[Identify](https://www.snappit.app/identify) › Mushrooms & fungi # Mushroom identifier. What mushroom is this? Try it free: upload a photo of the cap, stem, underside and growing spot for a likely match. Then explore fungi in Snappit's field guide, for learning only, never for eating. [Mushroom Identifier](https://www.snappit.app/identify/mushrooms) · [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/snappit-identify-anything/id6756350404) · [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.snappit.snappit) ## How to identify a mushroom from a photo A mushroom on the lawn and a bracket growing on a log need different comparisons. Start with where it's growing, then look at the cap, the stem and any underside you can already see. Those clues narrow the group fast, but no photo can tell you a mushroom is safe to eat. ## What to look at when identifying a mushroom - **Show the cap and underside:** Try to capture both the cap and what's underneath it without pulling the fungus apart. The underside may have thin gills, tiny round pores or short tooth-like spines, and those structures narrow the field much faster than the color on top. - **Notice the stem shape:** Stem details are subtle but useful: thick or slender, even or swollen at the base, smooth or fuzzy, centered under the cap or off to one side. Look for a ring on the stem too. If the base disappears into soil, mulch or wood, that setting matters. - **Keep the growing surface in view:** Where it grows is a real clue, not just background. Is it coming from lawn soil, wood chips, a stump, a fallen log or a living tree trunk? Some mushrooms that seem to grow from the ground are actually attached to buried wood, which changes the shortlist. - **Compare young and older mushrooms:** Young mushrooms can look button-like, rounded or unusually pale, while older ones flatten, split, darken or curl at the edges. If several ages grow together, you'll get a better match from a fresh one that still shows clean edges and an intact underside. ## Mushroom features that are easy to mix up - **Gills versus pores versus teeth:** Gills are thin, blade-like ridges running from the stem out to the cap edge. Pores look like a sponge of tiny holes. Teeth are little spines or pegs pointing down. All three blur together in a fuzzy photo, so a sharp close view of the underside really pays off. - **Bracket fungus versus cap-and-stem mushroom:** Bracket fungi, also called shelf fungi, usually stick out from wood like ledges and have little or no stem. Cap-and-stem mushrooms hold the cap up on a distinct stalk. Some species blur that line, so treat shape as a clue, not a rule. - **Fresh mushroom versus weathered one:** A fresh mushroom usually shows cleaner color, crisp edges and a readable underside. Weathered ones bleach, crack, turn slimy, dry out or lose their surface texture after sun, frost, rain or age. If there are several, base your comparison on the least damaged one. ## How to read mushrooms in the lawn Start with how the mushrooms are arranged. A few scattered caps, a tight tuft, a ring in the grass and a line running over buried roots each point to different growth patterns. Include the grass and the stem bases if you can see them without digging or picking. After rain, lawns sprout fragile mushrooms that collapse by afternoon as well as sturdier kinds that last for days. Compare sizes across the patch, notice whether older caps flatten or wrinkle, and watch for mushrooms coming up from bare soil, thatch or hidden wood. ## How to read fungi growing on wood With wood fungi, show what shape is attached to the wood. A bracket may form a single shelf, a rosette, overlapping fans or a hoof-like lump, while other species still make clear caps and stems from logs, stumps or wood-chip beds. If you can see the underside from below or the side, keep it in frame without breaking anything off. Pores, gills or teeth matter here too, but so do thickness, banded colors on top, and whether the flesh looks fresh and moist or hard and woody. ## Photo tips for better mushroom IDs 1. **Get down low:** A side-on view often shows the cap shape, stem and at least part of the underside in one shot, which tells you far more than a straight overhead photo. 2. **Leave the growing spot in the frame:** Keep some soil, grass, bark, stump or wood chips in the picture so the match can use where the fungus is attached. 3. **Pick the freshest mushroom:** If several similar mushrooms grow together, center the least damaged one, with a younger or older neighbor nearby for scale and age contrast in the same shot. > **Explore with care.** Never eat or taste a wild mushroom based on an app or photo result. Keep little kids and pets from nibbling lawn mushrooms, wash hands after touching fungi, and call Poison Control or a vet right away if any gets eaten. ## Mushroom identification FAQ ### How do I identify mushrooms growing in my lawn? Start with how they grow: alone, in a loose group, in a dense tuft, or in an arc or ring. Keep some grass and the stem bases in the photo. Lawn mushrooms sometimes sprout from buried roots or wood, so where they're attached can change the best match. ### How should I photograph a fungus growing on wood? Show the fungus and what it's attached to, whether that's a stump, log, branch or wood chips. A slightly low angle reveals thickness and underside texture. Shelf fungi often have no obvious stem, so the way they attach matters even more. ### Can a mushroom be identified from a photo of the cap only? Sometimes, if the cap has a very distinctive color or texture. But a top-down shot hides many of the best clues: gills, pores, teeth and stem shape. Take a side view too, then upload the single clearest photo. ### Can an app tell me if a mushroom is edible or poisonous? No. No photo result can confirm a mushroom is safe, so never eat or taste one based on an app, however confident the name looks. Edible and deadly species can overlap in color and shape, and some can only be separated with a spore print, a microscope or an expert in hand. ### What's the best way to photograph a cluster of mushrooms? Show how they connect: separate stems growing close together, stems fused at the base, or caps overlapping on wood. If younger and older mushrooms are clearly part of the same cluster, keep a few of each in frame, since age changes shape quickly. ### Is there a mushroom identifier app for kids? Yes. Snappit – Identify Anything for iPhone and Android identifies fungi, plants, bugs, birds and more from a photo, with short facts written for young readers. Every find becomes a collectible card with a rarity tier in a private family collection. There are no ads or chat, it's free to download with free daily IDs, and an optional subscription unlocks unlimited snaps. It's for learning names, never for deciding what's edible. ### Why is a weathered mushroom harder to identify? Because weather wipes out the features that separate one fungus from another. Sun bleaches caps, rain makes surfaces slimy, and age curls or cracks the edges. If you can, photograph the freshest mushroom in the patch. ### Can bracket fungi be identified without a stem? Often, yes. Many wood fungi are recognized by the shape of the shelf, the color and banding on top, how thick it is, and whether the underside has pores or teeth. A missing stem is normal for many bracket and crust-like fungi. ## Meet the mushrooms Real fungus cards from the Snappit field guide, from lawn toadstools to shelf fungi on old logs. Tap one to look closer. - [Fly Agaric](https://www.snappit.app/explore/fly-agaric) (*Amanita*) - [Chicken of the Woods](https://www.snappit.app/explore/chicken-of-the-woods) (*Laetiporus*) - [Turkey Tail](https://www.snappit.app/explore/turkey-tail) (*Trametes*) - [Scarlet Elf Cup](https://www.snappit.app/explore/scarlet-elf-cup) (*Sarcoscypha*) - [Indigo Milk Cap](https://www.snappit.app/explore/indigo-milk-cap) (*Lactarius indigo*) - [Amethyst Deceiver](https://www.snappit.app/explore/amethyst-deceiver) (*Laccaria amethystina*) - [Glowing Panellus](https://www.snappit.app/explore/glowing-panellus) (*Panellus stipticus*) - [Golden Jelly Fungus](https://www.snappit.app/explore/golden-jelly-fungus) (*Tremella mesenterica*) ## Follow your curiosity - [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/identify/plants) - [Trees](https://www.snappit.app/identify/trees) - [Mosses & liverworts](https://www.snappit.app/identify/mosses) ## Further reading - [Natural History Museum: identification help and UK nature guides](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature.html) --- Source: [Mushroom Identifier by Photo: Free Fungus ID — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/identify/mushrooms)