Welcome to Mushroom World
Step into the enchanting world of fungi with Mushroom World – your trusted companion for learning about mushrooms. Whether you're a curious beginner or a seasoned nature enthusiast, our site provides clear, accessible information and beautiful images to help you better understand and appreciate the mushrooms you encounter.
If you're curious about what fungi actually are, and how they differ from plants and animals, be sure to visit our what are fungi? page for an easy-to-understand explanation.
With thousands of mushroom species known to science, we've chosen to focus on the most common and easily recognisable ones. Each entry includes helpful descriptions, identification tips, and high-quality images, and we’re always working to expand our collection with new species and updated content.
Come and explore the wonders of mushrooms with us. We hope you find our site informative, inspiring, and a valuable resource on your journey of mushroom discovery.
What you can do on Mushroom World
Browse the database
Explore mushrooms from the alphabetical list or search by name or properties.
Identify a mushroom
Know some characteristics but not the name? Use our mushroom identification helper to narrow it down.
New to identification? Start with identification basics.
Test your knowledge
Try our identification quiz and see how many mushrooms you recognise. Each run gives you new questions.
Upload your photos
Have good mushroom photos to share? Use the upload form and we will see if we can include them on the site.
Today's Mushroom
A quick highlight from our database
Today's mushroom is Cortinarius flexipes (Pelargonium Webcap). It grows in Europe, North America.
Dimensions: Cap 1-4 cm diameter, stem 3-7cm tall * 0.3-0.5 cm thick
Description:
Cortinarius flexipes, also known as Pelargonium Webcap, is a small to medium agaric with a distinctive and delicate appearance. This mushroom features a conical to bell-shaped cap that varies in colour from pale brown to greyish-brown, often with a silvery sheen when young. Found primarily in deciduous and coniferous woodlands during autumn, Cortinarius flexipes is noted for its subtle, pelargonium-like odour when crushed.
Cap dark grey to violet-brown when moist, becoming pale fawn when dry. The surface is covered with white scales, with a somewhat pallid margin that is initially covered with a veil, later only marginal remnants or becoming more or less smooth. Initially bluntly conical, the cap expands and becomes bluntly umbonate. The flesh is pale, concolourous, and thin. Gills adnate and moderately crowded, sometimes with slightly toothed edges, the gills are at first greyish buff, gradually maturing to rust brown. Stem brownish, faintly tinged with violaceous at the apex, smooth above, with whitish belted scaly velar remnants below. It is fibrous, stuffed, and solid. Spore print rust-brown.
Microscopic Features: Spores are broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose with a minutely roughened surface, measuring 7.5-9 x 5-6.5 µm, and are inamyloid.
Cortinarius flexipes on the First Nature Web site.
If you are interested in this mushroom, look it up in our database for more detailed photographs and additional information.
Many mushrooms are poisonous, and some can be lethally toxic. Distinguishing between edible and poisonous mushrooms can be very challenging. Therefore, we strongly advise against consuming wild mushrooms. This website does not contain any information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.
Although efforts have been made to ensure accuracy on this website, the information may contain errors and omissions. Therefore, all content provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be relied upon or used as a basis for consuming any plants or mushrooms.
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