Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 10 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.
Photo of a parasol mushroom.
Parasol
Macrolepiota procera (Lepiota procera)
The parasol is very tall, with a cap that is buff to brown, broad, scaly, with a knob in center; there is a moveable ring on stalk. It grows scattered on the ground, along trails, in open woods, and in old pastures.
Photo of rooted collybia, tan, thin-stalked gilled mushroom
Rooted Collybia
Xerula furfuracea (Collybia radicata var. furfuracea)
The rooted collybia has a moist, wrinkled, grayish brown flat cap and a long, slender stalk that continues underground. It grows singly or scattered on and around deciduous trees and stumps.
Photo of big cluster of turkey tails, bracket fungus with concentric color rings
Turkey Tail Mushroom
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 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 an alcohol inky mushroom cut in half lengthwise.
Alcohol Inky
Coprinopsis atramentaria (formerly Coprinus atramentarius)
The alcohol inky has a gray-brown, bell-shaped, radially lined cap and inky gills. It grows in clusters on the ground, usually near rotting or buried wood.
Photo of green cracking russula, greenish-capped, gilled mushroom
Green Cracking Russula
Russula virescens
Green cracking russula has a cap with a greenish, cracked, mosaic-like top, and cream-colored gills. It grows singly or in groups in mixed woods.
Photo of a fawn mushroom, which is a brownish gray, gilled, capped mushroom
Fawn Mushroom
Pluteus atricapillus (formerly P. cervinus)
The fawn mushroom has a brownish gray cap with whitish to pinkish gills and a whitish stalk. It grows singly or scattered, on dead wood or on the ground over buried wood.
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.
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..