How to tell Ivory funnel from White knight

Cap 2-5 cm across, convex when young, becoming funnel-shaped over time, with a depressed centre and a thin wavy margin. Colour whitish, cream, with pale grey or ochre patches; silky-sheened in wet weather, chalky white when dry. Surface smooth, with barely visible radial streaks.

The cap is 4–10 cm across. Young caps are conical to convex with an inrolled margin, then flatten out around a small, low boss, often with a wavy edge. In the white knight the margin is smooth; a ribbed margin points more to the chemical knight of birch woods.

The colour is white to cream, sometimes with a pale yellow tinge. With age the centre turns ochre or yellowish brown, and old caps develop ochre spots. The surface is dry, matt and smooth, and stays dry even in rain.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, thin, decurrent down the stem (a hallmark of the genus Clitocybe). Colour whitish to cream. Spore print white.

The gills are white, later pale yellowish, thick, fairly distant and of unequal length. They are clearly notched just before the stem, and their edges are finely toothed.

The spore print is white. Pink or chocolate-brown gills mean a field mushroom relative; gills running down the stem point to a funnel.

Stem 2-4 cm tall, 0.3-0.8 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often curved. Colour whitish to cream, with white mycelial fuzz at the base. Surface smooth, no ring. Stem flesh firm.

The stem is 3–8 cm tall and 0.8–1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, sometimes slightly wider at the base. It's white to pale yellowish brown, powdery at the top, finely fibrous lower down, and slowly browns when handled.

There is no ring, no veil remnants and no bag-like volva at the base. If you find such a sac, you're holding an amanita.

The flesh is thin, white, watery and brittle, and doesn't change colour when cut. It has a faint, pleasant smell (slightly sweet, or mealy according to some guides) and a mild taste, and that's what makes it so treacherous: it smells and tastes "right", so nothing sets off alarm bells.

The flesh is white and firm, thick in the cap, and doesn't change colour noticeably when cut (some authors note a faint pink tint). The taste is acrid and burning, with bitterness.

Faint and indistinct, slightly sweet; some guides describe it as mealy. This adds to the danger: the smell raises no suspicion. Never rely on smell when identifying mushrooms of this size.

The smell is strong and unpleasant: sharp like radish, with a sickly sweet note of honey and a mealy edge when cut. Young specimens smell less, mature ones can be smelt from a distance. A nauseating chemical smell, like cooked beetroot or coal gas, belongs more to its relatives, the chemical knight of birch woods and the gassy knight (Tricholoma inamoenum).