Conifer Tuft vs Sheathed Woodtuft
Hypholoma capnoides and Kuehneromyces mutabilis are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.
Mild and edible, with grey gills. Its poisonous cousin Sulphur Tuft has green-yellow gills and a bitter taste.
Good edible on stumps — and a notorious twin of the deadly Galerina marginata. Only for experienced foragers.
Side by side
| Hypholoma capnoides | Kuehneromyces mutabilis | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Edible | Edible |
| Habitat | Clusters on conifer stumps and dead conifer wood. | Dense clusters on broadleaf stumps and dead wood, especially birch and beech. |
| Season | Autumn to early winter. | Spring to autumn. |
| Spore print | Purple-brown. | Rust-brown — the same colour as the Funeral Bell, so the print settles nothing. |
The recorded spore prints differ: purple-brown for Hypholoma capnoides, 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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Hypholoma capnoides is also confused with Sulphur Tuft.
Kuehneromyces mutabilis is also confused with Funeral Bell, Sulphur Tuft and Honey Fungus.
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