Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 15 results
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 a scarlet cup mushroom growing on fallen sticks
Scarlet Cup
Sarcoscypha dudleyi
The scarlet cup is small, red, and usually stalkless, with a white outer surface. It grows on fallen wet sticks and branches in damp deciduous woods.
Photo of jellied false coral mushroom, a rounded mass of white branches
Jellied False Coral
Tremellodendron pallidum
The jellied false coral is a branching, whitish, leathery, coral-like jelly fungus. It grows on the ground in deciduous or mixed woods.
puffball mushroom
Giant Puffball
Calvatia gigantea (Langermannia gigantea)
The giant puffball is a huge, white, smooth ball with a completely white interior that becomes yellowish green with age. It grows in open pastures, woods, and lawns.
Photo of a blusher, a tan gilled mushroom, showing injured spot turning rust red
Amanitas
Amanita spp. (about 600 species, worldwide)
This large group of mushrooms accounts for 90 percent of mushroom-related deaths, so every mushroom hunter should be familiar with amanitas. They contain one of the deadliest poisons found in nature!
Photo of cluster of common laccaria, small brownish pink mushrooms, in grass
Common Laccaria
Laccaria laccata
The common laccaria has a small, brownish pink cap with a central depression; the gills and stalk are a pale pinkish brown. Grows scattered or in groups in poor or sandy soil in mixed woods.
Photo of destroying angel showing large saclike cup around the base of stalk
Destroying Angel
Amanita bisporigera
The destroying angel is all white, with a ring on the stalk and a large, saclike cup around the base of the stalk. This deadly poisonous mushroom is very common, growing on the ground in mixed woods and in grass near trees.
Photo of many tan fairy ring mushrooms, some uprooted, growing in grass
Fairy Ring Mushroom
Marasmius oreades
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.
Photo of a fawn mushroom, which is a brownish gray, gilled, capped mushroom
Fawn Mushroom
Pluteus atricapillus (formerly P. cervinus)
The fawn mushroom has a brownish gray cap with whitish to pinkish gills and a whitish stalk. It grows singly or scattered, on dead wood or on the ground over buried wood.
Photo of two gigantic red false morels, cut and laying on a ground
Big Red False Morel
Gyromitra caroliniana
The big red false morel belongs to a group of poisonous mushrooms. It has a reddish brown, convoluted, brainlike cap and a whitish stalk that is chambered inside. It grows singly or in groups in mixed woods.
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..