Funeral Bell
Poisonous 
Autumn 
Summer 
The aptly named Funeral Bell contains the same toxins as the Deathcap so it is a good mushroom to get to know and avoid. It has quite a few similar looking mushrooms as it is an LBM, little brown mushroom, but apart from the velvet shank, which is fairly easy to identify, there are none others of interest to the forager.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Funeral Bell (EN), Cloch Godreog (CY), Hełmówka Jadowita (PL), Fenyves Sisakgomba (HU) |
| Scientific Name | Galerina marginata |
| Season Start | Aug |
| Season End | Nov |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 2-7 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 2-6 |
Cap
2-6 cm. Varying in colour from pale yellow/brown to orange depending on how wet the cap is and how old, usually with a lighter edge compared to the centre.
Gills
Pale tan to red/brown. Fairly crowded and broadly attached to the stem to slightly running down it (adnate to slightly decurrent).
Stem
2-7 cm long, o.3-0.8 cm diameter. Pale silvery/tan to dark brown depending on age and weather conditions. The stem is fibrilose, particularly below the ring.
Skirt
Has a small membranous skirt.
Flesh
Pale and thin, darkening with age.
Habitat
Mainly on conifer stumps but can be found on deciduous tree stumps, woodchips and in open grassland.
Possible Confusion
Can look like the Velvet Shank, pictured, but the Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes) has a black, velvety stem with no skirt although the stem is light tan on younger mushrooms.
Also looks very like the Sheathed Woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis), which is an edible mushroom but looks too much like the Funeral Bell to make it a safe mushroom for consumption.
Spore Print
Snuff brown. Ellipsoid.
Frequency
Fairly common.
Other Facts
This mushroom is very poisonous and contains the same toxins as the Deathcap (Amanita phalloides).
6 comments for Funeral Bell
As a key identity – does this have the “bootlaces” like the honey Fungus?
The Funeral Bell does have rhizomorphs but I can’t find any images to confirm. I will look for some and update the guide with photos if I’m successful.
Hi , i find some mushroom in realy big size near the stump of birch tree and its realy lookalike honeymushroom and it has big and white and tuff stem is this possible to be deadly Galerina marginata?
There is quite a size difference between the larger Honey fungus and the Funeral Bell but it is possible they could be confused. You can send photos to [email protected] and we’ll try to identify them for you. Please include photos of the cap, gills, stem and where they are growing.
How do we get rid of it we have small children and it is growing in our garden?
One way is to physically remove the mushrooms as they start growing, they can’t harm you from touching them, only consuming them, and put them in the compost or bin. It is also good to try and help children be aware of poisonous plants and mushrooms so they hopefully learn not to go around trying to eat anything they see. I understand that this very much depends on the age of the children and have to admit it’s a bit rich coming from me, I used to try all sorts of plants and berries when I was younger without knowing exactly what they were. I was lucky, I never ate anything I shouldn’t have.
The Funeral Bell mainly grows on dead or dying wood or stumps so it may be possible to remove the wood and solve the problem that way.