Mycoscout The short answer
The spore print decides this pair. Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) drops a white to very pale cream print; the deadly galerina (Galerina marginata) drops a rusty brown one. MDC's deadly galerina page lists the ring on the stalk and the rusty spore print as the features that separate it from its look-alikes. Before the print is ready, look at the gills, which show the same colour: whitish and widely spaced on honey fungus, yellowish turning rusty on galerina. Honey fungus is also the bigger mushroom, with a cap that often carries dark hairy scales; galerina is a small, smooth, sticky brown cap on a thin stem that darkens to blackish brown at the base.
Everything else overlaps: the ring, the brown cap, the cluster on wood, the season. Check every feature, not one, and never cook a batch that has not been sorted mushroom by mushroom.
Side by side
| Feature | Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) | Deadly galerina (Galerina marginata) |
|---|---|---|
| Cap | 1–6 in (MDC), 5–15 cm (First Nature); honey-yellow to red-brown, darker in the centre, sticky, often with "black hairy scales in the center" | 1–2.5 in (MDC), 1–7 cm (First Nature); brown to tawny or honey-yellow with an orange tint, "sticky and smooth", fading as it dries to look two-toned |
| Gills | Whitish, darkening with age (MDC); flesh-coloured when young, then yellowish with rusty spots (First Nature); narrow, widely spaced | Yellowish at first, "becoming rusty" as spores mature; broad, close, attached |
| Ring | Pale yellowish, usually persisting (First Nature); whitish on the upper stem (MDC) | Thin, fragile, pale to rusty brown, "collapsed, bracelet-like" (MushroomExpert); may shrink to a ring zone or disappear with age |
| Stem and base | 2–6 in, thick, fibrous, whitish becoming reddish brown; finely woolly; stems fused at the base in a cluster | 1–4 in, thin (3–8 mm), off-white above and blackish brown below, hollow |
| Flesh when cut | White and firm | Not a field feature; do not taste |
| Smell | Faint, acidic (First Nature) | Mealy (First Nature) |
| Spore print | White to very pale creamy white | Rusty brown (MDC, MushroomExpert); snuff brown (First Nature) |
| Substrate and habit | Clusters at the base of trees and stumps, especially oak, and over buried wood; a tree parasite that forms "vast swarms" of caps | Scattered or clustered on rotting conifer and hardwood logs, stumps and buried wood, where it "can appear to grow from soil" |
| Season | US: August–November, after autumn rain; UK: July–November | US: year-round, peaking September–November, also common in spring; UK: summer and autumn |
| Range | Very common across Britain and Ireland, mainland Europe and North America | Widely distributed and common across North America; uncommon but far from rare in Britain and Ireland; across central and northern Europe |
Features that do not separate them
- The ring. Both have one. MDC's honey fungus page separates it from the ringless honey mushroom by the ring, but the deadly galerina has a ring as well.
- Brown cap on wood in a cluster. That describes both species and a dozen others. First Nature also names wood tuft (sheathed woodtuft, Kuehneromyces mutabilis) as a galerina look-alike, so a cluster of small brown mushrooms on a log needs a print whatever you think it is.
- Size. Honey fungus is usually larger, but young honey fungus and large galerina overlap. A cluster of mixed sizes can hide both species.
- Cap colour. Both are "honey" coloured at some stage. Both are hygrophanous: they fade as they dry, so one mushroom looks two colours in two photos.
- "It is growing from the ground." Both grow from buried wood and look terrestrial (MDC says so for both).
- Scales on the cap. Honey fungus often has dark hairy scales at the centre, but rain washes them off and dark honey fungus (A. ostoyae) has more. Absence of scales does not make a galerina; presence does not make a honey fungus.
Why one feature is never enough: the deadly galerina's ring can vanish with age and its gills start yellowish before they turn rusty. A young galerina photographed from above is a small honey-coloured cap. Take the print; our guide explains how to take a spore print in a few hours with paper and a bowl.
What happens if you get it wrong
The deadly galerina contains amatoxins, the same toxin group as the death cap, and NAMA lists Galerina marginata alongside Amanita phalloides in the amatoxin syndrome. The pattern is the delay: NAMA gives "6 to 24 hours after ingestion" with no discomfort, then about a day of "violent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps", then an apparent recovery of about a day, then relapse with "kidney and liver failure", which can be fatal. MDC puts the first symptoms at "10 or more hours after eating" and warns that they may ease temporarily before the organ damage shows. First Nature says sickness and vomiting are "followed eventually by liver damage" and, without prompt treatment, death.
Because the first symptoms arrive long after the meal and then fade, the false recovery is the trap. Anyone who has eaten a brown mushroom from a cluster on wood that was not printed and sorted should get help before symptoms start, and keep a piece of the mushroom for identification. The numbers are in the box above.
Honey fungus is not harmless either. NAMA lists the Armillaria mellea group among mushrooms that cause "GI distress in susceptible individuals", with a delay of up to 5 hours; MDC says cook it thoroughly and try a small amount first; First Nature advises against collecting it for the pot at all. Both species pages carry the details: honey fungus and deadly galerina.
Using an app to check a find
A photo of a brown cluster on a stump shows the growth habit and the cap, and a photo of the underside can show gill colour. It cannot show the spore print, and it cannot see the rusty tint of young galerina gills in poor light. Mycoscout asks for the gills and the stem, leads with the verdict, shows its confidence, and names the deadly galerina as a look-alike to rule out with the spore print as the feature to check. It does not take spore prints; you do, on paper, in a few hours. When the result is "edible" for a cluster of small brown mushrooms, treat it as a prompt to print and ask a local expert, not as permission. Mycoscout is a field companion, not a clearance to eat.
Frequently asked questions
What colour is a deadly galerina spore print?
Rusty brown. MDC and MushroomExpert both say rusty; First Nature calls it snuff brown. Honey fungus prints white to very pale cream. Take the print on half white and half dark paper so either colour shows.
How do you tell honey mushrooms from deadly galerina?
Take a spore print: white for honey fungus, rusty brown for galerina. Then compare the rest: honey fungus is larger, with a cap that often carries dark hairy scales and whitish gills; galerina is small, with a smooth sticky cap, yellowish gills turning rusty, and a stem darkening to blackish brown below. Confirm with a local expert.
Is honey fungus edible?
Sources disagree. MDC calls it a good edible when young and well cooked but says it upsets some stomachs; First Nature recommends not collecting it for the pot because some people react badly. It must be cooked, and it has a deadly look-alike. Verify every find before eating.
Where does deadly galerina grow?
On rotting wood of both conifers and hardwoods: logs, stumps and buried wood, where it can look like it grows from soil. MDC lists it year-round in Missouri, most often September to November; First Nature gives summer and autumn in Britain.
Sources
How we checked this page: the Mycoscout team cross-checked every edibility, toxicity and look-alike statement against the sources below on October 31, 2026. It has not been reviewed by a mycologist.
- Honey Mushroom (Armillaria mellea), Missouri Department of Conservation. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Deadly Galerina (Galerina marginata), Missouri Department of Conservation. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Armillaria mellea, Honey Fungus, First Nature. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Galerina marginata, Funeral Bell, First Nature. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Galerina marginata, MushroomExpert.com. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Mushroom poisoning syndromes, North American Mycological Association. Accessed October 31, 2026.
