Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 81 - 90 of 90 results
Photo of emetic russula mushroom with red cap and whitish stalk
Emetic Russula
Russula emetica
The emetic russula has a uniformly red cap with off-white gills and stalk; its flesh and stalk are brittle. It grows singly or in groups, on moss and in mixed woods.
Photo of green cracking russula, greenish-capped, gilled mushroom
Green Cracking Russula
Russula virescens
Green cracking russula has a cap with a greenish, cracked, mosaic-like top, and cream-colored gills. It grows singly or in groups in mixed woods.
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 an aging grisette mushroom that is flat and tan on top and white below
Grisette
Amanita vaginata
The grisette has a gray cap with white patches and a radially grooved margin, and a stalk with a large, white, saclike cup around the base. It's found on the ground in open woods and in grass near trees.
hand holding white, umbrella-shaped mushroom
Green-Spored Lepiota
Chlorophyllum molybdites
Green-spored lepiotas are large, white, with broad, cream-colored scales on the cap, white gills that turn gray-green, and a ring on the stalk. They grow in lawns and meadows, often in a circular arrangement called a "fairy ring."
Photo of young, yellow-phase honey mushrooms.
Honey Mushroom
Armillaria mellea
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.
Photo of indigo milky, bluish gilled mushroom, with cuts bleeding blue sap
Indigo Milky
Lactarius indigo
Entire mushroom bluish, bleeding blue; then greenish, bruising greenish. The indigo milky grows scattered or in groups on soil in oak and pine woods.
Several cedar-apple rust galls, with inflated telial horns, hanging from a cedar tree
Cedar-Apple Rust
Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
With their gelatinous orange tentacles, cedar-apple rust galls are one of Missouri’s freakiest sights in spring. Cedar-apple rust is a fungus with a two-part life cycle. Its two unrelated host plants are a juniper, such as eastern red cedar, and a tree in the rose family, especially apple and crabapple.
Photo of wolf's-milk slime, a small pinkish rounded slime mold
Wolf's-Milk Slime (Toothpaste Slime)
Lycogala epidendrum
Wolf's-milk slime looks like little, round, reddish pink balls that exude a pinkish-gray paste when popped. It grows in groups on dead wood, especially large logs. It's not really a mushroom!
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.
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..