1. Skunk odor, large and grey
Clitocybe nebularis EU
(=Clitocybe robusta NY) -
the type species of the genus. It is a large grey mushroom that smells
like skunk. It can grow in fairy rings. Clitocybe robusta, said to be
a related white species, has four east coast ITS sequences that are
identical to C. nebularis, so the colour does not seem to indicate a
different genetic species. White forms are reported rarely from the PNW.

Clitocybe nebularis (sequenced and unsequenced) © Bruce Newhouse and Steve
Trudell
2. Anise (black licorice) odor
Clitocybe odora EU - a
beautiful large, pale blue mushroom that smells and tastes of black licorice.
It's definietly a favourite.
Hygrophorus caeruleus ID -
a waxy version of Clitocybe odora that may lack the licorice odor.
You can read about it here.
Something seems to infect Clitocybe odora and make weird fruiting bodies
every once in a while. It has basically identical DNA to Clitocybe odora.
Clitocybe deceptiva ID - a
small, watery grey-brown mushroom with a black licorice odor.
Clitocybe fragrans (=Clitocybe obsoleta) is a similar sweet smelling
mushroom rumoured from the PNW, but that DNA has not been found here yet, over a
dozen sequences have all been C. deceptiva. Bigelow, the most trusted
Clitocybe identifier, never reported C. fragrans north of CA. This
species has large spores 6.5-9 x 4-4.5u.
Clitocybe 'idahoensis PNW03' -
a couple
OR collections and a CA collection with a similar
sweet odor are a lookalike of C. deceptiva, but with smaller spores
(4.5-6.5 x 2.3u).This is probably
Clitocybe idahoensis, assuming it has a chalky white canescence when young,
but we don't have the type sequence or sequences with white canescence to verify
this.

Clitocybe odora © Andrew Parker and as Hygrophorus caeruleus © Richard
Morrison, C. deceptiva © iNaturalist user hugebooter,
C.
'idahoensis PNW03' © Jonathan Frank
3. Snowbank Clitocybe
Clitocybe glacialis WY -
found in spring at elevation near snow, chalky white when
fresh, revealing grey flesh below when rubbed or in age, it can undergo
quite a transformation. This abundant species is one of the most recent
sequences obtained on this page. It is related to C. 'amarescens PNW11, PNW09
and C. brunneoceracea, which it resembles (strongly hygrophanous
and grey-brown gills).

unsequenced Clitocybe glacialis © Danny Miller
4. Other chalky white species when fresh, but not truly hygrophanous nor farinaceous.
Small spores.
Clitocybe 'rivulosa PNW07'
- in grass, <6 cm across, chalky white when fresh, meaning it has a white bloom that can rub off
revealing pinkish-orange tones. Small spores means it falls into the group with
spores 4-5.5u long, not the group 6-8u long. It is thought to be quite poisonous. Our sequences are 1% different
than EU sequences that Pablo thinks represent this species. This used to be called
Clitocybe dealbata EU, but that poorly understood name has been abandoned
in favour of C. rivulosa. Bigelow said that our NA species was not the
same thing as found in Europe, and he declared that the proper name was probably
Clitocybe sudorifica NY. We need to figure out what that is to test that
theory.
Clitocybe 'rivulosa PNW02' -
a lookalike grass species, so much so that Pablo used to think this species was C. rivulosa.
It doesn't live in the same part of the tree, so either one of these lookalikes
is poisonous and one isn't, or there might be a lot more poisonous species
around too. It wouldn't make sense to me that both are poisonous but nothing
else. One photo below shows it white and fresh, but the other photo shows is
aged and waterlogged, where it has become tan coloured and difficult to place in
this section. Fresh colleciton are needed for an accurate ID.
Clitocybe phyllophila EU (=C. cerussata EU, =C. dilatata EU) - found in forests and not
grass, and larger (>6 cm across when fully grown). ITS DNA of both
species is within a couple of bp of each other, so the latest paper agrees with
those that considers them synonyms. It is called C. phyllophila when it
has a spicy odor and off white spore print, and C. cerussata when it has
a mild odor and white spore print, although intermediate collections are found.
The only sequence verified photo is not fresh, so it is not white, but old and
waterlogged and tan coloured. Fresh collections are needed for accurate ID. Note
that Clitocybe dilatata EU is also a newer synonym of this. Locally,
we've been using that name incorrectly when talking about Leucocybe connata.
If you've heard the name C. dilatata, it was likely referring not to
C. phyllophila but to Leucocybe connata.
There are lookalikes in the Lyophyllaceae family,
Leucocybe (small
white forest mushrooms <6 cm across, or clustered white mushrooms at the edges
of trails and roads) and
Atractosporocybe
(spores more than twice as long as wide).

