Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 21 - 30 of 30 results
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 several deadly galerina mushroom caps, viewed from above.
Deadly Galerina
Galerina marginata (G. autumnalis)
The deadly galerina has a brownish, sticky cap, yellowish to rusty gills, and a ring on the stalk. It grows scattered or clustered on deciduous and coniferous logs.
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 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 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 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 witches' butter, a yellow gelatinous bloblike fungus
Witches’ Butter
Tremella mesenterica
Witches' butter is a fungus that looks like small, yellow, irregularly lobed, gelatinous masses. It grows on dead deciduous wood, especially oaks.
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 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..