Amanita
phalloides: always deadly
("Death Cap")
cap |
olive green, white |
gills |
white, crowded |
stem |
with a ring and a volva |
flesh |
whitish, with a faint odour |
habitat |
fairly common under broad-leaved trees (mostly with oak and beech)
and sometimes with conifers, in the woods |
toxicity |
always deadly (Death cap poisoning) |
|
Amanita
verna : always deadly
("Spring Amanita")
cap |
white |
gills |
white, crowded |
stem |
with a ring and a volva |
flesh |
whitish, with a faint odour |
habitat |
uncommon, in spring (in southern climates) but mostly in autumn; more often
under broad-leaved trees, in the woods, on calcareous soils |
toxicity |
always deadly (Death cap poisoning) |
|
Amanita
virosa: always deadly
("Destroying Angel")
cap |
white |
gills |
white, crowded |
stem |
shaggy, with a ruptured ring
and a volva |
flesh |
whitish, with a faint odour of radish or sickly sweet in mature specimens |
habitat |
uncommon, in summer or autumn, with broad-leaved or coniferous trees, in the woods, on acid soils |
toxicity |
always deadly (Death cap poisoning) |
|
Amanita
pantherina : highly poisonous
("Panther Cap")
cap |
brown, covered with concentrical pure white warts |
gills |
white, crowded |
stem |
with a ring and a circumcised volva ending up in a distinct gutter, with one or two belt-like helical rings above it |
flesh |
whitish, odour not distinctive |
habitat |
in deciduous or coniferous woods, clearings, occasional but locally frequent in some places |
toxicity |
highly poisonous, possibly deadly (Panther Cap poisoning) |
|
Galerina
marginata: deadly
("Marginate Galera")
cap |
small (4-8 cm), tawny brown, highly hygrophanous |
gills |
reddish brown, crowded |
stem |
4-8 cm long, slender, with a not very visible membranous ring |
flesh |
brown, mealy odour and taste |
habitat |
in groups of a few individuals, on wood debris (mostly on coniferous wood) |
toxicity |
deadly (Death cap poisoning) |
|
The group of Lepiota
helveola (Lepiota brunneoincarnata in the picture above, Lepiota josserandii etc.) :
deadly
click here to access the other deadly Lepiotas
cap |
small (under 10cm wide), pinkish brown, covered with fine scales |
gills |
white, not very crowded, with pinkish shades |
stem |
small (5 to 8cm max), with zebra-like pinkish-brown markings, and with a short-lived ring |
flesh |
turning slightly pink, with a fruity odour |
habitat |
in small troops in open broad-leaved woodlands,
sometimes along forest edges, in summer or autumn.
Quite rare |
toxicity |
deadly (Death cap poisoning) |
|
Cortinarius
orellanus and relatives of the Dermocybe sub-genus:
deadly
("Fool's Webcap" or "Annatto-coloured Cortinarius")
click here to access the other potentially deadly Cortinarius
cap |
3-7cm wide, bright rusty brown, covered with fine silky scales, generally umbonate |
gills |
distant, thick, bright tawny orange |
stem |
yellow towards apex, tawny below |
flesh |
with same colour as stem, odour of radish |
habitat |
end of summer, autumn, under broad-leaved trees, uncommon. On silicous soils |
toxicity |
deadly (Fool's Webcap poisoning) |
|
Paxillus
involutus : deadly
("Brown Rollrim")
cap |
ochre yellow with inrolled margin |
gills |
easily detached from cap like the tubes of boletes, ochraceous, stained, crowded |
stem |
rather short, often crooked |
flesh |
yellowish, soft |
habitat |
very common throughout the year, as soon as the weather turns mild, in or out of deciduous woods (including gardens) |
toxicity |
deadly raw or half-cooked (Paxillus poisoning) |
|
Gyromitra
esculenta: deadly
("False Morel")
cap |
red-brown, with irregular convoluted lobes
("brain" shaped) |
fertile surface |
external |
stem |
pale flesh-pink, short, furrowed, irregularly hollow
|
flesh |
whitish, pleasant taste, odourless |
habitat |
spring, in coniferous forests (around stumps), on acid soils, uncommon (more often on high grounds). |
toxicity |
deadly eaten raw or too often
(gyromitrin poisoning)
|
|
Clitocybe
rivulosa : highly poisonous
("Fool's Funnel")
click here to access other very poisonous white Clitocybes
cap |
small (2 to 6 cm wide), whitish, stained with pinkish-grey, with inrolled and irregular margin |
gills |
only slightly decurrent, creamy white or slightly pink |
stem |
short (2 to 3 cm tall), with same colour as cap |
flesh |
pale, mealy odour |
habitat |
end of summer, autumn, common in lawns or grassy areas |
toxicity |
highly poisonous
(muscarine poisoning)
|
|
Tricholoma
pardinum : highly poisonous
("Striped Tricholoma")
cap |
very large (up to 25cm wide), often umbonate,
with inrolled margin, with greyish cap surface covered with brown scales
|
gills |
thick, decurrent through a tooth, wide,
creamy white with greenish-grey shades |
stem |
massive, full, swollen towards base, almost smooth, pale |
flesh |
whitish with mealy odour |
habitat |
summer and autumn, mostly in mountainous regions,
on calcareous grounds, with beech and fir |
toxicity |
very poisonous
(severe gastrointestinal poisoning)
|
|
Entoloma
sinuatum: highly poisonous
("Livid Pinkgill" or "False Miller")
cap |
grey-beige, cream to brown, sturdy and fleshy, with an inrolled margin at first, irregular, covered with fine brown radiating fibrils
|
gills |
broad, yellow then salmon pink |
stem |
sturdy, swollen towards base, whitish |
flesh |
thick, white, with a strong fresh meal odour |
habitat |
in summer and autumn, in deciduous forests or along wood edges, on clayey-calcareous soils, often in troops |
toxicity |
very poisonous
(severe gastrointestinal poisoning)
|
|
Inocybe
patouillardii: deadly
("Red-staining Fibrecap")
cap |
conical then flattened with a small umbo at the middle,
straw-white to brown, turning red when touched |
gills |
broad, distant, pale then brown, their edge remaining always white and flaky |
stem |
white, more or less equal, staind with vermilion |
flesh |
white, thick, with a fruity odour |
habitat |
in spring, summer, sometimes autumn,
on calcareous soils, under broad-leaved trees or in parks, along paths |
toxicity |
deadly when consumed in large quantities
> 500g
(muscarine poisoning)
|
|
Omphalotus
olearius : highly poisonous
("Jack O'Lantern")
click here to access
Omphalotus illudens, a very similar more northern species, also very poisonous
cap |
quite large(6 to 12 cm wide), funnel-shaped,
orange to brown, with an inrolled margin |
gills |
decurrent, golden to orange, sometimes phosporescent |
stem |
long, slim, wavy, tapering towards base |
flesh |
strong and unpleasant odour |
habitat |
summer to winter, in tufts on stumps or roots or close to the base of tree trunks; quite rare |
toxicity |
highly poisonous
(severe gastrointestinal poisoning)
|
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