Field Guide

Mushrooms

Showing 1 - 10 of 66 results
Photo of earthstars, ball mushrooms with starlike rays, on forest floor
Earthstars
Geastrum species
An earthstar is a roundish ball in the center of starlike rays. It grows on the ground in open woods.
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 a thin-maze flat polypore, a bracket fungus, showing concentric rings
Thin-Maze Flat Polypore
Daedaleopsis confragosa (Daedalea confragosa)
The thin-maze flat polypore is a grayish brown bracket fungus with a zoned top and a furrowed, mazelike underside. It grows singly or in small, layered clusters on dead wood or in wounds of living trees.
Photo of beefsteak polypore, a rust-colored bracket fungus growing on tree base
Beefsteak Polypore
Fistulina hepatica
The beefsteak polypore is a thick, semicircular, reddish or rusty, gelatinous bracket with a pinkish yellow underside. It grows at the base of living oaks and on stumps.
Photo of resinous polypore, a bracket fungus with rust-colored top
Resinous Polypore
Ischnoderma resinosum
The resinous polypore is a large, thick, velvety, brownish bracket fungus with a thick margin and whitish pores. It grows on logs and stumps of deciduous trees.
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.
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.
Photograph of a black morel mushroom
Black Morel
Morchella angusticeps (formerly M. elata)
The black morel is a prized edible mushroom. It has a honeycombed cap with black to brownish black ridges and yellowish brown pits. It is completely hollow and grows in the spring.
Photo of common morels growing on forest floor
Morels
Morchella species
Favorites among Missouri wild edibles, true morels only appear in the spring. They're very hard to see, but that's part of the fun of hunting them. Learn to identify them, and you can enjoy the hunt, too.
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..