Common Edible Mushrooms of Missouri Presented by Maxine Stone Missouri Mycological Society
2014 Missouri Mycological Society Mushroom Classes These classes are designed to educate scientific minded, or just the curious, to 40 different mushroom species through four consecutive courses. Course One: Course Two: Course Three: Course Four: Ten Common Poisonous Mushrooms of Missouri Ten Common Mushrooms of Missouri Part I Ten Common Mushrooms of Missouri Part II Ten Common Edible Mushrooms of Missouri Each class is organized into training and field segments. Optional homework includes collection and recording of three discussed species, and a one page essay on anything pertaining to the respective class. A test will be given. After successful completion of training, field experience, homework and test for each class, the student will receive a beautiful award pin acknowledging proficiency in that area of mycology. Those who completes all four courses will be awarded the Missouri Mycological Society s Harry S.Thiers Certificate for Mushroom Proficiency
Today you will learn.. Today you will learn to identify 10 of the most common edible mushrooms in Missouri You will learn common names, Latin names and certain identifying features You will learn to recognize poisonous look-alikes You will also learn where you might find these choice mushrooms
The names of these mushrooms are: Morchella esculenta Yellow Morel Cantharellus cibarius & lateritius Chanterelle Laetiporus sulphureus & cincinatus Chicken Mushroom Grifola frondosa Hen of the Woods Calvatia gigantea Giant Puffball Coprinus comatus Shaggy Mane Pleurotus ostreatus Oyster Craterellus cornucopioides/fallax Black Trumpet Lepista nuda Wood Blewit Herecium erinaceus Bearded Tooth
There are thousands of regularly harvested edible mushrooms in the world.
Out of 10,000 mushroom species in North America, less than a dozen are actually deadly.
In some areas, certain poisonous and even deadly mushrooms are quite common. Right here in Missouri, there are a couple of deadly common mushrooms.
It's also true that several common edibles have other poisonous look-alikes that people often mistake for them.
Before you eat or taste any mushroom, please have it positively identified and be 100% sure of what it is.
But.. we are here to talk about EDIBLE mushrooms. Though I ll show you some common poisonous look-alikes -- we ll leave poisonous mushrooms for another class!
Anyone know this mushroom???
Or this?
These are both morels Yellow morel Morchella americana Black morel Morchella angusticeps
Morels have a honeycomed cap with ridges and pits:
Morels are hollow inside:
When do we find morels? In the spring usually the beginning of April through the end of April or the beginning of May When the ground has warmed up When there has been sufficient rain
Where do we find morels? In the woods In back yards In disturbed areas We CAN find them in a lot of places
But if you want to HUNT for morels, try these places. Under dying elm trees Under white ash trees Under cottonwood trees
Dying Elms (not dead, not healthy): Dying Elms are funnel shaped The bark can be falling off The bark is gray
White Ash: This is a tall tree It has brown bark The bark is furrowed into diamond patterns and looks like straight lines all the way up.
Cottonwoods: The bark is ash-gray It is divided in thick flattened ridges with deep furrows. Cottonwoods are very large trees and like river bottoms
Does anyone know this mushroom? Considered a look-alike (even though it doesn t look like a morel)
Gyromitra caroliniana or Big Red False Morel
Despite the fact that the False Morel is consumed by many people in Missouri, this mushroom is not a safe edible! It has a toxin (rocket fuel is made from it) in it that builds up in the body Deaths have occured
Which one is ridged and pitted? The Big Red is more brain-like
Which one is hollow?
Morels and Pasta
This is a Chanterelle! Cantharellus cibarius
There are a few different species of chanterelles Cantharellus lateritious Smooth Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius Chanterelle
They are yellow-ochre to orange:
Chanterelles do not have true gills, the underside has ridges or. Cantharellus cibarius
or the underside can be smooth Cantharellus lateritius
The Chanterelle is usually funnel shaped
When do we find chanterelles? In the middle of the summer when it is hot, humid and ticks abound! July is chanterelle time, occasionally the end of June and into August
Where do we find chanterelles? Chanterelles like our native oak hickory forests. They are there and are easy to find because of their color Once you find one look around, there will be more
Poisonous look-alike Omphalotus illudens or Jack O Lantern
The Jack O Lantern is considered poisonous. It can cause gastric upset for 2 hours 2 days
Note: when gathered fresh and taken into a dark room, the gills give off an eerie green glow
The Jack O Lantern has sharp gills The Chanterelle has ridges (or is smooth)
Jack O Lantern is clustered Chanterelle is not clustered
Chanterelle Polenta on the Grill
This is a Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf Laetiporus sulphureus
Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf are bright yellow/orange/red on top
and sulphur-yellow on the underside
They are polypores: mushrooms that have pores, not gills (boletes also have pores)
Another species of the Chicken of the Woods is Laetiporus cincinnatus I call this one the Chicken Mushroom
The Laetiporus cincinnatus is pale orange on top and white on the underside It is found on the ground, often on buried roots All of it is usually tender
When do we find Chicken of the Woods? May to November
Where do we find the Chicken of the Woods? On stumps, trunks and logs of deciduous and coniferous trees On living trees and buried roots They are easy to spot because of their bright color
Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic
This is a Hen of the Woods or Grifola frondosa
Hen of the Woods are grayish brownish black on top and white on the underside
They have pores instead of gills:
They have spoon-shaped or layered fronds
When do we find Hens? September - November
Where do we find Hens? Hen of the Woods grow at the base of Oak trees - sometimes on stumps They are often difficult to see as they blend in with leaves They can weigh up 100 pounds!
