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Edibility
Toxic
Lookalike Danger
2 / 5
Habitat
🪵 Dead wood
Season
Aug – Nov
"Clusters on dead wood. Cap fades from purple-red to yellow with age, bitter to the taste. Some populations contain psilocybin alongside the bitter gymnopilins."
🌳 Host Trees & Plants
This species is found with or partners with the following hosts. Ectomycorrhizal hosts (green border) form a root-level partnership; ericoid / arbutoid shrubs (purple border) share the same mycorrhizal networks.
Rotting Wood
Saprobic substrate
Saprobic substrate
Decomposing wood of unspecified species — substrate for many generalist saprobic mushrooms.
Clusters of bitter purple-red caps fading to yellow with age, on dead wood. Bitterness comes from gymnopilins (terpenoid sesquiterpenes). Some populations contain psilocybin in addition to the bitter compounds — variable by location and clade.
Habitat
Dead wood (both hardwood and conifer) across the continental US. Fruits August through November.
Look for this on the ground
Mixed conifer duff
Layered pine and fir needles, assorted cones, dry needle mat.
Season Windows by Region
Region
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
White Mountains / Apache-Sitgreaves
AZ · 6,500–11,400 ft
Clear Creek Canyon / Mayhem Gulch
5,500–8,500 ft
Jones Pass Road
8,000–11,000 ft
Kenosha Pass
8,000–10,500 ft
Guanella Pass Corridor
9,000–12,000 ft
Vasquez Creek / Winter Park
8,500–11,000 ft
Pike NF South / Tarryall
7,500–10,500 ft
Royal Gorge / Wet Mountains
6,500–9,500 ft
Rampart Range / Palmer Divide
7,000–9,500 ft
North Cascades
WA · 1,500–8,000 ft
Central Cascades / Snoqualmie
WA · 1,500–7,000 ft
Olympic Peninsula
WA · 500–6,000 ft
Gifford Pinchot / South Cascades
WA · 1,000–8,000 ft
Mt Hood / North Oregon Cascades
OR · 2,000–8,000 ft
Central Oregon / Deschutes
OR · 3,500–9,000 ft
South Cascades / Klamath
OR · 4,000–9,000 ft
Sangre de Cristo / Carson NF
NM · 7,000–13,100 ft
Jemez / Santa Fe NF
NM · 6,500–11,200 ft
Santa Fe / Pecos Wilderness
NM · 7,000–12,600 ft
Gila NF / Black Range
NM · 5,500–10,800 ft
Coconino / Flagstaff
AZ · 6,500–10,000 ft
Northern Sierra / Tahoe
CA · 5,000–9,000 ft
Central Sierra / Alpine
CA · 6,000–11,000 ft
South Sierra / El Dorado
CA · 5,000–9,500 ft
NW IL Driftless
IL · 600–1,200 ft
Hoosier NF / Brown County
IN · 500–1,050 ft
NE Ohio
OH · 650–1,350 ft
SW Michigan
MI · 580–1,000 ft
Central MI
MI · 700–1,400 ft
Northern Lower Peninsula
MI · 600–1,700 ft
WI Driftless Area
WI · 650–1,700 ft
Eastern IA River Valleys
IA · 550–1,100 ft
Southern IA
IA · 700–1,300 ft
SE MN Driftless
MN · 650–1,350 ft
Central MN
MN · 900–1,500 ft
Southwest Virginia Highlands
VA · 2,000–5,729 ft
Pocono Mountains
PA · 800–2,200 ft
Catskills / Hudson Valley
NY · 400–4,180 ft
Great Smoky Mountains
TN · 900–6,643 ft
Western NC Mountains
NC · 2,000–6,684 ft
Foothills / Piedmont Transition
NC · 800–2,500 ft
Chattahoochee National Forest
GA · 1,200–4,784 ft
Ocala National Forest
FL · 20–200 ft
