Fungus · GBIF taxon 2529908
Common Conecap
Pholiotina rugosaAlso known as Deadly Conecap, Movable-ring Conecap
Common Conecap is a small, brownish mushroom found growing in rich soil, woodchips, and lawns across Eurasia and North America. It features a conical brown cap that flattens with age and a fragile stem bearing a distinct, movable membranous ring. Highly dangerous to foragers, it synthesizes the same lethal amatoxins found in the Death Cap mushroom.
DeadlySaprobicWoodchips
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Decaying plant matter
- Wood mulch
- Soil nutrients
Predators
- Slugs
- Fungus gnat larvae
- Snails
ThreatsNone identified; thrives in human-managed landscapes
HabitatsWoodchip mulch, fertilized lawns, garden beds, and forest edges
Life spanFruiting bodies last 2 to 5 days; underground mycelium lives perennially
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- SpeciesPholiotina rugosa
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskHigh
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is high
- Contains lethal amatoxins and has toxic look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
- Why it is dangerous
- Contains lethal amatoxins, which inhibit RNA polymerase II, leading to severe gastrointestinal illness followed by acute liver and kidney failure.
- How to recognize a risky encounter
- Recognizable by its smooth tawny cap, rust-brown spore print, and a distinct movable ring on its delicate stem.
- What to do
- Do not ingest under any circumstances; observe without eating and wash hands thoroughly after touch.
Responsible observation
- Identification: Check the fragile stem with a hand lens to see the distinct movable ring.
- Safety: Treat all small brown mushrooms with extreme caution and never consume them.
- Habitat Spotting: Look for fruiting bodies in fresh woodchip mulch after heavy rain.
Shared Toxin (c) Davide Puddu, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Davide Puddu · cc-by
Deadly Look-Alike (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alan Rockefeller · cc-by
Distantly Related Look-Alike (c) Alan Rockefeller, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alan Rockefeller · cc-by
Genus Relative (c) mycowalt, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by mycowalt · cc-by-sa
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