Honey Fungus vs Sheathed Woodtuft
Armillaria mellea and Kuehneromyces mutabilis are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.
Edible only well cooked and never raw; some people react badly even then. A destructive tree parasite.
Good edible on stumps — and a notorious twin of the deadly Galerina marginata. Only for experienced foragers.
Side by side
| Armillaria mellea | Kuehneromyces mutabilis | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Edible | Edible |
| Habitat | Dense clusters at the base of living and dead broadleaf trees, spreading by black bootlace rhizomorphs. | Dense clusters on broadleaf stumps and dead wood, especially birch and beech. |
| Season | Autumn. | Spring to autumn. |
| Spore print | White — the fastest check against its deadly lookalikes. | Rust-brown — the same colour as the Funeral Bell, so the print settles nothing. |
The recorded spore prints differ: white — the fastest check against its deadly lookalikes for Armillaria mellea, rust-brown — the same colour as the funeral bell, so the print settles nothing for Kuehneromyces mutabilis. That is one documented difference, not a test you can pass.
This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.
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Armillaria mellea is also confused with Funeral Bell and Sulphur Tuft.
Kuehneromyces mutabilis is also confused with Funeral Bell, Sulphur Tuft and Conifer Tuft.
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