1
1. Gills brittle, typically flaking when flicked with a finger; stem lacking any fibers, snapping like a piece of chalk - - -
2
1. Not as above - - -
3
2
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2. Gills when cut exuding a white, colored or clear fluid - - -
Lactarius pp. 680-696
2. Gills dry - - -
Russula pp. 697-707
3
Back to 1
3. Gills descending stalk - - -
4
3. Gills not descending stalk - - -
37
4
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4. Gills branching or forked - - -
5
4. Gills not branching or forked - - -
10
5
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5. Gills more or less well defined - - -
6
5. Gills incomplete or foldlike or veinlike - - -
7
6
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6. Cap, gills and stalk whitish or yellowish - - -
Cantharellus pp. 387-393
6. Cap and stalk orange to orange-brown; gills orange - - -
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca p. 669
7
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7. Cap, gills and stalk yellowish to orange - - -
8
7. Cap, gills and stalk with blue or purple tones - - -
9
8
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8. Cap well-formed; gills well-formed, foldlike or smooth - - -
Cantharellus pp. 387-393
8. Mushroom funnel-shaped; gills mostly foldlike or veinlike; cap scaly - - -
Gomphus floccosus pp. 396-397
9
Back to 7
9. Violet to ochre-buff mushroom; "gills" wrinkled or ridged; typically single - - -
Gomphus clavatus p. 396
9. Blue to purplish mushroom in large clusters; "gills" variously shaped, indistinct - - -
Polyozellus multiplex pp. 397-398
10
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10. Gill edges saw-toothed or uneven or becoming so in old age - - -
11
10. Gill edges smooth - - -
12
11
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11. Stalk long or short, but distinct and central to off-center - - -
Lentinus pp. 766-76
11. Stalk short, or indistinct and lateral, with gills often extending to base - - -
Lentinellus pp. 764-765
12
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12. Growing on wood or on the ground on buried wood - - -
13
12. Not as above - - -
24
13
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13. Usually growing in large clusters - - -
14
13. Not as above - - -
15
14
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14. Cap, gills and stalk bright orange (green tinged in California); often at the base of trees - - -
Omphalotus pp. 787-788
14. Caps yellowish brown with blackish hairlike scales; near trees; on buried wood - - -
Armillariella tabescens p. 737
15
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15. Mushrooms orange to yellowish - - -
16
15. Not as above - - -
18
16
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16. Cap, gills and stalk bright orange (green tinged in California); often at base of trees - - -
Omphalotus pp. 787-788
16. Not as above - - -
17
17
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17. Cap, gills and stalk yellowish, usually overlaid with blackish to reddish scales - - -
Tricholomopsis pp. 807-809
17. Caps yellowish brown with blackish hairlike scales; usually in large clusters - - -
Armillariella tabescens p. 737
18
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18. Mushrooms blackish, brownish or brownish gray - - -
19
18. Mushrooms whitish to grayish or buff - - -
21
19
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19. Brownish gray cap streaked with dark fibrils; gills whitish, very broad - - -
Tricholomopsis platyphylla pp. 807-808
19. Not as above - - -
20
20
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20. Blackish cap and scaly stalk; in Pacific Northwest - - -
Clitocybula atrialba pp. 751 -752
20. Brownish cap and smooth stalk; in Pacific Northwest - - -
Clitocybe avellaneialba p. 744
21
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21. Usually single on standing trees; cap cracking and whitish becoming buff - - -
Hypsizygus tessulatus p. 761
21. Not as above - - -
22
22
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22. Usually clustered on fallen trees or at base; long stalked; creamy buff - - -
Hypsizygus elongatipes (see p. 761)
22. Not as above - - -
23
23
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23. Mushroom usually shelflike; stalk absent or short; gills long-descending; cap white, gray or brownish; spore print white or lilac-gray - - -
Pleurotus pp. 793-794
23. Mushroom usually fanlike; flesh with gelatinous feel - - -
Hohenbuehelia pp. 760-761
24
Back to 12
24. Usually growing in large clusters of fairy rings - - -
25
24. Not as above - - -
28
25
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25. Caps grayish yellow to yellowish brown, smooth; in grassy areas - - -
Lyophyllum decastes pp. 768-769
25. Not as above - - -
26
26
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26. Cap, gills and stalk whitish; caps misshapen; along roadsides on Pacific Coast - - -
Clitocybe dilatata p. 746
26. Not as above - - -
27
27
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27. Whitish to brown cap with chalklike stalk rising from dense white mycelial mat - - -
Leucopaxillus pp. 767-768
27. Whitish to buff cap; usually very large; often in fairy rings - - -
