungi
Fungi shaped like ears

Mushrooms with a cap and stem
Cup fungi

3. Cap 
  • What shape is the cap?
  • What colour is the cap? Does it bruise a different colour?
  • How big is it? 
  • Does it have a particular texture, smell or pattern? 
  • Does it break easily? 


4. Gills or pores
  • Look underneath the fungus. 
  • Does it have gills or pores? What colour are they?
 
Some fungi have 'pores', which are like small holes
Some fungi have 'gills', which are like ribs
  • If it has gills, are they attached to the stem, and if so, how? Or are they 'free'?

 5. Stem
  • Does it have a stem? 
  • What colour is it? 
  • How big is it? 
  • Does it have a ring? 
  • Is it bigger at the base? 
  • Does it curve?

6. Season
  • What time of year is it? 
  • Has it been a particularly cold or warm season?

7. Spore print
  • What colour are the spores?
  • Find out how to take a spore print here.

Useful resources

 Collins Gems Mushrooms by Patrick Harding - I take this book with me everywhere, as it is small and light, and it's really good for use identifying out and about. It also includes a step-by-step identification key to help narrow it down.

Mushrooms by Roger Phillips - This book has more species and pictures than the above, so I keep this at home and use it for cross-referencing and identifying less common species. This is definitely my favourite book about fungi, I cannot recommend it enough.

 The Mushroom Diary - This website has lots of useful information about mushroom hunting and identifying. My favourite thing about it is the categorisation by season. I find it useful to know what to look out for in which months.

First Nature - I find this website really useful if I know the family the fungus belongs to but not the species. Visitors submit pictures so you can see species in various stages of growths and forms.

Mushroom Observer - If you're really stumped, you can post a picture of your fungus onto this website and someone will identify it for you. There are also loads of pictures from other fungal enthusiasts to compare yours to!

I hope that this information is helpful and that you might learn the names of your fungal friends!

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