Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 38 results
Media
Photo of wood ear mushroom, which looks like a brownish human ear stuck to a log
Species Types
Scientific Name
Auricularia auricula (formerly A. auricula-judae)
Description
The wood ear is a reddish brown to grayish black, rubbery, earlike or cup-shaped mushroom. It usually grows in groups on rotting wood.
Media
Photo of dog vomit slime mold, closeup, extruding red liquid.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Fuligo septica
Description
In addition to "dog vomit" and "scrambled eggs," this slime mold can also look like the foam at the top of a pint of stout beer, or a yellow or tan sponge. It grows on mulch and other decaying wood.
Media
Photograph of a black morel mushroom
Species Types
Scientific Name
Morchella angusticeps (formerly M. elata)
Description
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.
Media
Photo of two meadow mushrooms, at different angles, white with pinkish tan gills
Species Types
Scientific Name
Agaricus campestris
Description
The meadow mushroom has a smooth white to light grayish cap and pinkish brown gills. It's found in lawns and other grassy areas.
Media
Photo of onusta amanita mushroom closeup on cap showing gray-tan scalelike warts
Species Types
Scientific Name
Amanita onusta
Description
The onusta amanita has a grayish white cap with grayish brown warts that are often erect, and a long stalk with grayish brown warts. It grows on the ground in mixed woods.
Media
Photo of a parasol mushroom.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Macrolepiota procera (Lepiota procera)
Description
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.
Media
Photo of 2 peppery milkies, white, gilled mushrooms, on ground
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lactarius piperatus
Description
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.
Media
Photo of several purple-gilled laccarias, tan-lavender mushrooms
Species Types
Scientific Name
Laccaria ochropurpurea
Description
The purple-gilled laccaria has a large, tannish lavender cap with thick, purplish gills and a stout stalk. It grows scattered or in groups in grassy areas and under hardwoods and conifers.
Media
Photo of rooted collybia, tan, thin-stalked gilled mushroom
Species Types
Scientific Name
Xerula furfuracea (Collybia radicata var. furfuracea)
Description
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.
Media
Photo of silvery-violet cort, a gray, gilled mushroom, dug up and lying on grass
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cortinarius alboviolaceus
Description
The silvery-violet cort has a dry, grayish violet cap, pale violet gills, a club-shaped stalk, and a cobwebby partial veil. It's found in mixed woods, singly or in groups of many.
See Also
Media
Photo of several pinesap plants showing multiple flowers per stalk.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Monotropa hypopitys
Description
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.
Media
Picture of a patch of filamentous green algae floating in a stream.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladophora, Pithophora, and Spirogyra spp., and others
Description
Filamentous green algae forms green, cottony masses that are free-floating or attached to rocks, debris, or other plants.
Media
Photo of several Indian pipe plants with flowers, rising out of leaf litter.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Monotropa uniflora
Description
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..