 The closely related "Wynnea sparassoides", known in the vernacular as the "stalked cauliflower fungus", has a fruit body resembling a yellow-brown cauliflower atop a long brown stem.In comparison to "W. americana", "W. gigantea" has apothecia that are smaller, more rounded at the tips, more numerous in a single specimen, and paler in color.Donald H. Pfister, in his 1979 monograph on the genus "Wynnea", suggests that the pustulate appearance of the outer surface clearly distinguishes "W. americana" from the other species in the genus.