Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 23 results
Photograph of a black morel mushroom
Black Morel
Morchella angusticeps (formerly M. elata)
The black morel is a prized edible mushroom. It has a honeycombed cap with black to brownish black ridges and yellowish brown pits. It is completely hollow and grows in the spring.
Photograph of a half-free morel mushroom
Half-Free Morel
Morchella punctipes (formerly M. semilibera)
The half-free morel is an excellent edible mushroom. It's completely hollow. It has a honeycombed cap with brownish black ridges and yellowish brown pits. The bottom half hangs free from the whitish stalk.
Photo of velvet foot mushrooms, mature, showing black stems.
Velvet Foot
Flammulina velutipes
The velvet foot, or enoki, has a tawny, sticky cap with whitish gills. The stalk is yellowish above and brownish below. They grow in clusters on deciduous logs.
Top-view photo of three dryad's saddles, a tan bracket fungus, growing on wood
Dryad’s Saddle
Polyporus squamosus
The dryad's saddle is a large, fleshy, scaly, yellowish tan bracket fungus with large, yellowish white pores and a short stalk; it smells like watermelon rind. It grows singly or in layers, on living or dead deciduous wood.
Photo of big cluster of turkey tails, bracket fungus with concentric color rings
Turkey Tail
Trametes versicolor
Turkey tail grows in clusters of leathery, thin brackets with multicolored zones above and whitish yellow pores below. Look for it on stumps and logs of deciduous trees.
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 black-staining polypore, a mushroom with tan, wavy, fan-shaped caps
Black-Staining Polypore
Meripilus sumstinei (formerly M. giganteus)
The black-staining polypore grows in large, circular clusters of many fleshy, grayish yellow, fan-shaped caps, which bruise black when cut or touched. It grows on the ground around deciduous trees, especially oaks.
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 mature dead man's fingers mushrooms, lumpy grayish black masses
Dead Man’s Fingers
Xylaria polymorpha
Dead man’s fingers is a black, distorted, clublike or finger-shaped fungus with a wrinkled, charcoal-like surface. It grows in clusters at the base of rotting deciduous trees and stumps.
Photo of black-footed polypore, mature specimens, with photographer's foot.
Black-Footed Polypore
Polyporus badius
The black-footed polypore has a smooth, wavy brown cap with whitish or tannish pores on the underside and a black, smooth, off-center stalk. It grows singly or in groups of up to several on dead wood and stumps of deciduous trees.
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..