Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 26 results
Photo of wood ear mushroom, which looks like a brownish human ear stuck to a log
Wood Ear (Tree Ear)
Auricularia auricula (formerly A. auricula-judae)
The wood ear is a reddish brown to grayish black, rubbery, earlike or cup-shaped mushroom. It usually grows in groups on rotting wood.
Photo of scarlet waxy cap, a small mushroom with reddish conical cap
Scarlet Waxy Cap
Hygrocybe coccinea (Hygrophorous coccineus)
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.
Photo of cluster of hairy rubber cup mushrooms, cup fungi with orangish centers
Hairy Rubber Cup
Galiella rufa (formerly Bulgaria rufa)
The hairy rubber cup has a reddish to brownish inner surface; the outside is blackish brown and hairy. It grows in clusters on dead deciduous wood.
Photo of stalked scarlet cup cluster of red cup mushrooms with white stalks
Stalked Scarlet Cup
Sarcoscypha occidentalis
The stalked scarlet cup is, indeed, a tiny red cup on a tiny white stalk. It grows scattered on fallen wet sticks and branches in damp deciduous woods.
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.
Photo of two Frost's boletes, red mushrooms with pores, at different angles
Frost’s Bolete
Boletus frostii
Frost’s bolete has a blood red cap with red pores and a red, webbed stalk; all parts bruise blue. It grows scattered on the ground in oak woods.
Photo of beefsteak polypore, a rust-colored bracket fungus growing on tree base
Beefsteak Polypore
Fistulina hepatica
The beefsteak polypore is a thick, semicircular, reddish or rusty, gelatinous bracket with a pinkish yellow underside. It grows at the base of living oaks and on stumps.
Photo of ling chih, a shiny, hard, rust-colored bracket fungus, growing on tree
Ling Chih (Lingzhi; Reishi Mushroom)
Ganoderma sessile (formerly G. lucidum)
The ling chih is a hard, usually flat, zoned bracket fungus with a reddish brown, shiny top. It grows at the base of living and dead deciduous trees, and also around stumps.
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.
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..