Ringless honey fungusDesarmillaria tabescens

The cap of ringless honey fungus is 3 to 8 centimeters across. When young it is convex-bell-shaped; with age it opens up to flat, sometimes with a small bump. The surface is covered with small, flattened scales, especially in the center. The color is honey yellow, ocher-reddish or yellowish brown, darker in the center. The honey color and scaliness make it resemble honey fungus, but the margin is often paler.

The hymenophore is gilled. The gills are whitish or cream, developing pinkish-brown spots with age; they are attached to the stem or run slightly down it. The spore print is white. Pale gills that turn brown with age, together with the absence of a ring on the stem, help you recognize this species.

The stem is cylindrical, tapering toward the base, 5 to 12 centimeters tall, fibrous and tough. Its defining feature is the complete absence of the ring that honey fungus has; the stem is smooth along its entire length. It is yellowish at the top and reddish brown lower down, and several stems often grow fused together in a cluster at the base. There is no volva.

The flesh is white or cream, fairly thin in the cap and fibrous and tough in the stem. It barely changes color when cut. The taste is mild and pleasant, with no bitterness, but because the raw mushroom tends to cause digestive upset, it must always be boiled thoroughly before eating. Young caps are chosen for the table.

The smell is faint, pleasant and mushroomy, with no sharp notes. Aroma is not a defining feature, so for identification rely on the honey-colored scaly cap, the absence of a ring on the stem, growth in dense clusters on the roots of broadleaf trees and the late-summer-to-autumn season.