Mushrooms
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Agaricus campestris
Description
The meadow mushroom has a smooth white to light grayish cap and pinkish brown gills. It's found in lawns and other grassy areas.
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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
Species Types
Scientific Name
Macrolepiota procera (Lepiota procera)
Description
The parasol is very tall, with a cap that is buff to brown, broad, scaly, with a knob in center; there is a moveable ring on stalk. It grows scattered on the ground, along trails, in open woods, and in old pastures.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Laccaria ochropurpurea
Description
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.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Xerula furfuracea (Collybia radicata var. furfuracea)
Description
The rooted collybia has a moist, wrinkled, grayish brown flat cap and a long, slender stalk that continues underground. It grows singly or scattered on and around deciduous trees and stumps.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Coprinus comatus
Description
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.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Coprinopsis atramentaria (formerly Coprinus atramentarius)
Description
The alcohol inky has a gray-brown, bell-shaped, radially lined cap and inky gills. It grows in clusters on the ground, usually near rotting or buried wood.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Marasmius oreades
Description
The fairy ring mushroom has a tan to reddish brown, knobbed cap with off-white gills. It grows in grassy areas, lawns, meadows, often in circles called fairy rings.
Media
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
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
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
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..