Welcome to Mushroom World

Step into the fascinating world of mushrooms with Mushroom World - your go-to resource for fungi information. Our site is a comprehensive resource offering information and stunning images of mushrooms mainly found in Europe and North America.

Since there are thousands of known species of mushrooms, we have tried to limit those we list to the most common ones. New species are also continuously added to the site.

So come on in 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.

Below is an overview of the main features and functionalities of our site.

Browse the database

You can browse the database from the alphabetical list or search the database based on mushroom names or properties.

Help identify a mushroom

If you know the characteristics of a mushroom but need help identifying it, try using our mushroom identification helper. There, you can browse mushroom pictures to find an identical match or find the specific family or genus the mushroom belongs to.

If this site cannot help you, we recommend mushroomobserver.org, a community site for mushroom identification. There are also many Facebook groups for mushroom identification, like the public Mushroom Identification group.

Identification Quiz

We have also created a quiz where you can test your fungi identification knowledge. You can repeat the quiz as many times as you want, each time with new questions.

Today's Mushroom

Today's mushroom is Clathrus ruber (Caged stinkhorn). It grows in North America and Europe.

Description: Clathrus ruber, also known as caged stinkhorn or the basket stinkhorn is a red mushroom that develops a spherical cage-like structure. It emerges from a white or buff egg.

Fruiting Body as immature a whitish to faintly brownish egg which is 3–5 cm in diameter. As mature it is 5–18 cm high and 4–10 cm in diameter, consisting of a mesh of arms that surround semi-regular openings, creating a lattice-like structure with is orangish-red to red, fading to pinkish. Spore print olive-brown.

Microscopic Features: The spores are elongated ellipsoidal and have a smooth surface. They measure 4-6 x 1.5-2.5µm.

Clathrus ruber on the www.first-nature.com web site.
Clathrus ruber on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.

Dimensions: Fruiting body 4-10 cm tall * variable diameter

This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of the mushroom.

If you are interested in this mushroom, look it up in our database. You can find more detailed pictures there.