How to identify Golden Trumpet

To correctly identify Golden Trumpet (Xeromphalina campanella), 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 bell-shaped (campanulate) to convex, becoming broadly convex to flat, often with a central depression or umbilicus. The margin is typically striate (grooved) when moist. Color ranges from yellowish-orange to reddish-brown, often fading to buff or yellowish-tan with age or in dry conditions. The surface is smooth and somewhat translucent when wet.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Decurrent (running down the stem), widely spaced, and often connected by cross-veins (anastomosing). Color is typically pale yellow to yellowish-orange, sometimes becoming slightly darker with age.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   2-6 cm long and 1-3 mm thick, central, slender, tough, and cartilaginous. The color is typically yellowish at the apex, gradually darkening to reddish-brown or nearly black towards the base. The base is often covered with fine, reddish-brown hairs (tomentose). It is hollow.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, yellowish, and rather tough.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Small, gregarious to densely clustered, often appearing in large numbers on decaying wood.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing in dense clusters on decaying conifer wood, particularly logs, stumps, and woody debris. Less commonly found on hardwood. It is a significant decomposer of woody material.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Smooth, striate when moist.

Growth Form

Clustered, saprobic.

Spore Print

White to pale cream.

Body color

Yellowish-orange to reddish-brown cap, yellowish gills, dark stem.

Odor

Mild.

Flesh bruises

Does not bruise.

Height

2-6 cm

Cap Diameter

1-3 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Decurrent, often anastomosing.
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, slender.
• Stem surface: Smooth at apex, hairy (tomentose) at base.
• Ring: Absent.
• Stem cross-section: Hollow.

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