Armillaria gallica is a honey mushroom that lives mostly as a saprobe and as a secondary parasite of trees already weakened by drought, defoliation or other fungi. It fruits mostly on the ground from buried wood and roots. The yellow-brown, finely fibrillose-scaly cap, the cobwebby white ring and the somewhat club-shaped stem help distinguish it. Its mycelium and fruit bodies are bioluminescent. A Michigan individual, the 'humongous fungus' first reported in 1992, was later estimated at about 2,500 years old and about 400 tonnes.
Edible only when thoroughly cooked; raw it tastes acrid. Taste is mild to bitter. Some people get an upset stomach, so try only a small amount at first. Always take a spore print: honey mushrooms are white, while the deadly Galerina marginata, which grows on wood and has a ring, has a rusty-brown print.
Help build this page
This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:
Photos. None yet — moderators review each photo before it appears.Sign in to add a photo
Sightings. Spotted it in the wild? Add it to the map.Open the map
Strains. No public strains of this species on WeMush yet.
Track Your Own Bulbous Honey Mushroom Grows
Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Habitat
Usually terrestrial from buried roots and wood, sometimes on stumps and logs, in hardwood and mixed forests. A saprobe or opportunistic parasite of weakened trees, including oak and red pine seedlings. It also attacks blueberry and grapevine.
Distribution
Temperate Asia, Europe and North America. Common east of the Rocky Mountains but rare in the Pacific Northwest. Introduced in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Characteristics
Cap: 2.5-9.5 cm, conical to convex to flat, brownish-yellow to brown, darker at the center, covered in fine erect fibers or scales; fading when dry. Gills: adnate to slightly decurrent, white becoming creamy or pale orange with rusty spots. Stem: 4-10 cm x 0.6-1.8 cm, nearly club-shaped with a base 1.3-2.7 cm thick; pale orange-brown above the ring, whitish to pinkish below, grayish-brown at the base. Ring: white, cobwebby, often with yellowish woolly mycelium. Rhizomorphs: black, 1-3 mm. Spore print: whitish. Spores: 7-8.5 x 5-6 um, ellipsoid.
