Swamp beacon | |
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Mitrula paludosa growing on swamp-leaves in the Middlesex Fells Reservation. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Leotiomycetes |
Order: | Helotiales |
Family: | Helotiaceae |
Genus: | Mitrula |
Species: | M. paludosa |
Binomial name | |
Mitrula paludosa Fr. |
The swamp beacon (US) or bog beacon (UK) is the club-shaped fruiting body of the Mitrula paludosa fungus (which was known as Mitrula phalloides).
These mushrooms are found in swamps and bogs across North America in the cooler climates of south-eastern Canada, New England south to the Mason–Dixon line, and much of the mid-western United States. Also present in Europe from the British Isles to Eastern Europe.
On the West Coast of the United States, the Mitrula elegans looks similar.
Many related species of Mitrula look identical without microscopic study. The cap or club is yellow with a white stalk (possibly with some pink coloration).