How to identify Moss Bell

To correctly identify Moss Bell (Galerina hypnorum), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   Typically 0.5-2.5 cm in diameter, initially conical or bell-shaped, expanding to convex or plano-convex with age, often retaining a small umbo. The margin is striate when moist and often translucent. Color is hygrophanous, varying from yellowish-brown, ochraceous, or tawny when moist, fading to pale buff or yellowish-tan when dry. The surface is smooth and somewhat greasy when wet.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to adnexed, sometimes with a slight decurrent tooth, moderately crowded. Color is initially pale yellowish, becoming rusty brown or cinnamon-brown with age due to spore maturation. Lamellulae are present.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Slender, 2-6 cm long and 1-3 mm thick, cylindrical, often slightly enlarged at the base. Color is typically concolorous with the cap or slightly paler, often darker towards the base. The surface is pruinose (finely powdered) at the apex, becoming smooth or finely fibrillose below. A faint, ephemeral ring or ring zone may be present in very young specimens, but it is usually absent or quickly disappears. The stem is hollow and fragile.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, fragile, and concolorous with the cap surface, or slightly paler.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small, delicate, and often gregarious, appearing in clusters or scattered among mosses.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing among mosses (especially Sphagnum, but also other moss species) in damp, boggy areas, swamps, fens, and moist woodlands. It can also be found on decaying wood or plant debris embedded within moss mats.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, hygrophanous, striate when moist.

Growth Form

Gregarious or scattered.

Spore Print

Rusty brown to cinnamon-brown.

Body color

Yellowish-brown, ochraceous, tawny (moist); pale buff, yellowish-tan (dry).

Odor

Mild, sometimes slightly farinaceous.

Flesh bruises

Does not bruise significantly.

Height

2-6 cm

Cap Diameter

0.5-2.5 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to adnexed, sometimes with a decurrent tooth.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, often slightly enlarged at base.
• Stem surface: Pruinose at apex, smooth to finely fibrillose below.
• Ring: Absent or ephemeral/indistinct ring zone.
• Stem cross-section: Hollow

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