Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 22 results
Photograph of cluster of mature gem-studded puffball mushrooms
Gem-Studded Puffball
Lycoperdon perlatum
The gem-studded puffball is a white, rounded to turban-shaped ball, densely covered with spiny warts, developing a pore at the top. It grows on the ground in open woods, along roads, in waste areas.
Photo of pale jelly roll fungus, showing small specimen.
Pale Jelly Roll
Exidia alba (Ductifera pululahuana)
Pale jelly roll is a small, white, gelatinous fungus with an irregular shape. It looks like a brain, or like jelly — or both! It grows in clusters on dead wood of deciduous trees.
Photo of dog vomit slime mold, closeup, extruding red liquid.
Dog Vomit Slime Mold (Scrambled Egg Slime Mold)
Fuligo septica
In addition to "dog vomit" and "scrambled eggs," this slime mold can also look like the foam at the top of a pint of stout beer, or a yellow or tan sponge. It grows on mulch and other decaying wood.
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.
Top-view photo of three dryad's saddles, a tan bracket fungus, growing on wood
Dryad’s Saddle
Polyporus squamosus
The dryad's saddle is a large, fleshy, scaly, yellowish tan bracket fungus with large, yellowish white pores and a short stalk; it smells like watermelon rind. It grows singly or in layers, on living or dead deciduous wood.
Photo of big cluster of turkey tails, bracket fungus with concentric color rings
Turkey Tail
Trametes versicolor
Turkey tail grows in clusters of leathery, thin brackets with multicolored zones above and whitish yellow pores below. Look for it on stumps and logs of deciduous trees.
Photo of multicolor gill polypore, a colorfully zoned bracket fungus on a log
Multicolor Gill Polypore
Lenzites betulina
Multicolor gill polypore is a bracket fungus with a semicircular, tough, hairy, multicolored, zoned cap; beneath, it's white, with leathery, gill-like tubes. It grows on dead deciduous wood.
Photo of black-staining polypore, a mushroom with tan, wavy, fan-shaped caps
Black-Staining Polypore
Meripilus sumstinei (formerly M. giganteus)
The black-staining polypore grows in large, circular clusters of many fleshy, grayish yellow, fan-shaped caps, which bruise black when cut or touched. It grows on the ground around deciduous trees, especially oaks.
Photo of eastern cauliflower mushroom, tan and white cauliflower-like mushroom
Eastern Cauliflower Mushroom
Sparassis spathulata (S. herbstii)
The eastern cauliflower mushroom is a large, stalkless, whitish yellow rosette with flattened, wavy, ribbonlike folds. It grows singly, at the bases of trees and often at the base of decayed oak 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..