Clitocybe 'rivulosa PNW07' © Leah Bendlin (2 images),
C. 'rivulosa PNW02' © Buck McAdoo (2 images)

Clitocybe phyllophila (atypical) © Buck McAdoo
5. White to buff with very pale gills - in forests, small spores,
hygrophanous but not farinaceous
Clitocybe
PNW01 - not farinaceous, small white spores (<6u). One collection was noted to
be hygrophanous. One
matching sequence was labeled Clitocybe diatreta, which has similar sized
spores, but a tinted spore print.
Clitocybe PNW04 - our one
PNW sequence (unphotographed) is a collection from the 70s by Joanne Lennox
which was labeled Calocybe hebelomoides. It also matches one EU sequence
labeled Clitocybe diatreta. Both of those are not farinaceous and
small spored, so maybe this is too.
Clitocybe PNW05 - also
not farinaceous smelling, perhaps slightly sweet. It was hygrophanous
in at least one photo (the last one). Some
collections have an indented cap and almost appear omphalinoid, making
this less likely than the other two to actually be C. diatreta. Some collections we've examined show
small spores, and others large spores, so I think there has been some kind of a
mix-up that needs to be sorted out.

Clitocybe PNW01 © Richard Morrison, C. PNW05 © Daniel Winkler, and Yi-Min Wang (2 images)
6. Similar, but large spores
Clitocybe 'coniferophila/fuscidisca PNW10'
- the disc can be darker than the margin, but that is not an uncommon
feature. At least some photos show it can be hygrophanous, and usually no
odor is noted so it is not distinctly farinaceous (rarely it is reported
as somewhat farinaceous only when crushed). It should be noted
that although many collections were examined and have large spores, three
collections were reported to have small spores, so that needs to be sorted out.
This keys out to Clitocybe coniferophila in Bigelow, which is noted to
have a darker disc, but we have no prior sequences of it to test that theory. Joanne Lennox had a plan to name this
Collybia fuscidisca back in the 70s, due to the darker disc. In the unlikely event that such an
abundant species doesn't already have a name, I would call it
Clitocybe fuscidisca. We're well on our way to having dozens of sequences of
this.
'Clitocybe' salmonilamella CA -
very similar but seems more likely to have an indented cap in age and may
have a pink tinge to the gills and dries completely white (unlike
most real Clitocybe), needs to move to
Leucocybe. For
more information, see that page.

