Species details

Frosted funnel

Clitocybe phyllophila

Deadly poisonous

Description

A whitish woodland funnel with a frosted cap and crowded pale gills; it contains muscarine and is dangerously poisonous.

Identification features

The cap is chalk-white to pale grey, initially convex and later slightly depressed. Gills are crowded, broadly attached, and pale with a faint pinkish tone. The stem is slender and browns with age.

Identification checklist

Check the white frosted cap, crowded gills, litter habitat, and absence of the typical mealy smell of the miller. Do not taste white funnel mushrooms.

How to separate similar species

The miller is edible but can look very similar. A mistaken identification can be dangerous, so a photograph alone is insufficient.

Habitat

Grows in deciduous and coniferous woodland, often in leaf or needle litter, from summer to late autumn.