Myakka / Southwest Florida
FL · 5–100 ft
Lakes Region / Southern NH
NH · 300–1,800 ft
Green Mountains
VT · 800–4,393 ft
Berkshires / Western MA
MA · 500–3,491 ft
Northwest CT Hills
CT · 400–2,380 ft
Arcadia / South County
RI · 0–812 ft
Eastern Kansas River Valleys
KS · 750–1,200 ft
NE Kansas Woodlands
KS · 800–1,300 ft
Willamette Valley / Columbia Gorge
OR · 200–1,500 ft
Sam Houston NF
TX · 80–350 ft
Big Thicket
TX · 50–400 ft
Ozark NF
AR · 700–2,700 ft
Ouachita NF (AR)
AR · 600–2,700 ft
Talladega NF
AL · 700–2,407 ft
Sumter NF (Andrew Pickens)
SC · 800–3,500 ft
Francis Marion NF
SC · 10–100 ft
White Clay Creek
DE · 100–350 ft
NW NJ / High Point
NJ · 400–1,803 ft
Loess Hills
IA · 1,000–1,500 ft
NE Iowa Driftless / Effigy Mounds
IA · 650–1,250 ft
Uwharrie NF
NC · 400–1,100 ft
Oconee NF / GA Piedmont
GA · 400–800 ft
Cherokee NF
TN · 1,000–6,285 ft
Congaree NP
SC · 100–200 ft
Oak Openings / NW Ohio
OH · 620–720 ft
NJ Pine Barrens
NJ · 0–200 ft
Eastern NE / Missouri Bluffs
NE · 900–1,350 ft
SE South Dakota / Newton Hills
SD · 1,300–1,550 ft
Minnesota River Valley
MN · 800–1,150 ft
Pachaug SF / Eastern CT
CT · 200–500 ft
Great Swamp / Central RI
RI · 10–120 ft
Angeles NF / San Gabriel Mountains
CA · 1,500–10,064 ft
Los Padres NF / Big Sur
CA · 0–8,831 ft
Chiricahua / Madrean Sky Islands
AZ · 4,500–9,759 ft
Santa Catalina Mountains / Mt Lemmon
AZ · 2,500–9,157 ft
Great Dismal Swamp NWR
VA · 0–25 ft
VA Tidewater / Colonial Parkway
VA · 0–150 ft
NC Sandhills / Weymouth Woods
NC · 150–600 ft
Tuskegee NF / East-Central AL
AL · 150–600 ft
Ocmulgee / Central GA Piedmont
GA · 250–750 ft
Savannah / Hilton Head Coast
GA · 0–40 ft
Lincoln NF / Sacramento Mtns
NM · 4,500–11,973 ft
Sandia Mountains / Cibola NF
NM · 5,000–10,678 ft
Shasta-Trinity NF
CA · 1,500–14,179 ft
Mendocino NF / Yolla Bolly
CA · 1,500–8,092 ft
Sequoia NF / Kern Plateau
CA · 1,500–9,000 ft
Umpqua NF / Diamond Lake
OR · 1,000–9,173 ft
Siuslaw NF / Oregon Dunes
OR · 0–4,097 ft
Colville NF / Selkirks
WA · 1,800–7,309 ft
Nantahala NF / Western NC
NC · 1,800–5,500 ft
Catskills North / Mountain Lakes
NY · 800–4,000 ft
Black River SF / Driftless WI North
WI · 700–1,400 ft
Connecticut River Valley / NH
NH · 300–1,500 ft
Growing Requirements
Min Soil Temp
50°F
Moisture Need
rain 0.5in 7d
Drought Tolerance
moderate
Elevation Range
0–14,179 ft
Look-Alikes
Gymnopilus junonius (Big Laughing Gym)
Similar large gymnopilus, also variably psychoactive. Older cap; bitter.
Pholiota species
Yellow scaly cap on wood; not psychoactive.
Identification Tips
- ✓Purple-red cap fading to yellow with age
- ✓Bitter taste even when cooked
- ✓Rusty-orange spore print
- ✓Clusters on dead wood
Field Notes
Dead wood
Found Yellow-Gilled Gym?
Photograph it and log your observation on iNaturalist. The community can help confirm your ID — always get confirmation before eating.
Safety: Never eat any wild mushroom without 100% certain identification from multiple sources. This page is for informational purposes only. When in doubt, throw it out.