Clitocybe 'coniferophila/fuscidisca PNW10' © Buck McAdoo, Jonathan Frank, and iNaturalist
user solstice, 'Clitocybe' salmonilamella © Daniel
Winkler
7. Watery grey-brown species, strongly hygrophanous, with grey-brown gills -
many mushrooms matching this description are also found in the
Lyophyllaceae. As a matter of fact, Bigelow called this group section
Pseudolyophyllum. All of these match sequences identified as species that
Bigelow keys out with grey-brown gills, so this is how I am going to treat them,
but in practice you'll see the gills might look fairly white, complicating their
easy identification. A key difference between species in Bigelow is how they
smell, and whether the spores are large or small, something that
has not yet been noted for all of our species and needs to be. Then we shall
see what species Bigelow would have called them (see below for the full list).
Clitocybe PNW06 - it has
been likened to C. vibecina and C. pseudodicolor (which have
different odors, but both have large spores and a white spore print). One local collection had a mild odor like
C. pseudodicolor. Large spores, >6u.
Clitocybe PNW09 - with
no farinaceous odor, photos showing it is umbilicate, and with spores mostly >6u
(5.5-7x4-4.5) this
keys out to Clitocybe concava EU in Bigelow. Not every photo shows the dark
grey-brown colours. The odor has been
reported as "faint pleasant" or "wood". A similar species is
Tephroderma PNW01.
Clitocybe PNW13 - this
species, found once in WA, is closely related to Clitocybe amarescens and
Clitocybe PNW09. This suggests it has a mild odor (confirmed in this
collection) and spores mostly >6u
long. It has an umbilicate cap, meaning that like PNW09, it is a
candidate for being Clitocybe concava. I do not know how to tell it apart
from PNW09.
Clitocybe 'amarescens PNW11'
- a couple of WA sequences match Pablo's concept for Clitocybe amarescens,
so perhaps this is that. It is described with a mild odor, bitter taste, and
large spores with a pale yellow spore print. Locally, it was noted with a peculiar odor and mild taste. The
large off-white spores, measured as 6-8x3.5-4u and 6-8x4-5u, do match. Perhaps this has been mistaken for the similar
C. pseudodicolor EU (white spore print) or C. madefacta ID (vinaceous
grey spore print).
Clitocybe PNW12 - these
sequences match Pablo's concept of Clitocybe vibecina, but not others'.
Others
consider this Clitocybe subditopoda or Clitocybe ditopa, which all
have differently sized/shaped spores. That does suggest it is farinaceous, as all of those are, but our one local
collection was reported with a "peculiar" odor. We need a spore
measurement.
Clitocybe PNW06 © Buck McAdoo, C. PNW09 © Richard
Morrison (2 images), C. PNW13 © Matthew Koons

Clitocybe 'amarescens PNW11' © Richard Morrison, C.
PNW12 © Buck McAdoo
Clitocybe brunneoceracea Australia
- sometimes clustered. A few WA collections match an Australian type area
sequence and likely represent this species, not previously known from the PNW.
It may have another name too if Bigelow found it here. It does have an odor,
reported here as sweet, melon or cucumber, but described in Australia as "slight
phosphorus like". The spores are described as 5.5-6x2.2u, in other words, in
between large and small. However, the photo on the right had spores that
measured 5-6x3-4u, and a subsequent WA collection had spores 6-7 x 3.5-4.5u.

