1
1. Stalk lateral or absent; mushrooms on wood - - -
2
1. Stalk typically central, sometimes off-center - - -
3
2
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2. Small to medium sized, hairy, buffy caps; orange-yellow gills; malodorous - - -
Phyllotopsis nidulans p. 791
2. Very small mushrooms on logs and wood debris about stump bases - - -
Claudopus (not in Audubon field guide)
3
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3. Saclike cup present about stalk base; on ground or wood - - -
Volvariella pp. 677-679
3. Saclike cup absent - - -
4
4
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4. Gills typically free - - -
5
4. Gills attached - - -
7
5
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5. Partial veil present - - -
6
5. Partial veil absent; typically on wood or wood debris - - -
Pluteus pp. 673-676
6
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6. Ring present on stalk - - -
Chamaeota (not in Audubon field guide)
6. Ring zone on stalk and partial veil remnants along cap margin - - -
Melanophyllum echinatum p. 523
7
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7. Gills descending stalk - - -
8
7. Gills attached but not descending stalk - - -
10
8
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8. Mushroom found with fused clusters of irregular, whitish, lumpish masses - - -
Entoloma abortivum pp. 641-642
8. Not as above - - -
9
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9. Cap dry, feltlike, grayish white; odor redolent of bread dough - - -
Clitopilus prunulus p. 641
9. Cap dry, concentrically zoned, grayish white to buff; odor cucumberlike - - -
Rhodocybe mundula pp. 648-649
10
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10. Cap scaly, dark brown; stalk hairy, brownish; coarse stiff hairs at base - - -
Pouzarella nodospora p. 648
10. Not as above - - -
11
11
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11. Growing on wood - - -
12
11. Growing on the ground - - -
13
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12. Cap ridged and pitted, pink to yellow-orange; stalk off-center, short - - -
Rhodotus palmatus p. 795
12. Clustered at base of trees and stumps; stalk central, fragile; gills reddish - - -
Psathyrella conissans p. 605
13
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13. Odor strongly fishy; dark red-brown cap (fading) and stalk - - -
Macrocystidia cucumis p. 769
13. Not as above - - -
14
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14. Cap violet, becoming tannish; gills violet, becoming buff; spore print pinkish buff - - -
Clitocybe nuda pp. 749-750
14. Not as above - - -
15
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15. Cap large and or fleshy; stalk fleshy - - -
16
15. Cap small and or thin-fleshed; stalk slender - - -
17
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16. Mushrooms mostly whitish to brownish; cap convex to flattish; cap and stalk fleshy - - -
e.g. Entoloma sinuatum p. 645
16. Cap and stalk bluish gray, fleshy; gills becoming pinkish - - -
Entoloma madidum p. 642
17
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17. Cap and stalk brownish, tinged violet, fibrous-scaly; gills becoming pinkish - - -
Entoloma violaceum p. 632
17. Not as above - - -
18
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18. Mushrooms often bluish; cap convex to flattish, thin-fleshed with central depression; gills often bluish, becoming pinkish (also known as Leptonia) - - -
e.g. Entoloma serrulatum p. 644
18. Mushrooms mostly colorful; cap conical to bell-shaped, thin-fleshed; stalk slender (also known as Nolanea) - - -
e.g. Entoloma salmoneum p. 644
Mushroom, the journal for all seasons