Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 16 results
Image of smooth chanterelle
Chanterelles
Cantharellaceae (various members of family)
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.
Photo of young, golden cluster of ringless honey mushrooms on forest floor
Ringless Honey Mushroom
Desarmillaria caespitosa (formerly Armillaria tabescens)
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.
Photo of two meadow mushrooms, at different angles, white with pinkish tan gills
Meadow Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
The meadow mushroom has a smooth white to light grayish cap and pinkish brown gills. It's found in lawns and other grassy areas.
Photo of several purple-gilled laccarias, tan-lavender mushrooms
Purple-Gilled Laccaria
Laccaria ochropurpurea
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.
Photo of shaggy mane cluster, rounded cylindrical mushrooms growing in grass
Shaggy Mane
Coprinus comatus
The shaggy mane has a white, shaggy, cylindrical cap that turns black and inky. It often grows in large numbers along roadsides and in lawns and disturbed areas.
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.
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.
Photo of orange mycena cluster, small, orange, gilled mushrooms
Orange Mycena
Mycena leaiana
The orange mycena is a small, sticky, bell-shaped, orange mushroom. It grows in dense clusters on deciduous wood.
Photo of common split gills, white bracket mushrooms growing on branch
Common Split Gill
Schizophyllum commune
Split gills grow in clusters with small, white, hairy, fan-shaped caps. Beneath, they have whitish or pinkish gill-like folds that split toward the edge. They grow on dead branches of deciduous trees.
Photo of several reddening lepiota mushrooms, one showing gills and stem ring.
Reddening Lepiota
Leucoagaricus americanus (Lepiota americana)
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.
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..