Funeral Bell

Habitat

This wood-decomposing species grows on very rotten logs, stumps, and sawdust of both broad-leaved and coniferous trees. It is frequently found on downed wood, buried woody debris, or in wood chips, and occasionally appears in duff or moss. Fruitbodies may occur solitarily, in scattered groups, or in dense clusters.

Photos

Appearance

Cap

1.5–7 cm wide; initially hemispherical to convex, becoming flat or nearly plane, often with a low, broad central bump (umbo). The surface is smooth and moist, ranging from greasy to slightly sticky when wet. Colors are highly variable, often ochre-brown, cinnamon, or dark reddish-brown, fading to tan or buff as it dries. The margin usually shows faint translucent lines when moist.

Gills

Attached to the stem (adnate), sometimes slightly running down it (decurrent). They are closely spaced and transition from pale yellow-brown or beige to a rusty or cinnamon-brown as the spores mature; the edges may remain pale or appear fringed.

Stem

2–9 cm long and 3–10 mm thick; generally equal in width or slightly wider at the base. It is yellowish-brown or beige near the top, often darkening to reddish-brown or black from the base upward with age. The surface is covered with fine, silky fibers or a powdery coating above the ring zone.

Ring

A thin, membranous ring is present on the upper stem, though it often collapses into a faint, fiber-like zone. It frequently becomes stained rusty-brown by falling spores.

Flesh

Thin; cream-buff to brownish in the cap and cinnamon in the stem, eventually darkening to nearly black at the stem base in old specimens.

Spore print

Rusty brown to reddish-brown.

Smell

Distinctly mealy (farinaceous), though sometimes indistinct or rarely sweet.

Taste

Typically indistinct, but tasting is not recommended as the species is deadly poisonous.

Edibility

This species is deadly poisonous, containing amatoxins that cause severe liver and kidney damage. It is a dangerous lookalike for honey mushrooms (Armillaria species), which are larger and have white spores. Foragers seeking psychoactive Psilocybe species must be especially careful, as the two often grow in the same habitats; unlike Galerina, Psilocybe species stain blue and have purplish-black spore prints. It may also be confused with the edible Kuehneromyces mutabilis, which lacks the mealy odor and has scales on the stem, or Gymnopilus and Flammulina velutipes species.

Nutrient Source

It obtains nutrients by decaying dead organic matter, primarily wood, employing enzymes to break down complex plant material.

Common Names

Basque

galera hiltzaile

Danish

Randbæltet hjelmhat, Ensfarvet hjelmhat

Dutch

Kraagmosklokje, Bundelmosklokje, Weidemosklokje

English

Funeral Bell

Finnish

myrkkynääpikkä

French

Galère marginée, Pholiote marginée

German

Überhäuteter Häubling, Gift-Häubling, Trichterigberingter Häubling

Norwegian Bokmål

flatklokkehatt

Norwegian Nynorsk

flatklokkehatt

Spanish

Galerina rebordeada

Swedish

gifthätting, strimmig tofsskivling

Welsh

Cloch Godreog

Synonyms

• Agaricus autumnalis
• Agaricus marginatus
• Agaricus unicolor
• Dryophila marginata
• Dryophila unicolor
• Flammula marginata
• Galera marginata
• Galera marginata
• Galera unicolor
• Galera unicolor
• Galerina autumnalis
• Galerina unicolor
• Galerula marginata
• Galerula unicolor
• Gymnopilus autumnalis
• Naucoria autumnalis
• Naucoria autumnalis
• Pholiota autumnalis
• Pholiota marginata
• Pholiota marginata
• Pholiota praticola
• Pholiota unicolor
• Ryssospora marginata