Amphinema byssoides or Amylocorticium cebennense
How they differ, how to recognize them and which is more dangerous — a mushroom comparison
The short answer
Amphinema byssoides and Amylocorticium cebennense are similar species that can be mixed up while foraging. The main visible difference: season: Amphinema byssoides — spring, summer, autumn, winter, Amylocorticium cebennense — spring, summer, autumn. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: cap color, cap surface, substrate.
Amphinema byssoides
Amphinema byssoides
Amylocorticium cebennense
Amylocorticium cebennense
📊 Comparing characteristics
| Characteristic | Amphinema byssoides | Amylocorticium cebennense |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Amphinema byssoides Inedible | Amylocorticium cebennense Inedible |
| Season | Amphinema byssoides SpringSummerAutumnWinter | Amylocorticium cebennense SpringSummerAutumn |
| Use | Amphinema byssoides Not eaten | Amylocorticium cebennense Not eaten |
| Size | Amphinema byssoides Very small (<3 cm) | Amylocorticium cebennense Very small (<3 cm) |
| Cap color | Amphinema byssoides WhiteYellowOrange | Amylocorticium cebennense White |
| Cap shape | Amphinema byssoides Irregular | Amylocorticium cebennense Irregular |
| Cap surface | Amphinema byssoides Velvety | Amylocorticium cebennense Smooth |
| Taste | Amphinema byssoides Unknown | Amylocorticium cebennense Unknown |
| Smell | Amphinema byssoides Odorless | Amylocorticium cebennense Odorless |
| Flesh color change | Amphinema byssoides No change | Amylocorticium cebennense No change |
| Hymenophore | Amphinema byssoides Smooth | Amylocorticium cebennense Smooth |
| Stem | Amphinema byssoides Absent | Amylocorticium cebennense Absent |
| Ring (veil) | Amphinema byssoides No ring | Amylocorticium cebennense No ring |
| Volva | Amphinema byssoides No volva | Amylocorticium cebennense No volva |
| Substrate | Amphinema byssoides Dead woodForest litter | Amylocorticium cebennense Dead wood |
| Nutrition type | Amphinema byssoides Saprotroph | Amylocorticium cebennense Saprotroph |
| Partner trees | Amphinema byssoides PineSpruce | Amylocorticium cebennense SprucePine |
📅 Seasonality
Amphinema byssoides
Fruiting season
January – December
Amylocorticium cebennense
Fruiting season
May – October
🔬 Morphology
Cap
Amphinema byssoides
The fruiting body is spread out, soft and irregular in shape. Its color changes from white to yellowish-brown and turns ocher with age. The surface looks like a cottony coating — hence the name.
Amylocorticium cebennense
There is no “cap” as such. The fruiting body is soft, spread out and completely fused to the substrate. White, may yellow over time. It looks like a thin film on the wood surface.
Hymenophore
Amphinema byssoides
The spore-bearing surface is smooth or has barely visible warts. Spores egg-shaped or ellipsoid, with a single oil droplet inside, colorless or yellowish, 3–5 × 2–3 µm.
Amylocorticium cebennense
Smooth spore-bearing surface. White, like the whole surface. Spores small (6–9 × 2–2.7 µm), cylindrical, slightly curved.
Stem
Amphinema byssoides
There is no stem. The body is entirely spread out and attached to the substrate over its whole surface.
Amylocorticium cebennense
There is no stem. The fruiting body is entirely spread out, attached to the substrate over its whole surface.
Flesh
Amphinema byssoides
flesh thin, cottony, loose. No color change when cut.
Amylocorticium cebennense
flesh thin, soft. No distinctive color changes.
Smell
Amphinema byssoides
No distinctive smell.
Amylocorticium cebennense
No distinctive smell.
📍 Habitats
Amphinema byssoides
Amylocorticium cebennense
👀 Similar mushrooms — don't mix them up!
❓ Frequently asked questions
Can Amphinema byssoides and Amylocorticium cebennense be mixed up?
How to tell Amphinema byssoides from Amylocorticium cebennense?
Is Amylocorticium cebennense edible?
When do Amphinema byssoides and Amylocorticium cebennense grow?
Sources
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine