Sulphur Tuft vs Sheathed Woodtuft
Hypholoma fasciculare and Kuehneromyces mutabilis are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.
Bitter yellow clusters on stumps. Mistaken for the edible Hypholoma capnoides and for honey fungus.
Good edible on stumps — and a notorious twin of the deadly Galerina marginata. Only for experienced foragers.
Side by side
| Hypholoma fasciculare | Kuehneromyces mutabilis | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Poisonous | Edible |
| Habitat | Dense tufts on stumps and dead wood of almost any tree. | Dense clusters on broadleaf stumps and dead wood, especially birch and beech. |
| Season | All year, peaking in autumn. | 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 fasciculare, 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 fasciculare is also confused with Honey Fungus and Conifer Tuft.
Kuehneromyces mutabilis is also confused with Funeral Bell, Honey Fungus and Conifer Tuft.
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