Volvariella bombycina

The only mushroom around Illinois that grows directly out of wood--while also emerging from a cuplike sheath--is the so-called Silky Volvariella (Volvariella bombycina). You’ll notice pink gills on fresh young specimens. Plus, the whitish cap will be covered with fine, hairlike fibers that give it its silky common name. The Silky Volvariella shares many individual traits with other species of mushrooms, including some deadly poisonous species. But no other species shares all of these features together. Many species of mushrooms grow on wood--including deadly species. A number of species of soil-inhabiting mushrooms emerge from a cuplike sac, including deadly poisonous Amanita species, But the collective traits of this occasional-to-rare summer mushroom rule out any other species.