Clitocybe gigantea p. 748
28
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28. Gills waxy in look or feel; mushroom usually brightly colored - - -
Hygrophorus pp. 654-668
28. Not as above - - -
29
29
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29. Gills bruising black; cap white to gray - - -
Lyophyllum (not in Audubon field guide)
29. Not as above - - -
30
30
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30. Large mushroom rising from dense mat of white mycelium; flesh often bitter - - -
Leucopaxillus pp. 767-788
30. Not as above - - -
31
31
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31. Odor distinctive - - -
32
31. Odor not distinctive; cap white to gray or buff - - -
Clitocybe pp. 744-751
32
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32. Odor anise-like; cap greenish to blue - - -
Clitocybe odora p. 750
32. Not as above - - -
33
33
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33. Odor spicy; cap orange-brown - - -
Clitocybe inversa (not in Audubon field guide)
33. Odor fragrant; cap white to light pinkish gray brown - - -
34
34
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34. Cap white - - -
Clitocybe fragrans (see p. 751)
34. Cap light pinkish gray-brown - - -
Clitocybe suaveolens p. 751
37
Back to 3
37. Gills free or nearly so - - -
41
37. Not as above - - -
38
38
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38. Cap and or stalk slimy - - -
Limacella p. 554
38. Not as above - - -
39
39
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39. Cap smooth or powdery or with removable patches; stalk ringless and smooth or powdery or with tissue debris about base of stalk; mostly in woods - - -
Amanita (damaged) pp. 525-553
39. Not as above - - -
40
40
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40. Cap scaly; stalk ringless and smooth - - -
Lepiota (damaged)
40. Cap smooth, white; stalk ringless and smooth, white; in lawns - - -
Lepiota naucina (damaged) p. 719
41
Back to 37
41. Mushroom rooting, usually deep in ground - - -
42
41. Not as above - - -
44
42
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42. Cap white to gray, with patches or powder; ring often lost; stalk base scaly - - -
Amanita pp. 525-553
42. Not as above; cap brownish, often sticky or slippery; stalk long, slender - - -
43
43
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43. Cap convex to flat, often puckered; stalk rigid; under deciduous trees - - -
Oudemansiella pp. 788-789 (now Xerula in most books)
43. Cap conical or knobbed, brownish; deep-rooted; under redwood trees - - -
Caulorhiza umbonata p. 743
43. Cap convex, usually with reddish tones; under deciduous trees east of the Rockies - - -
Caulorhiza hygrophoroides (see Caulorhiza umbonata p. 743)
44
Back to 41
44. Large grayish brown cap; broad whitish gills; stalk attached by whitish cords - - -
Tricholomopsis platyphylla pp. 807-808
44. Not as above - - -
45
45
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45. Gills yellowish; cap and stalk yellowish with blackish or reddish fibrils - - -
Tricholomopsis pp. 807-809
45. Not as above - - -
46
46
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46. Gills waxy in look or feel - - -
47
46. Not as above - - -
48
47
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47. Mushrooms white, yellow, orange, red or green; gills often distant - - -
Hygrophorus pp. 654-667
47. Mushrooms pinkish brown or purplish with pinkish to bright purplish gills - - -
Laccaria pp. 762-763
48
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48. Cap fleshy; stalk fibrous, often slender - - -
49
48. Cap fleshy; stalk fleshy or chalklike, thickish - - -
54
49
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49. Mushroom staining on bruising - - -
50
49. Not as above - - -
52
50
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50. Gills bruising blackish; cap white to gray - - -
Lyophyllum (not in Audubon field guide)
50. Not as above - - -
51
51
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51. Cap whitish, becoming rusty stained or spotted - - -
Collybia maculata p. 756
51. Cap grayish to grayish brown; flesh bruising reddish - - -
Porpoloma umbrosum p. 794
52
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52. Stalk straight, stiff, with outer layer of spiraling fibers - - -
Melanoleuca pp. 776-777
52. Not as above - - -
53
53
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53. Stalk "bendable" or rubbery; gills nearly free to free and distant - - -
Marasmius pp. 771-776
53. Stalk fibrous to brittle or tough; gills attached and crowded - - -
Collybia pp. 753-757
54
Back to 48
54. Mushroom usually bitterish; large; rising from white mycelial mat - - -
Leucopaxillus pp. 767-768
54. Not as above - - -
55
55
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55. Blue to blue-green or greenish mushrooms with anise odor - - -
Clitocybe odora p. 750
55. Not as above - - -
56
56
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56. Bluish to violet to tan cap; violet to buff gills; fragrant; spore print buff - - -
Clitocybe nuda pp. 749-750
56. Cap whitish to yellowish to brown, often scaly or fibril streaked; gills whitish, notched at stalk; spore print white - - -
Tricholoma pp. 799-806
Mushroom, the journal for all seasons