Mitrula paludosa

Swamp beacon
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).

Habitat

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 the Europe from the British Isles to Eastern Europe.

On the West Coast of the United States, the Mitrula elegans looks similar.

Identification

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).

External links

• Images of the bog beacon in the UK
• Bog beacon locations in Northern Ireland
• Photographs with many European language translations of the name