Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 13 results
Photo of wood ear mushroom, which looks like a brownish human ear stuck to a log
Wood Ear (Tree Ear)
Auricularia auricula (formerly A. auricula-judae)
The wood ear is a reddish brown to grayish black, rubbery, earlike or cup-shaped mushroom. It usually grows in groups on rotting wood.
Image of smooth chanterelle
Chanterelles
Cantharellaceae (various members of family)
Chanterelles are funnel- or trumpet-shaped and have wavy cap edges. Most are bright orange or yellow, although one, the black trumpet, is brownish black.
Photo of young, golden cluster of ringless honey mushrooms on forest floor
Ringless Honey Mushroom
Desarmillaria caespitosa (formerly Armillaria tabescens)
The ringless honey mushroom is honey-colored, with a dry, scaly cap, and lacks a ring on the stalk. It grows in clusters at the bases of trees or stumps, especially of oaks, and over buried wood.
Photo of two meadow mushrooms, at different angles, white with pinkish tan gills
Meadow Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The meadow mushroom has a smooth white to light grayish cap and pinkish brown gills. It's found in lawns and other grassy areas.
Photo of shaggy mane cluster, rounded cylindrical mushrooms growing in grass
Shaggy Mane
Coprinus comatus
The shaggy mane has a white, shaggy, cylindrical cap that turns black and inky. It often grows in large numbers along roadsides and in lawns and disturbed areas.
Photograph of cluster of mature gem-studded puffball mushrooms
Gem-Studded Puffball
Lycoperdon perlatum
The gem-studded puffball is a white, rounded to turban-shaped ball, densely covered with spiny warts, developing a pore at the top. It grows on the ground in open woods, along roads, in waste areas.
Photo of beefsteak polypore, a rust-colored bracket fungus growing on tree base
Beefsteak Polypore
Fistulina hepatica
The beefsteak polypore is a thick, semicircular, reddish or rusty, gelatinous bracket with a pinkish yellow underside. It grows at the base of living oaks and on stumps.
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 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.
Photo of an elegant stinkhorn mushroom, a pink column covered with brown slime
Elegant Stinkhorn
Mutinus elegans
The elegant stinkhorn is a long, tapered, pinkish orange column with a greenish brown, smelly slime covering the top and a white cup around the base. It grows on leafy debris, mulch piles, and rotting wood.
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..