Though , this is not my area of expertise , but its really learning to know so many chemical test are used to identify edible and non-edible mushrooms...

Chemical tests in mushroom identification are methods that aid in determining the variety of some fungi. The most useful tests are Melzer's reagent and potassium hydroxide.

 Ammonia: Household ammonia can be used. A couple of drops are placed on the flesh. For example, Boletus spadiceus gives a fleeting blue to blue-green reaction.

Iron salts; Iron salts are used commonly in Russula and Bolete identification. It is best to dissolve the salts in water (typically a 10% solution) and then apply to the flesh, but it is sometimes possible to apply the dry salts directly to see a color change. For example, the white flesh of Boletus chrysenteron stains lemon-yellow or olive. Three results are expected with the iron salts tests: no change indicates a negative reaction; a color change to olive, green or blackish green; or a color change to reddish-pink.[1]

Meixner test for amatoxins: The Meixner test (also known as the Wieland test) uses concentrated hydrochloric acid and newspaper to test for the deadly amatoxins found in some species of Amanita, Lepiota, and Galerina. The test yields false positives for some compounds, such as psilocin.[2]

Melzer's reagent : Melzer's reagent can be used to test whether spores are amyloid, nonamyloid, or dextrinoid.Spores that stain bluish-gray to bluish-black are amyloidSpores that stain brown to reddish-brown are dextrinoid.This test is normally performed on white spored mushrooms. If the spores are not light colored, a change will not be readily apparent. It is easiest to see the color change under a microscope, but it is possible to see it with the naked eye with a good spore print.

Paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde ;l In the genus Lyophyllum the lamellae usually turn blue with the application of para-Dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (PDAB or pDAB).

Phenol : A 2–3% aqueous solution of phenol gives a color change in some species when applied to the cap or stem.

Potassium hydroxide : A 3–10% solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) gives a color change in some species of mushrooms:In Agaricus, some species such as A. xanthodermus turn yellow with KOH, many have no reaction, and A. bbrutilescens turns green. Distinctive change occurs for some species f Cortinarius and Boletes, Schaeffer reaction developed by Julius Schäffer to help with the identification of Agaricus species. A positive reaction of Schaeffer's test, which uses the reaction of aniline and nitric acidon the surface of the mushroom, is indicated by an orange to red color; it is characteristic of species in the section Flavescentes. The compounds responsible for the reaction were named schaefferal A and B to honor Schäffer.[3] Sometimes referred to as "Schaeffer's reaction", "Schaeffer's cross reaction" or "Schaeffer's test".

Sulfo-vanillin : Made from sulfuric acid (HSO) and vanillin (vanilla). Used in Russula and Panaeolusidentification.

Respected Anoop Kumar Srivastava Sir,

I got numerous articles, but how to says that , behind the fact for color development, how to say that , definitly belong to particular taxonomic division. Please Sir, I you provide such relevent information, it will be highly support to me.

Thank You very much sir, , for added list of chemical test for respective mushroom sp. 

Thanks Nagendra...

Chemical elements in mushrooms: their potential taxonomic significance(Petrini, O., Cocchi, L., Vescovi, L. et al. Mycol Progress (2009) 8: 171. doi:10.1007/s11557-009-0589-1)

Abstract : One inherent problem in taxonomy is the choice of an internal or external reference. Phylogenetic studies routinely use outgroups, but classical taxonomy studies often lack internal or external controls. We suggest the establishment of internal references when dealing with large amounts of data that can be summarised by descriptive statistics. This study introduces the use of group centroids (i.e., “reference fungi”) in taxonomy and describes the potential utility of chemical elements and methods of inorganic analytical chemistry in fungal taxonomy, using macromycete fruiting bodies as an example. Macromycetes are known to accumulate high levels of various chemical elements, in particular heavy metals. Their concentration is assumed to be species-specific, but substrate composition may also influence their presence in the mycelium and fruiting bodies. We have analysed the distribution of several chemical elements in a large sample of approximately 9,000 ascomycetous and basidiomycetous fruiting bodies, investigated in a study carried out during the last 20 years using univariate and multivariate methods. An internal control that we have called the “reference fungus” has been defined as the group average in univariate and group centroid in multivariate analyses. This has been useful to detect major deviations of selected samples from the mean values of the dataset. This methodology may be applied to any data, including morphological or ecological characters that can be summarised by descriptive statistics. The internal controls must be defined on a case-by-case basis.

Testing Chemical Reactions ( Source ; Kuo, M. (2006, November). Testing chemical reactions. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/macrochemicals.html) byby Michael Kuo

How a mushroom's surfaces, flesh, and spores react to the application of certain chemicals can be important information in the identification process. In some cases, nearly identical mushrooms can be easily differentiated by simply applying a drop of common household ammonia to the cap!

