Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 11 - 20 of 28 results
Photo of two ash tree boletes, tan pored mushrooms, one overturned showing pores
Ash Tree Bolete
Boletinellus merulioides
The ash tree bolete is a pored mushroom with a brownish, wavy cap, an off-center stalk, and clearly defined pores. It grows scattered on the ground near ash trees.
Two-colored Bolete
Two-Colored Bolete
Boletus bicolor
The two-colored bolete has a rose red cap that is sometimes yellowish toward the margin. The underside has tiny yellow pores, and the stalk is reddish yellow; all parts slowly bruise blue. Grows singly or in groups of up to several, on the ground under oaks.
Chicken of the Woods
Sulfur-Colored Chicken of the Woods
Laetiporus sulphureus
Sulfur-colored chicken of the woods is an edible fungus with layered, fan-shaped, fleshy caps that are orange on top and sulfur yellow below. It grows in overlapping clusters on stumps, trunks, and logs of dead or dying deciduous trees, and on living trees and buried roots.
Photo of a cinnabar chanterelle, vase-shaped red-orange mushroom
Cinnabar Chanterelle
Cantharellus cinnabarinus
The cinnabar chanterelle is a small, reddish orange, vase-shaped mushroom with forked ridges on the underside that descend the stalk. It grows in the soil.
jack-o-lantern mushroom
Jack-o'-Lantern
Omphalotus illudens (formerly O. olearius)
Jack-o’-lanterns are bright orange to yellowish orange, with sharp-edged gills that descend the stalk. They grow in clusters, at the base of stumps, and from buried roots of oak and other deciduous wood.
Photo of lobster mushroom, which is orange-yellow and finely bumpy
Lobster Mushroom
Hypomyces lactifluorum
In a lobster mushroom, the cap, gills, and stalk of a host mushroom are covered by a finely bumpy, vivid orange to orange-red layer of mold. The gills of the host mushroom can be entirely obscured by the parasite.
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.
Photo of a scarlet cup mushroom growing on fallen sticks
Scarlet Cup
Sarcoscypha dudleyi
The scarlet cup is small, red, and usually stalkless, with a white outer surface. It grows on fallen wet sticks and branches in damp deciduous woods.
Photo of smooth chanterelles, vase-shaped yellow and white mushrooms
Smooth Chanterelle
Cantharellus lateritius
The smooth chanterelle has a bright orange to yellow cap, wavy margins, and is smooth on the underside. It grows singly or in large groups in the soil.
Photo of three hedgehog mushrooms, two show tan cap, third shows teeth under cap
Hedgehog Mushroom
Hydnum repandum (Dentinum repandum)
The hedgehog mushroom has an irregularly shaped, dull orangish tan cap, with spines or "teeth" on its underside. It grows on the ground in mixed woods.
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..