How to identify Ghost Fungus

To correctly identify Ghost Fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis), 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.

   Initially convex, flattening with age, often developing a central depression or funnel-like shape. Margins are usually inrolled when young, becoming wavy or lobed. Color ranges from creamy white to pale grey, brownish, or purplish-black, often with darker shades at the center, 3-30 cm (1.2-12 inches) in diameter.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Decurrent (running down the stem), numerous, narrow, and crowded. Whitish to cream or pale yellow, often with a faint greenish tint, and are the primary source of the mushroom's bioluminescence.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Short, stout, often eccentric (off-center) or lateral, narrowing towards the base. Color is similar to the cap, whitish to pale cream or brownish, 2-8 cm (0.8-3.1 inches) long and 1-3 cm (0.4-1.2 inches) thick. Often tough and fibrous.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thick, firm, whitish, sometimes bruising purplish-brown when damaged. Does not change color significantly when cut.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Large, often overlapping clusters of fan-shaped or funnel-shaped caps. Bioluminescent, emitting a greenish glow in the dark, particularly from the gills.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing in dense, overlapping clusters on dead or decaying wood, particularly eucalyptus, casuarina, and other hardwoods. Can also be found on buried wood or at the base of living trees, appearing to grow from the ground.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth to slightly fibrillose, often sticky when moist.

Growth Form

Cespitose (clumped), sessile or with short, thick stalks.

Spore Print

White to creamy white.

Body color

Creamy white to pale grey, brownish, or purplish-black.

Odor

Mushroomy or slightly unpleasant.

Flesh bruises

May bruise purplish-brown, but not a significant distinguishing feature.

Height

Variable, stem 2-8 cm (0.8-3.1 inches)

Cap Diameter

3-30 cm (1.2-12 inches)

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Decurrent
• Stem shape: Typically eccentric or lateral, sometimes central but short.
• Stem surface: Smooth to finely fibrillose, color similar to cap.
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Solid

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