Common Edible Mushrooms of Missouri Presented by Maxine Stone Missouri Mycological Society 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: Ten Common Poisonous Mushrooms of Missouri Course Two: Ten Common Mushrooms of Missouri Part I Course Three: Ten Common Mushrooms of Missouri Part II Course Four: Ten Common Edible Mushrooms of Missouri Each class provides training and offers optional field work. Optional field work 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 1
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. 2
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. 3
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??? 4
Or this? These are both morels Yellow morel Morchella esculenta Black morel Morchella elata 5
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 6
Where do we find morels? In the woods In back yards In disturbed areas We CAN find them in a lot of places 7
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. 8
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 9
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? 10
Morels and Pasta 11
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: 12
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 13
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 14
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) 15
Jack O Lantern is clustered Chanterelle is not clustered Chanterelle Polenta on the Grill 16
This is a Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf Laetiporus sulphureus 17
Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf are bright yellow/orange/red on top and sulphur-yellow on the underside They are polypores: a shelf mushroom that has pores, not gills 18
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 19
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 20
This is a Hen of the Woods or Grifola frondosa 21
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 22
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 23
Hearty Hen Soup 24
This is a Giant Puffball or Calvatia gigantea.. This is also a Puffball or Lycoperdon perlatum 25
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!) 26
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 27
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 28
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 29
This is a Shaggy Mane or Coprinus comatus Shaggy Manes are cylindrical, and shaggy. 30
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. 31
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 32
This is an Oyster Mushroom or Pleurotus ostreatus Oysters are white, gray or brown capped 33
with white to light yellow gills Oysters cap is semicircular to elongated The stalk or stem is off center 34
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 35
Oysters Rockefeller 36
This is a Black Trumpet or Craterellus fallax Black Trumpets are brownish black Black Trumpets are vase shaped 37
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 38
This is a Wood Blewit or Lepista nuda 39
Blewits have a violet cap, often fading to tan Blewits gills are violet to buff Blewits stalk is violet and often bulbous 40
This is a Bearded Tooth or Hericium erinaceus 41
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 42
Two Bonus Mushrooms.. 43
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 44
It transforms an otherwise unpalatable mushroom (Lactarius or Russula) into an choice edible Mmmmmmm.. 45
This is a Milky Lactarius Lactarius volemus The cap of the Milky is dry, velvety and orange-brown 46
The latex that exudes from this mushroom is white, abundant, and turns brownish The odor is fish-like Now that I have my edibles, how do I preserve them?? Dehydrate? Cook and freeze? 47
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 48
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