It is important to test for chemical reactions on fresh mushrooms, preferably within an hour of picking them. This is not always possible, unless you are willing to carry chemicals with you when you're collecting. But try to test mushrooms as soon as possible when you get home, remembering that the longer you wait, the less reliable your results may be.

Below are details on three chemicals commonly used by mycologists to identify mushrooms, as well as commentary on chemical testing.

Ammonia (NH4OH, Ammonium Hydroxide) : Common household ammonia, available in any grocery store, works perfectly well. Ammonia is primarily used in the identification of boletes. Place a drop of ammonia on a fresh bolete's cap, stem, sliced flesh, and pore surface. Note any color changes that take place. Some species, like Boletus illudens, will demonstrate a quick flash of one color (for example, blue-green), then settle into another, more permanent color change (for example, grayish). Other species, like Boletus separans, may demonstrate a single color change.

 KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) : A 3-5 percent aqueous solution is used to test for color changes. Consult your pharmacist for help in obtaining this chemical, or ask the mycologist at a local university (be nice!)--or purchase KOH online at a scientific equipment site like Fisher Scientific (though you may have some difficulty with this post-911). KOH is used in the identification of many mushrooms, including boletes, polypores, and gilled mushrooms. For boletes, place a drop of KOH on the cap, stem, sliced flesh, and pore surface. For polypores, apply the KOH to the flesh and the cap surface. For gilled mushrooms, place a drop on the cap surface. Note any color changes that take place. A change to yellow is sometimes found in species of Agaricus and Amanita; magenta or olive reactions can help identify species of Russula and Lactarius; deep red or black reactions can help sort out many gilled mushrooms; black reactions among polypores are crucial separators; and various colors are produced with boletes. Don't forget that a "negative" reaction (no color change) may also be an informative character!I have heard that liquid Drano may (may) work as a substitute for KOH; I have not experimented.

Iron Salts (FeSO4) : A 10 percent aqueous solution is used to test for color changes. As with KOH, you will need to consult your pharmacist for help in obtaining this chemical, or ask the mycologist at a local university--or purchase FeSO4 online at a scientific equipment site like Fisher Scientific (though you may have some difficulty with this post-911). FeSO4 is used primarily in the identification of boletes and russulas. For boletes, place a drop on the cap, stem, sliced flesh, and pore surface; for russulas, place a drop on the stem surface.

Experiment! : Mycologists have not tried applying these chemicals to every mushroom. You may discover interesting things by simply dropping these chemicals on mushrooms you collect. This kind of experimentation has led me to discover: that eastern North America's chanterelles do not react to iron salts with the exception of one species (Cantharellus appalachiensis) which is frequently hard to separate from other chanterelles on the basis of its physical appearance (see Reactions to Iron Salts among the Chanterelles); that Rhodotus palmatus displays a striking green reaction to iron salts; that ammonia, KOH, and iron salts are absolutely useless in sorting out morel species defined by DNA (or any other means); and a few other things that I will remain silent about for now since I want to double- and triple-check results.

Bolete Frustration ; While chemical testing is invaluable to the identification of boletes, you will soon find that reactions to chemicals are inconsistently recorded in the literature. It would be nice if nine reactions were recorded for each bolete: ammonia on the cap, flesh, and pore surface; KOH on these three surfaces; and iron salts. Unfortunately, things aren't that nice. Some mushrooms have been tested by publishing mycologists with ammonia only, others with KOH only, and so on . . . and there are plenty that haven't been tested and documented at all.

To add to the problem, some mycologists disagree with others on the validity of their tests. Though this comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the academic world, it is more than a little frustrating to know that one prominent bolete authority feels that another prominent bolete authority's chemical tests are invalid because they were not performed on fresh mushrooms.

Melzer's Reagent and Iodine ; The material about Melzer's reagent and iodine reactions previously included on this page has been moved; see Using a Microscope: Equipment for details about Melzer's reagent and how to obtain it; see Using a Microscope: Viewing and Measuring Spores for definitions of "amyloid," "dextrinoid," and "inamyloid" reactions to Melzer's. For details on using simple tincture of iodine as a substitute for Melzer's (not always successful), see:

Leonard, Lawrence M. (2006). Melzer's, Lugol's, or iodine for identification of white-spored Agaricales. McIlvainea 16.

Links from other pages at this site have been adjusted, but I am placing this note here to accommodate bookmarks and links from elsewhere.

All the best...

Thank you Sir,

The only significant and simple tests to perform are the Weiland-Meixner Test and the Poder Test. The simultaneous negativity of the tests excludes a lethal species in the Basidiomycetes.