Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 41 - 50 of 85 results
Photo of several violet toothed polypores, violet-gray bracket fungi
Violet Toothed Polypore
Trichaptum biforme
The violet toothed polypore is a bracket fungus with tough, hairy caps with violet margins and zones of white, brown, and black; beneath, the whitish violet pores break into teeth. It grows on stumps and logs of deciduous wood.
Photo of multicolor gill polypore, a colorfully zoned bracket fungus on a log
Multicolor Gill Polypore
Lenzites betulina
Multicolor gill polypore is a bracket fungus with a semicircular, tough, hairy, multicolored, zoned cap; beneath, it's white, with leathery, gill-like tubes. It grows on dead deciduous wood.
Photo of common split gills, white bracket mushrooms growing on branch
Common Split Gill
Schizophyllum commune
Split gills grow in clusters with small, white, hairy, fan-shaped caps. Beneath, they have whitish or pinkish gill-like folds that split toward the edge. They grow on dead branches of deciduous trees.
Photo of smooth chanterelles, vase-shaped yellow and white mushrooms
Smooth Chanterelle
Cantharellus lateritius
The smooth chanterelle has a bright orange to yellow cap, wavy margins, and is smooth on the underside. It grows singly or in large groups in the soil.
Photo of two black trumpets, dark brown vase-shaped mushrooms on mossy ground
Black Trumpet
Craterellus cornucopioides (C. fallax)
The black trumpet is dark brown to black, vase- or trumpet-shaped, with a wavy margin and no gills. It grows in groups of few to many on rocky, mossy hillsides in deciduous woods.
Photo of bearded tooth, white round beardlike mushroom growing from tree trunk
Bearded Tooth
Hericium erinaceus
The bearded tooth is a beardlike, whitish mass that grows on trunks of living deciduous trees and on fallen trees and logs.
Photo of three hedgehog mushrooms, two show tan cap, third shows teeth under cap
Hedgehog Mushroom
Hydnum repandum (Dentinum repandum)
The hedgehog mushroom has an irregularly shaped, dull orangish tan cap, with spines or "teeth" on its underside. It grows on the ground in mixed woods.
Photo of jellied false coral mushroom, a rounded mass of white branches
Jellied False Coral
Tremellodendron pallidum
The jellied false coral is a branching, whitish, leathery, coral-like jelly fungus. It grows on the ground in deciduous or mixed woods.
Photo of cluster of pinkish crown-tipped coral mushrooms growing on rotting log
Crown-Tipped Coral
Artomyces pyxidatus (formerly Clavicorona pyxidata)
The crown-tipped coral is a many-branched, coral-like mushroom that is yellowish tan with crownlike tips. It grows on the dead wood of deciduous trees.
Photo of an aging Ravenel's stinkhorn, a column-shaped fungus with dark spores
Ravenel's Stinkhorn
Phallus ravenelii
Ravenel's stinkhorn is a long, whitish column with a greenish, smelly slime covering the top, and a whitish or pinkish cup around the base. It grows on wood debris, mulch, rotted stumps, and sawdust, and in deciduous woods.
See Also
Photo of several pinesap plants showing multiple flowers per stalk.
Pinesap (False Beech Drops)
Monotropa hypopitys
Pinesap is a plant that puts the "wild" in wildflower! It lacks chlorophyll, so its roots connect to fungi underground and absorb nutrients from the fungi.
Picture of a patch of filamentous green algae floating in a stream.
Filamentous Green Algae (Pond Scum)
Cladophora, Pithophora, and Spirogyra spp., and others
Filamentous green algae forms green, cottony masses that are free-floating or attached to rocks, debris, or other plants.
Photo of several Indian pipe plants with flowers, rising out of leaf litter.
Indian Pipe
Monotropa uniflora
Indian pipe lacks chlorophyll, so it is white, not green. Below ground, its roots join with fungi that connect to tree roots. This plant, then, takes nourishment indirectly from the trees.

About Mushrooms in Missouri

Mushrooms are a lot like plants, but they lack chlorophyll and have to take nutrients from other materials. Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. They are in a different kingdom — the fungi. Fungi include the familiar mushroom-forming species, plus the yeasts, molds, smuts, and rusts.

Always be cautious when eating edible mushrooms. Be absolutely sure of the ID, and only eat a small amount the first time you try it to avoid a reaction..