Another name for Grifola frondosa or Hen of the Woods is Maitake It has been known to have medicinal properties
Hearty Hen Soup
This is a Giant Puffball or Calvatia gigantea..
This is also a Puffball or Lycoperdon perlatum
Puffballs are usually all white and smooth
but they can be tan and spiney
Puffballs are round or oval (sometimes looking like a baseball or volleyball!)
They can be small or large very large
An edible Puffball should be completely white when cut through and look like marshmallow
It should have no sign of a stem or cap
When do we find Puffballs? July October
Where do we find Puffballs? Open woods, grass, pastures, backyards Scattered or clustered
Poisonous look-alike: Pigskin Puffball or Scleroderma citrinum
The Pigskin Puffball is purplish-black inside and has a rind-like thick skin that is white It can cause nausea and vomiting
Edible Puffball All white when cut Pigskin Puffball Purplish when cut
This is a Shaggy Mane or Coprinus comatus
Shaggy Manes are cylindrical, and shaggy.
Shaggy Manes start out white, but turn dark and inky with age.
Note: This mushroom auto-digests itself!
Shaggy Manes can be 1-2 across and up to 6 in height.
When do we find Shaggy Manes? September October
Where do we find Shaggy Manes? Scattered or clustered. in grass in wood chips in hard packed soil
This is an Oyster Mushroom or Pleurotus ostreatus
Oysters are white, gray or brown capped
with white to light yellow gills
Oysters cap is semicircular to elongated
The stalk or stem is off center
When do we find Oyster mushrooms? March October
We can find the Oyster mushroom on logs and stumps of deciduous trees all year round after rainy, warm weather
Where do we find Oyster Mushrooms? On deciduous trees On tree stumps
Oysters Rockefeller
This is a Black Trumpet or Craterellus fallax
Black Trumpets are brownish black
Black Trumpets are vase shaped
Black Trumpets are very small
When do we find Black Trumpets? Around June Sometimes earlier, sometimes later
Where do we find Black Trumpets? Black Trumpets like rocky, mossy hillsides They like our Oak-Hickory forests They are very hard to see as they blend in with the forest floor
This is a Wood Blewit or Lepista nuda
Blewits have a violet cap, often fading to tan
Blewits gills are violet to buff
Blewits stalk is violet and often bulbous
This is a Bearded Tooth or Hericium erinaceus
Bearded Tooth can be large, are whitish and beard-like, with long teeth
They grow on the side of living, deciduous trees
They also can be called Lion s Mane and have are considered to have medicinal qualities
Two Bonus Mushrooms..
This is a Lobster Mushroom or Hypomyces lactiflourum
The Lobster mushroom has a bright orange-red mold or parasite growing on various white species of Lactarius and Russula mushrooms
The orange parasite grows on the host and smooths the gills
It transforms an otherwise unpalatable mushroom (Lactarius or Russula) into an choice edible
Mmmmmmm..
This is a Milky Lactarius Lactarius volemus
The cap of the Milky is dry, velvety and orange-brown
The latex that exudes from this mushroom is white, abundant, and turns brownish The odor is fish-like
The Mycophagist's Ten Commandments Excerpted from Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America 1. Never eat a mushroom unless it is 100%, positively identified as edible. 2. Eat only fresh mushrooms that are free from infestation of insects. 3. Thoroughly cook all wild mushrooms. 4. Eat wild mushrooms in moderate quantities. 5. When trying a mushroom for the first time, eat only a small portion. 6. Never assume that a wild mushroom you find overseas is the same edible species you know from North America or vice versa. 8. Be conservative about feeding wild mushrooms to children, the elderly, and the infirm. 9. When trying a mushroom for the first time, save a few intact, uncooked specimens in the refrigerator. 10. Examine every specimen in every collection of mushrooms to avoid inadvertent mixing of different species.
Remember, every mushroom is edible- ONCE!
Always check with an expert until you are 100% sure