How to identify Bonnet Bell

To correctly identify Bonnet Bell (Mycena tenerrima), 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 2-8 mm in diameter, initially conical or bell-shaped, expanding to convex or plano-convex with age, often with a small central papilla. The surface is dry, pruinose (covered in fine white powder or granules), and translucent-striate when moist, revealing the gills beneath. Color is pure white to grayish-white.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Adnate to adnexed, sometimes nearly free, distant, and narrow. White to cream-colored. There are typically 8-14 gills that reach the stem, with shorter lamellulae in between.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   2-15 mm long and 0.5-1 mm thick, cylindrical, hollow, and very fragile. It is white, translucent, and often covered in fine white hairs or pruina, especially towards the base. The base is typically slightly enlarged and covered with radiating white mycelial hairs (rhizoids) that anchor it to the substrate.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Extremely thin, fragile, and white. Odor and taste are indistinct.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small, delicate, and entirely white to off-white.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing on decaying wood, particularly small twigs, branches, and woody debris of deciduous and coniferous trees. Often found in damp, shaded areas.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Pruinose, translucent-striate when moist

Growth Form

Solitary to scattered

Spore Print

White

Body color

White to grayish-white

Odor

Indistinct

Flesh bruises

Does not bruise

Height

2-15 mm

Cap Diameter

2-8 mm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Adnate to adnexed, sometimes nearly free
• Stem shape: Cylindrical
• Stem surface: Pruinose, finely hairy, translucent
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Hollow

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