I know the white destroyer is common in there parts but I came across this mushroom that doesent have some of the telltale characteristics and looks like it may be safe. It is solid, white gills that have been munched on by a slug a little.. Smells like and peels like an oyster mushroom.. Not familiar with the cracling pattern on the cap though. Can anyone identify this species with any confidance?
Greetings smak, I'm sorry, nothing is coming immediately to mind ... this looks like many different whitish mushrooms to me today. Thank you for reporting those characters, especially for mentioning the smell. I don't suppose it started to smell more mealy as it got warmer/older? I agree it does not look like one of the severely poisonous members of the Amanitas, but there are other inedible and less severely poisonous mushrooms out there, so a positive ID is important. For example your specimen looks sorta Clitocybe-like, or Tricholoma-ish, and there are edible, non-edible and poisonous members of those genera. - frog
Some pure white (possible even undescribed?) relative of Entoloma sinuatum. The latter is deadly poisonous. Generally, you cannot tell that a fungus "seems" safe; of any mushroom picked up the species and its edilbility must definitely be known. Cheers, Harri Harmaja http://www.luomus.fi/users/harmaja/index.htm
Smells just about the same few days later.. Yes I know better than to go munching on possible toadstools, contacted a local for foray info but looks like seasons over for them. Next year. Thnx for the reply anyhow.
If you still have these fruitingbodies, can you take a spore print? Entoloma will be easy to verify (or disprove). http://www.mushroomexpert.com/spore_print.html
Wasent aware of spore prints. The mushroom had company.. I'll pick its friend today and attempt a spore print.
The spore print -- the reddish colour -- is probably already seen on the cap fragment (another fruit body has grown partly above this one). Also, the pink tinge to the gills would suggest a reddish spore colour. Harri http://www.luomus.fi/users/harmaja/vasculars.htm
I agree with everything you said, but would prefer to educate a newbie as to how to take a spore print and what that tells someone. I know most people just want a quick ID but you never know when giving someone a tool or two will spark some further interest.
Spore print was not so much red as yellowish. didnt show enough to present itself in a photograph as i only had 3-6 hours to take the print. What does this mean?
Sorry Smak I still don't have a guess. A yellow spore print, as long as it isn't pinky-yellow, would put this in families which have white to yellow spore prints. I'm still thinking it might be a Tricholoma or Clitocybe: I realize the gill attachment does not quite match either of those, but sometimes attachment can be a bit ambiguous looking in a specimen. There are some yellow spored members of those two genera. -frog
I just browsed through a copy of "the complete mushroom book" by antonio carluccio and its not quite as complete as i had hoped in species identification. Some great recipied though. Hopefully next season i can catch up with a foray or two and run into the species again sometime. Thanks for the replies.