How to identify Bog Bell

To correctly identify Bog Bell (Galerina paludosa), 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.

   1-3 cm in diameter, initially conical or bell-shaped, expanding to convex or broadly umbonate with age. The surface is smooth, hygrophanous, meaning it changes color depending on moisture content. When moist, it is typically reddish-brown to yellowish-brown, often with striations visible through to the center. When dry, it fades to a pale buff or yellowish-tan. The margin is often translucent-striate when moist.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to adnexed, sometimes with a slight decurrent tooth. They are moderately crowded, narrow, and initially pale yellowish-brown, becoming rusty brown to cinnamon brown with age due to the maturing spores. There are often lamellulae (short gills) present.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   3-10 cm long and 1-3 mm thick, slender, cylindrical, and often slightly enlarged at the base. It is concolorous with the cap or slightly paler, often darker towards the base. The surface is smooth or finely pruinose (powdery) at the apex, becoming fibrillose (with fine fibers) towards the base. A distinctive feature is the presence of a persistent, membranous, white to pale yellowish ring (annulus) located in the upper part of the stem. Below the ring, the stem is often covered with fine, white fibrils or a white sheath, especially when young, which can be remnants of a partial veil. The base is often surrounded by white mycelial threads.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, fragile, and concolorous with the cap surface, or slightly paler. It does not change color when bruised or cut.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small, fragile, and typically solitary to scattered. The overall appearance is slender and delicate.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Typically found growing gregariously or scattered among Sphagnum moss in bogs, fens, marshes, and other wet, acidic environments. It is a saprobic species, decomposing organic matter in these specialized habitats.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, hygrophanous, often striate when moist.

Growth Form

Solitary to gregarious.

Spore Print

Rusty brown to cinnamon brown.

Body color

Reddish-brown to yellowish-brown (moist), fading to pale buff (dry).

Odor

Indistinct or mildly fungoid.

Flesh bruises

Does not bruise.

Height

3-10 cm

Cap Diameter

1-3 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to adnexed, sometimes with a decurrent tooth.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, slender, often slightly enlarged at the base.
• Stem surface: Smooth or finely pruinose at apex, fibrillose towards base, often with a white sheath below the ring.
• Ring: Present, persistent, membranous, white to pale yellowish, located in the upper part of the stem.
• Stem cross-section: Solid or hollow with age.

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