Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 8 of 8 results
Photo of 2 peppery milkies, white, gilled mushrooms, on ground
Peppery Milky
Lactarius piperatus
The peppery milky has a white cap with densely crowded gills. It bleeds white and has a spicy-hot taste. It grows scattered in deciduous woods.
Photo of hen of the woods, large round mass of grayish mushrooms
Hen of the Woods (Maitake)
Grifola frondosa
Looking like a ruffled chicken, the edible hen of the woods mushroom grows like large circular bouquet of spoon-shaped caps, each grayish brown on top and white beneath, emerging from a branching, whitish base. It grows on the ground at the base of oak trees.
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 Berkeley's polypore, fresh, young specimen.
Berkeley’s Polypore
Bondarzewia berkeleyi
Berkeley’s polypore grows in rosettes or clusters of fleshy, cream-colored caps, with whitish pores that descend the stalk. Look for them on the ground near the bases of trees.
Photo of a blusher, a tan gilled mushroom, showing injured spot turning rust red
Amanitas
Amanita spp. (about 600 species, worldwide)
This large group of mushrooms accounts for 90 percent of mushroom-related deaths, so every mushroom hunter should be familiar with amanitas. They contain one of the deadliest poisons found in nature!
Photo of common morels growing on forest floor
Morels
Morchella species
Favorites among Missouri wild edibles, true morels only appear in the spring. They're very hard to see, but that's part of the fun of hunting them. Learn to identify them, and you can enjoy the hunt, too.
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 common morels growing on forest floor
Yellow Morel (Common Morel)
Morchella esculentoides (formerly M. esculenta)
The yellow morel is a choice edible mushroom. It has a honeycombed cap with yellow to grayish to tan ridges and pits. It is completely hollow and grows in the spring.
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..