Clitocybe brunneoceracea © Jacob Kalichman and Richard Morrison
Little known species
Most of these reports come from Bigelow, so any collections matching the
description of these mushrooms in his monograph should be sequenced, although
experience has shown that Clitocybes are difficult to identify, and the
same species will not always key out to the same result. It is highly probable
that at least some of these will end in one of the many segregate genera and
need to be moved once they are understood.
Clitocybes that need to be moved elsewhere (if I say maybe, my guess
is based on the section Bigelow placed them in and where its neighbours
ended up moving, because we have no DNA yet. We need collections).
Clitocybe adustiterricola OR - an omphalinoid on burned ground, in a unique section
of Bigelow with C. payettensis and C. albimontana (which is a
Lichenomphalia even though this can't be)
Clitocybe albirhiza
ID - shown to be in
Rhizocybe.
Clitocybe alnicola WA - maybe Infundibulicybe or
Bonomyces
Clitocybe avellaneifolia MI - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe coacta WA - maybe Infundibulicybe or Bonomyces
Clitocybe crenulata OR - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe dilatata EU - there's nothing wrong with this species
name, except we've been calling
Leucocybe connata by this name for years and need to stop.
Clitocybe epigaea ID - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe griseifolia WA - maybe
Harmjaea
Clitocybe leopardina OR - this may be the proper name for local collections
of
Clitopaxillus alexandri. That genus is hard to
separate from Clitocybe microscopically.
Clitocybe martiorum EU - true cystidia, it has been moved to
Hertzogia.
Clitocybe maxima EU - some people think this is the same species
as Infundibulicybe gibba or
I. geotropa. If so, it doesn't need moving.
Clitocybe mitis ID - maybe Infundibulicybe or Bonomyces
Clitocybe multicarpa ID - maybe to an omphalinoid genus like Omphalina
Clitocybe mutabilis ID - is actually
Pseudoomphalina angelesiana
but hasn't been formally synonymized yet
Clitocybe pallidipes ID - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe payettensis ID - an omphalinoid moss and algae species, in
the same unique Bigelow section as C. audstiterricola
Clitocybe profundidisca ID - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe ramigena OR - maybe Rhizocybe (rhizoides and spring/summer)
Clitocybe salmonilamella CA - needs to move to
Leucocybe, discussed above.
Clitocybe sclerotoidea WA/CA - needs to move to
Atractosporocybe.
Clitocybe senilis EU - resembles
Spodocybe with its fibrillose grey cap, and
Rhizocybe with its
rhizomorphs and summer fruiting.
Clitocybe sparsivestita WA - maybe Arrhenia
Clitocybe squamulosa EU - has been moved to
Infundibulicybe, but we have
distinct varieties that haven't been moved yet, and possibly a novel
species.
Clitocybe subclavipes NY - definitely needs to be moved to
Ampulloclitocybe
Clitocybe subsocialis WA - maybe Infundibulicybe or Bonomyces
Clitocybe tenuissima EU - this is a newer synonym of
Leucocybe candicans.
Clitocybe thujana WA - actually in the Lyophyllaceae in a
novel genus I am calling
'Paralyophyllum n.p.' for now.
Clitocybe umbrinipes WA - maybe Atractosporocybe
Clitocybe variispora ID - maybe to an omphalinoid genus like Omphalina
Clitocybe vermicularis ssp. americana WA - this subspecies needs
to be given a new species name in
Rhizocybe.
found on wood - so that's suspicious. I don't think they're actually
in Clitocybe.
Clitocybe americana MI
Clitocybe leptoloma NY
Clitocybe truncicola NY - if one east coast C. truncicola
sequence is to be believed, it is the same as the slightly older species
Singerocybe adirondackensis. However, Singerocybe is not known
from wood, but from the ground, so that casts doubt on the placement of
these species.
Clitocybe violaceifolia OR - violet-grey cap and gills
Large, stocky species (all the rest are small to medium slender
species)
Clitocybe crassa ID - large, grey brown with a short, bulbous stem, this
could possibly belong in
Clitopaxillus.
Clitocybe smithii ID - large, conic to umbonate white mushroom with the stem
base becoming greenish.
Vinaceous brown gills - from a separate section closest to Infundibulicybe and
Bonomyces, none of these have been tested for position
Clitocybe arvalis WA
Clitocybe badioferruginea WA
Clitocybe gilvaoides NA
Clitocybe gracilis OR
Greyish-brown gills (this is how Bigelow keys them out but I can't
vouch for how reliable a character this is).
Clitocybe murina WA - anise odor, with even bigger spores than C.
deceptiva.
Clitocybe pungens ID - odor of husked green corn
Clitocybe ditopa EU - farinaceous, round spores
Clitocybe subditopoda NY - farinaceous, small elliptical spores, discussed above
Clitocybe vibecina EU - farinaceous, large elliptical spores, discussed above.
Note that Bigelow never reported it from the PNW but some of our sequences
match some of the possibilities of this species complex.
Clitocybe metachroa EU - no special odor, small spores, discussed above
Clitocybe concava EU - no special odor, large spores, umbilicate, see PNW09
Clitocybe madefacta ID - no special odor, large spores, vinaceous grey spore
print
Clitocybe pseudodicolor EU - no special odor, large spores, white spore
print
White gills and cap, hygrophanous or chalky - small spores 4-5.5u long
Clitocybe albidula NY
Clitocybe angustifolia MI
Clitocybe catervata MI
Clitocybe diatreta EU - discussed above
Clitocybe glutiniceps WA
Clitocybe idahoensis ID - discussed above
Clitocybe pseudomarginella ID
Clitocybe subcanescens MI
Clitocybe sublutea WA
White gills and cap, hygrophanous or chalky - large spores 6-8u long
Clitocybe caperata ID
Clitocybe cereoceps WA
Clitocybe coniferophila MI - discussed above
Clitocybe patelliformis WA
Clitocybe subdicolor CA
Clitocybe variabilis OR