Dangerous mistake
Green brittlegill or death cap? How to tell them apart
Green brittlegill is an edible mushroom, while the death cap is a deadly poisonous mushroom. Compare the two mushrooms point by point.
The green brittlegill has a matt cap cracked into small patches, a brittle white stem without a ring and without a bulb with a volva. Young brittlegills must be checked especially carefully.
The death cap has a smooth, slightly shiny cap with radial fibrils (not cracked into patches), a hanging ring and a bulb with a sac-like volva at the base. Dig up the whole stem – the brittlegill has an even, brittle stem with no volva.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Green brittlegill | Death cap |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility | Edible | Deadly poisonous |
| Cap | 6–15 cm, globose, then expanded to slightly depressed; grey-green to verdigris, matt, dry; the cuticle cracks into small green patches on a paler background (a “cobbled” pattern). | 5–15 cm, hemispherical, then expanded; greenish, olive, yellowish-green to white (white form), with darker, radially innate fibrils; smooth, usually without patches, margin not striate. |
| Under the cap | Gills white, then pale cream, brittle; spore print white to light cream. | Gills always white (slightly cream-greenish in old specimens), crowded, free; in young specimens covered by a white veil. |
| Stem | 2–12 cm, white, stout, solid, spongy with age, brittle; no ring, no bulb and no volva. | 8–15 cm, whitish with a yellowish-greenish zigzag pattern; a distinct, hanging white ring; base bulbous, surrounded by a tall, free-standing, white, sac-like volva (often hidden in the soil). |
| Flesh | White, thick, firm, brittle; turns slightly brown when damaged. | White, slightly yellow-green under the cap cuticle; does not change colour when broken. |
| Smell and taste | Smell faint, nutty; taste mild, nutty. | Mature fruit bodies smell sweetish and sickly (like artificial honey), young ones mild. Never taste. |
| Habitat | Broadleaf forests, mainly under beeches and oaks, also under birches; less often coniferous forests (spruce forests). Usually solitary. | Common in broadleaf and mixed forests, especially oak and beech woods, less often in coniferous forests; also in parks and grassy areas near trees. Likes fertile soils, neutral to alkaline. |
| Season | July, August, September | June, July, August, September, October, November |
How to recognise it: green brittlegill
- Green cap cracked into small patches, matt
- Brittle white stem without a ring and without a volva
- White, brittle gills
- Mild, nutty taste
How to recognise it: death cap
- Gills white throughout the life of the fruit body (field mushrooms have pink, then brown gills)
- Sac-like volva at the bulbous stem base – dig up the whole mushroom to see it
- Hanging ring below the cap
- Greenish cap with radial fibrils (can also be white)
- White spore print; sweetish, sickly smell of older fruit bodies
Safety rule
Never eat a mushroom identified only from a website, a photo or an app. Show any doubtful specimen to a certified mushroom inspector at the sanepid (state sanitary inspection); in season the advice points are free. Do not give wild-picked mushrooms to children.
The golden rules of foraging →Frequently asked questions
Green brittlegill or death cap: how can you tell them apart?
The green brittlegill has a matt cap cracked into small patches, a brittle white stem without a ring and without a bulb with a volva. Young brittlegills must be checked especially carefully. The death cap has a smooth, slightly shiny cap with radial fibrils (not cracked into patches), a hanging ring and a bulb with a sac-like volva at the base. Dig up the whole stem – the brittlegill has an even, brittle stem with no volva.
Death cap: what to do if you have eaten it?
Call 112 at once or go to A&E (SOR), and take any leftover mushrooms with you. Amatoxins (mainly α-amanitin) and phallotoxins – phalloides (cytotoxic) syndrome. First symptoms (vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain) only after approx. 8–16 h (on average approx. 12 h), earlier in children; then a deceptive improvement, and after 2–6 days damage to the liver and kidneys; death usually after several days. Hospital treatment, sometimes a liver transplant. At any suspicion go to hospital immediately and keep the mushroom remains.
Sources
- Wikipedia (pl): Gołąbek zielonawy
- grzyby.pl (M. Snowarski): Russula virescens
- First Nature: Russula virescens, Greencracked Brittlegill
- Wikipedia (pl): Muchomor zielonawy
- grzyby.pl (M. Snowarski): Amanita phalloides
- First Nature: Amanita phalloides, Deathcap
Last checked: 9 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Write to us.