Mushrooms
Media
![Photo of false turkey tail bracket fungus closeup, one showing smooth underside](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/false_turkey_tail_closeup_04-11-13.jpg?itok=6r9dpXA_)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Stereum ostrea
Description
False turkey tail grows in large, layered groups of leathery, parchmentlike brackets with multicolored zones and a smooth underside. Look for it on stumps and logs of deciduous trees, especially oaks.
Media
![Photo of big cluster of turkey tails, bracket fungus with concentric color rings](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/05/turkey_tail_big_cluster_4-30-13.jpg?itok=ePdx1P1A)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Trametes versicolor
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of several violet toothed polypores, violet-gray bracket fungi](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/05/violet_toothed_polypore_2_4-30-13.jpg?itok=RFH3xq4j)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Trichaptum biforme
Description
The violet toothed polypore is a bracket fungus with tough, hairy caps with violet margins and zones of white, brown, and black; beneath, the whitish violet pores break into teeth. It grows on stumps and logs of deciduous wood.
Media
![Photo of multicolor gill polypore, a colorfully zoned bracket fungus on a log](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/05/multicolor_gill_polypore_05-05-13.jpg?itok=hrqGg28U)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lenzites betulina
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of common split gills, white bracket mushrooms growing on branch](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/common_split_gill_cluster_4-11-13.jpg?itok=-LDkwTnk)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Schizophyllum commune
Description
Split gills grow in clusters with small, white, hairy, fan-shaped caps. Beneath, they have whitish or pinkish gill-like folds that split toward the edge. They grow on dead branches of deciduous trees.
Media
![Photo of hen of the woods, large round mass of grayish mushrooms](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/hen_of_the_woods_04-11-13.jpg?itok=ywuRy4sq)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Grifola frondosa
Description
Looking like a ruffled chicken, the edible hen of the woods mushroom grows like large circular bouquet of spoon-shaped caps, each grayish brown on top and white beneath, emerging from a branching, whitish base. It grows on the ground at the base of oak trees.
Media
![Photo of black-staining polypore, a mushroom with tan, wavy, fan-shaped caps](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/black-staining_polypore_closeup_04-27-13.jpg?itok=AkdTjvCt)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Meripilus sumstinei (formerly M. giganteus)
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of eastern cauliflower mushroom, tan and white cauliflower-like mushroom](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/eastern_cauliflower_mushroom_04-11-13.jpg?itok=Au3d1FhM)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sparassis spathulata (S. herbstii)
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of smooth chanterelles, vase-shaped yellow and white mushrooms](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/smooth_chanterelle_04-11-13.jpg?itok=9GDn_X5g)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cantharellus lateritius
Description
The smooth chanterelle has a bright orange to yellow cap, wavy margins, and is smooth on the underside. It grows singly or in large groups in the soil.
Media
![Photo of two black trumpets, dark brown vase-shaped mushrooms on mossy ground](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/04/black_trumpet_04-11-13.jpg?itok=JDc2qzzU)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Craterellus cornucopioides (C. fallax)
Description
The black trumpet is dark brown to black, vase- or trumpet-shaped, with a wavy margin and no gills. It grows in groups of few to many on rocky, mossy hillsides in deciduous woods.
See Also
Media
![Photo of several pinesap plants showing multiple flowers per stalk.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2014/09/pinesap_9-23-14.jpg?itok=jjwFrdbh)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Monotropa hypopitys
Description
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.
Media
![Picture of a patch of filamentous green algae floating in a stream.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2015/08/filamentous_algae_8-11-15.jpg?itok=I8p9SGFg)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cladophora, Pithophora, and Spirogyra spp., and others
Description
Filamentous green algae forms green, cottony masses that are free-floating or attached to rocks, debris, or other plants.
Media
![Photo of several Indian pipe plants with flowers, rising out of leaf litter.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2014/09/indian_pipe_09-16-14.jpg?itok=PrRPNYwJ)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Monotropa uniflora
Description
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..