Enoki vs Funeral bell: how to tell them apart

Wild enoki (velvet shank) and the deadly funeral bell can grow on the very same log in autumn and winter. Wild enoki has a dark, velvety, ringless stem and a pure white spore print. The funeral bell has a thin ring zone on a fibrous stem and a rusty-brown spore print. Never eat any wild enoki without taking a spore print.

Side-by-side comparison

	Enoki Flammulina filiformis	Funeral bell Galerina marginata
Safety status	Edible (expert ID)	Deadly
Cap	Tiny, white to cream (cultivated), 1–3 cm, smooth	Honey to tawny-brown, 1.5–5 cm, sticky when wet, margin lined when moist
Underside	Cream gills	Pale, then rust-brown gills
Stem	Long, thin, white and velvety	Brown, fibrous, with a thin ring that often disappears
Smell	Mild	Mealy, like flour
Spore print	White	Rusty brown
Habitat	Cultivated in dark rooms; wild forms grow on dead wood in winter	Rotting stumps and logs, conifer and broadleaf
Season	Year-round	Apr – Nov

Photos: frankenstoen, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alan Rockefeller, CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick tests that separate them

1. Spore print: pure white (wild enoki) vs rusty brown (funeral bell).
2. Stem: dark velvety base with no ring (wild enoki) vs paler fibrous stem with a ring zone (funeral bell).
3. Gills: cream to pale yellow (wild enoki) vs turning rust-brown as spores mature (funeral bell).

Key clues for each

Enoki: Cultivated enoki is grown in bottles, white and long-stemmed. Orange-brown wild versions are velvet shanks.

Funeral bell: A small, brown, wood-growing mushroom with a rusty-brown spore print. Rule of thumb: avoid all small brown mushrooms.

Frequently asked questions

More look-alike comparisons

• Sheathed woodtuft vs funeral bell: a deadly mix-up
• Velvet shank vs funeral bell: winter mushrooms on wood