Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 3 of 3 results
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.
Photograph of several hexagonal-pored polypores, tan bracket fungi
Hexagonal-Pored Polypore
Polyporus alveolaris (formerly Favolus alveolaris)
This polypore is an orange to tan, fan-shaped bracket that is scaly on top; the underside has rows of white, six-sided, radially arranged pores. It grows singly or in groups on dead branches of deciduous trees.
Photo of coral-pink merulius, pink bracket mushrooms growing on wood
Coral-Pink Merulius
Phlebia incarnata (formerly Merulius incarnatus)
The coral-pink merulius is a small, semicircular bracket fungus that is pinkish to coral to cream-colored, wrinkled, and veined beneath. It grows on dead logs and stumps of deciduous trees.
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..