How to identify Termite Mushroom

To correctly identify Termite Mushroom (Termitomyces heimii), 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.

   Convex to planoconvex, often with a prominent central umbo, brownish-grey to white surface.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Free from the stem, crowded, white to cream colored.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Sturdy, smooth, with a well-developed root-like pseudorhiza extending several centimeters into the soil.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Firm, white, unchanging when bruised.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Epigeal sporocarp emerging from a distinct deep-seated pseudorhiza.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Exclusively associated with active or abandoned termite mounds in tropical and subtropical forests.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth to slightly fibrous

Growth Form

Clustered

Spore Print

Pinkish-white to salmon

Body color

White, grey, or brownish

Odor

Mild, mushroom-like

Flesh bruises

Does not change color

Height

5-15 cm excluding pseudorhiza

Cap Diameter

5-12 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Free
• Stem shape: Cylindrical
• Stem surface: Smooth
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Solid

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