About this fungus
Conifer Tuft is a fungus in the Strophariaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A yellow-brown to cinnamon mushroom growing in conspicuous tufts from decaying conifer wood. The smoky-grey mature gills are the feature behind its alternative name, Smoky-gilled Hypholoma.
What to check
First confirm the conifer substrate, including buried roots or wood that can make a cluster look terrestrial. Caps are 2 to 7 cm, smooth and dry, usually darker at the centre and paler at the margin, with fine veil fibres sometimes left around young edges. The attached gills begin whitish or pale yellow, become grey and finally smoky grey-brown, without a yellow-green or olive cast. The slender stems have no ring, and the spore print is purple-brown. Use substrate, gill progression, cap colour and veil structure together.
Variation
Young caps may be bell-shaped and bright yellow or orange-brown, while older caps broaden, fade towards tan or cinnamon and sometimes split at the margin. Gills can look very pale on unopened mushrooms but become distinctly smoky as purple-brown spores mature. Loose veil fibres at the cap edge are most visible when young and may soon disappear.
Lookalikes
Sulphur Tuft, Hypholoma fasciculare, commonly shares the tufted habit but has yellow-green to olive gills rather than clean grey or smoky-grey gills. Brick Tuft, Hypholoma lateritium, usually has a stronger brick-red cap and often grows on hardwood, although regional guidance differs about its edibility. Funeral Bell, Galerina marginata, is a dangerous wood-growing comparison with brown rather than smoky-grey gills and usually a ring or ring zone, but rings can be lost.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic in dense clusters or smaller groups on decaying conifer stumps, logs and roots, especially pine, spruce and Douglas-fir. It is widespread across northern temperate regions and fruits most often from late summer through autumn and winter, with spring appearances also recorded.
Food safety
Edible.
Use this profile to learn what to examine and compare, not as proof that a mushroom is safe to eat. Check the whole specimen and every important lookalike before reaching an identification.
Photographs
Landsnorkler / CC BY-SA 3.0
Richard Sullivan / CC BY-SA 3.0Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: