Group E - Gilled fungi with a central to eccentric stem and an
annulus on the upper portion of the stem

1. Spore print white

    2. Gill edges uneven, finely scalloped or serrate; cap whitish with brown scales

        3. Gill edges uneven, finely scalloped; gills not bruising brown ............................Leucopholiota decorosa

        3. Gill edges serrate; gills bruising brown .................................................................Lentinus lepidius

    2. Gill edges even

        4. Gills free .....................................................................................................Leucoagaricus americanus

        4. Gills attached

            5. Gills not markedly decurrent

                6. Cap yellow brown, sticky, with erect black hairs over the darker center. Associated with black
                    shoestring-like rhizomorphs under the bark of parasitized trees.....................Armillaria mellea

                    Note: The traditional species Armillaria mellea has been divided into a number of separate
                               species. Many of them occur in the Northeast and some of them can be identified
                               with certainty only with microscopic examination. Some of these species are
                               illustrated on the Armillaria spp. page.

                6. Cap orange and granular; stalk sheathed with orange granules up to ring ......Cystoderma granosum

            5. Gills strongly decurrent on the stem; veil an evanescent, membranous ring leaving
                fragments on the cap margin.............................................................................Pleurotus dryinus

1. Spore print either orange to rusty orange to rusty brown to brown or purple-brown or darker

    7. Spore print orange to rusty orange to rusty brown to brown

        Note: Two large genera, Pholiota and Gymnopilus, fall under this key lead. Unfortunately,
                   very few species within these genera can reliably be identified based solely on macroscopic
                   features. Only a few common and conspicuous Pholiota species and one Gymnopilus
                   species are keyed below. Some of the additional diversity within these genera is illustrated
                   on the Pholiota spp. and Gymnopilus spp. pages.

        8. Cap and stalk covered with conspicuous scales or granules

            9. Basidiocarps solitary to several; cap margin ragged with partial veil remnants;
                a zone of fibers or a slight ring on the upper stalk......................Phaeomarasmius erinaceellus

            9. Basidiocarps typically in cespitose clusters or if solitary, then bright yellow

                10. Cap sticky to viscid (slimy)

                    11. Cap and stalk yellow; shaggy with bright yellow curled scales .......Pholiota flammans

                    11. Cap and stalk not yellow; brownish scales present

                          12. Cap slimy, scales flat...............................................................Pholiota aurivella

                          12. Cap sticky, scales erect and pointed .................................... Pholiota squarrosoides

                10. Cap dry............................................................................................Pholiota squarrosa

        8. Cap and stalk not covered with conspicuous scales

            13. Basidiocarp large (cap 7.5 – 18 cm wide, stalk 5-18 cm long, 1-3 cm thick);
                  spore print orange to rusty orange .......................................................Gymnopilus junonius

            13. Basidiocarp smaller (cap 2.5-10 cm wide, stalk 3-12.5 cm long, 3-10 mm thick);
                  spore print brown

                  14. Cap yellowish-brown, may be cracked to fissured with age; stalk whitish with
                        cordlike white rhizomorphs at base .................................................... Agrocybe acericola

                  14. Cap dark brown and fading, not cracking; stalk brownish to blackish toward base
                        with dense white mycelium at base ......................................................Galerina marginata

     7. Spore print purple-brown to purple-black

         15. Annulus membranous (i.e., like a membrane or thin skin)

               16. Annulus persistent, conspicuous, segmented on the underside and radially grooved
                     on the upper surface............................................................................Stropharia rugosoannulata

               16. Annulus evanescent, fragile.................................................................. Psathyrella candolleana

         15. Annulus not membranous but rather in the form of a conspicuous ring zone of appressed fibers near apex
               of stalk. Such fibrillose zones may take on the dark color of the spores after sufficient spore deposition
               and accumulation.

               17. Cap yellowish; gills yellow, then greenish, then tinted purple-brown
                     when mature...................................................................................Hypholoma fasciculare

               17. Cap brick-red; gills whitish, becoming purplish-gray at maturity.....Hypholoma sublateritium