Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 10 results
Media
Photo of golden chanterelles, yellow and white vase-shaped mushrooms
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cantharellus cibarius
Description
Golden chanterelles have a bright orange to yellow cap with wavy margins; beneath, they're orange-yellow, with forked ridges (not true gills) descending the stalk. They grow in soil.
Media
Image of smooth chanterelle
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cantharellaceae (various members of family)
Description
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.
Media
Photo of young, golden cluster of ringless honey mushrooms on forest floor
Species Types
Scientific Name
Desarmillaria caespitosa (formerly Armillaria tabescens)
Description
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.
Media
Photo of mica cap cluster, bell-shaped, brown, capped mushrooms
Species Types
Scientific Name
Coprinellus micaceus (formerly Coprinus micaceus)
Description
The mica cap has a bell-shaped, tawny brown, radially lined cap and inky gills. It grows in clusters around stumps or on wood debris.
Media
Photo of scarlet waxy cap, a small mushroom with reddish conical cap
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hygrocybe coccinea (Hygrophorous coccineus)
Description
The scarlet waxy cap has a scarlet, moist cap, with a stem colored like the cap (or a little more orange). It grows on the ground in mixed woods.
Media
Photo of three voluminous-latex milkies, tan mushrooms, of different sizes
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lactarius volemus
Description
The voluminous-latex milky has a velvety, orangish brown cap and stalk, white gills and flesh that exude a milky white latex, and a fishlike odor. It grows scattered in deciduous woods.
Media
Photo of a cinnabar chanterelle, vase-shaped red-orange mushroom
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cantharellus cinnabarinus
Description
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.
Media
Photo of lobster mushroom, which is orange-yellow and finely bumpy
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hypomyces lactifluorum
Description
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.
Media
Photo of several reddening lepiota mushrooms, one showing gills and stem ring.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Leucoagaricus americanus (Lepiota americana)
Description
The reddening lepiota is a large, reddish brown mushroom with a scaly cap and a ring on the stalk; it bruises dark red. It grows singly or in clusters in mulch piles, waste areas, and around stumps.
Media
Photo of young, yellow-phase honey mushrooms.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Armillaria mellea
Description
The honey mushroom has a honey-colored, sticky cap with black hairs over the center, and a stalk with a whitish ring. It grows in clusters at the bases of trees or stumps, especially oaks, and over buried wood.
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..