Species details
The miller
Clitopilus prunulus
Extra caution required
Photo: Björn S... · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A whitish to grey funnel-shaped mushroom with pink gills and a strong fresh-flour smell.
Identification features
Gills run strongly down the stem and the spore print is pink; the cap is dry and often wavy.
Identification checklist
Check the entire fruitbody for identification. A whitish to grey funnel-shaped mushroom with pink gills and a strong fresh-flour smell. Gills run strongly down the stem and the spore print is pink; the cap is dry and often wavy. Typical habitat: On soil in deciduous and mixed woodland, edges, and clearings.
Detailed features
- Cap
- 4–8 cm, whitish to grey, initially convex with a strongly inrolled margin, later flatter; smooth and often somewhat irregular.
- Hymenophore
- Gills are thin and crowded, initially white, becoming increasingly pink from the spores; distinctly decurrent.
- Stem
- 2–3 × 0.5–1 cm, whitish, often curved or slightly off-centre, with a felted base.
- Flesh
- White, soft and brittle.
- Smell
- Strong and characteristically mealy.
- Spore print
- Pink.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 4–8 cm
- Stem height
- 2–3 cm
- Stem diameter
- 0,5–1 cm
Habitat
On soil in deciduous and mixed woodland, edges, and clearings.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Trophic mode
- Saprotrophic
- Substrate
- Forest soil
- Notes
- Grows on woodland soil and edges; often found in the same habitats as boletes.
How to separate similar species
Compare especially with these similar species: Clitocybe rivulosa, Clitocybe dealbata, Entoloma sinuatum. Check the combination of cap shape and colour, spore-bearing surface, stem, flesh changes and habitat. A single feature or photograph is not enough; if the key characters do not match the description, do not treat the identification as confirmed.
Similar species
- Fool's funnel (Clitocybe rivulosa) DANGEROUS
The poisonous funnel has a white rather than pink spore print; in the miller the gills clearly turn pink as they mature.
- Ivory funnel (Clitocybe dealbata) DANGEROUS
The deadly white funnel lacks a pink spore print; a mealy smell alone is not a safe identification character.