Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Agaricales OrderFruiting body containing fibers (usually in the stalk)
Gomphidiaceae Family
Diagnosis
Comments
Because of their association with conifers, these are very unusual fungi for the Chicago area, so I'm just listing a few of them here
As you might expect from a consistently slimy-capped group (see also the Hygrophoraceae), they like northern climates
Narrow down your identification:
Chroogomphus Genus- Flesh (and gills, before they become colored by developing spores) colored: pinkish, yellow or orange
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More likely to be umbonate
Gomphidius Genus- Flesh (and gills, before they become colored by developing spores) white to greyish
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Stalk typically yellow at the base (in one case it can be pinkish at the base)
