Sulphur tuft map of Turkey: where and when it grows

Which months?

Records peak in February, October and November; about 72% of dated records fall in September–November and 12% in March–May.

Sulphur tuft can be found for much of the year; Turkish GBIF records peak in October–November, with others in late winter and spring.

Habitat

It grows in crowded clusters on dead stumps, buried roots and rotting wood of both broadleaf trees and conifers, as a wood-decay (saprotrophic) fungus.

Look-alikes

Deadly galerina (Galerina marginata, deadly): It can grow on wood in the same places; its cap is honey-brown, the spore print rusty brown, and it contains amatoxins.

Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea, edible): Honey fungus has a white spore print, a distinct ring on the stem and small dark scales on the cap, and its gills are cream-white rather than greenish. Sulphur tuft has greenish-yellow gills and a purple-brown spore print.

Conifer tuft (Hypholoma capnoides, edible): It grows only on conifer wood, its young gills are greyish-lilac rather than greenish, and it is not bitter. The two are so alike that it is not recommended for beginners.

Sheathed woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis, edible): Its cap looks two-toned as it dries, the stem is scaly below the ring and the spore print is rusty brown. It can also be confused with the deadly Galerina marginata, so great care is needed.

Poplar mushroom (Cyclocybe cylindracea, edible): The poplar mushroom clusters on poplar and willow wood, has a pale brown cap and a clear ring, and is not bitter. The sulphur tuft has a sulphur-yellow cap, no ring and a very bitter taste.

Glistening inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus, inedible): It too grows in clusters around wood, but its cap is honey to mustard with glittering granules, its gills turn black and dissolve, and its flesh is not bitter.