Learn wild, edible mushrooms fruiting in Texas after rain.
Comes with download of a Wild Edible Mushroom Calendar.
Chicken of the Woods: Laetiporus, 4 species in texas
DESCRIPTION: Orange to yellow polypore, with yellow or white pores on underside.
Habitat: Grows in shelfs on heartwood of dead or dying oaks.
Spore Color: White Size: 6-12" width
Edibility: Contains proteins, fat, fiber and tastes just like chicken! Harvest when young, colorful, and moist. Becomes lighter in color, fiborus, mealy and dry, inedible with age.
Look-alikes: Shaggy Bracket, Inonotus hispidus (non-toxic)
Ringless Honey Mushroom: Desarmillaria & ArmillariA Species
Ringless Honey Mushroom, Desarmillaria caespitosa will start been popping up all over Austin in large clusters at the bases of trees (when the clusters appear to be terrestrial they are actually growing from underground wood) in late summer and fall. This parasitic fungus is part of a genus that is the largest living organism ever found on this planet.
Description: Honey-colored, dry, scaly to sticky cap. Mellea species has a ring on the stem. Gills, some species have a ring.
Habitat: Grows in clusters on decaying hard-wood.
Spore Color: White
Size: 6" in Height
Edibility: Not Choice.
Look-alikes: Southern Jack-o-lantern, Omphalotus subilludens which is toxic and orange to brown in color.
REISHI: Ganoderma, 12 species in Texas
DESCRIPTION: Polypore with woody, varnished texture, banded red to brown colors with white pores on underside.
HABITAT: Grows at base or on hardwood stumps, logs, especially oaks and pecan. Pines in East Texas.
SPORE COLOR: Brown
SIZE: 4-10" width
EDIBILITY: Medicinal. Very bitter because of medicinal compounds.
LOOK-ALIKES: Red-Belted Conk, Fomitosis Pinicola (also medicinal).
honeycomb fungus: FavoluS 3 species in Texas
DESCRIPTION: Genus of tropical fungi in the family Polyporaceae but with fleshy with radially arranged pores on the underside of the cap that are angular and deeply pitted, somewhat resembling a honeycomb. White to yellow and grows alone or in overlapping clusters similar to oyster mushrooms or other shelf fungi.
HABITAT: On decaying hard-wood, year round when humidity is high after rain.
SPORE COLOR: White
SIZE: 3-6" wide
EDIBILITY: Odor slightly foul, especially in rehydrated material; taste not distinctive. Tough texture and can be cooked like chicharrones.
LOOK A-LIKE: Oysters, Pluerotus or Lentinellus cochleatus (none observed in Texas) but grow on decomposing wood.
WOOD EAR: Auricularia 6+- species in Texas
DESCRIPTION: Brown to amber in color. Jelly texture that is irregular, wavy, and ear-shaped. Lacks gills or pores.
HABITAT: Grows in clusters on decaying hardwood after rain
SPORE COLOR: White
SIZE: 4-6" in width and > 1/4" thick
EDIBILITY: Wood ear mushrooms are a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes, such as hot and sour soup, and also used in Chinese medicine. It is also used in Ghana, as a blood tonic. Modern research into possible medical applications has variously concluded that wood ear has anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, anticoagulant and cholesterol-lowering properties.
LOOK-ALIKES: Amber Jelly, Exidia recisa which is also edible.
Puffball: Lycoperdon and Calvatia, 15+- species in Texas
DESCRIPTION: Smooth and spherical, deflate and turn purplish or brown on inside with age making inedible. Some peal and have spines.
HABITAT: Overgrazed Prairie or grasslands.
SPORE COLOR: Purple-brown
SIZE: 2- 60" diameter
EDIBILITY: Doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own and absorb flavors. Try making a Giant Puffball Pizza.
LOOK-ALIKES: Amanita species which can contain toxins and be fatal. If center of puffball is not white, it can cause GI distress.
Blue Milkcap: Lactarius Indigo
DESCRIPTION: Blue cap with concentric rings and a depression in center, sticky or slimy to the touch. Brittle flesh, stem. Gills and body exude blue latex when injured tissue is and stains the wounded tissue greenish blue.
HABITAT: Mycorrhizal and grows in deciduous and coniferous forests.
SPORE COLOR: Cream
SIZE: 2.0–5.9" cap width
EDIBILITY: Choice. Peppery taste and has a coarse, grainy texture.
LOOK-ALIKES: Blewit, Collybia nuda or Lactarius paradoxus (edible)
CHANTERELLE: Cantharellus, 10+- species in Texas
DESCRIPTION: Red, orange, yellow to white, meaty and funnel-shaped and can be found in clusters or individual mushrooms. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, most species have rounded, forked folds that run almost all the way down the stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap.
HABITAT: Symbiotic and found around 5-30 feet of mature live and red oaks after a lot of rain. Chanterelles need a lot of rain to fruit and they like the torrential Texas-style flash floods. Trees near creeks and where water is flowing downhill is very important. Avoid trees that are in areas that are mowed. Trees with undisturbed leaf matter and not many understory plants are ideal.
SPORE COLOR: White Yellowish
SIZE: 2-6" height
EDIBILITY: Choice. Many species emit a fruity aroma, reminiscent of apricots, and often have a mildly peppery taste.
LOOK A-LIKE: The Southern Jack-o-lantern, Omphalotus subilludens is the toxic look-a-like and is orange to brown in color. They do grow at the same time but their habitat and morphology is different.
OYSTER: Pleurotus ostreatus
DESCRIPTION: Color can vary white, tan and gray.White to cream gills, run down stem.
HABITAT: Grows in clusters and decomposes hardwood.
SPORE COLOR: White
SIZE: Cap fan shaped, 2"-8" across.
EDIBILITY: Choice. Delicious meat replacement in all types of cuisines
LOOK A-LIKE: The Southern Jack-o-lantern, Omphalotus subilludens is the toxic look-a-like and is orange to brown in color. They do grow at the same time but their habitat and morphology is different.
TURKEY TAIL Trametes versicolor
DESCRIPTION: Variable coloration, distinct striping pattern. No gills, pores are small and round, white to light brown
HABITAT: Grows in overlapping clusters on logs and stumps
SPORE COLOR: White
SIZE: Cap fan shaped, 2"-8" across.
EDIBILITY: Medicinal. Tough, leathery flesh. Can be brewed into a tea, broth, or extracted into a tincture.
LOOK A-LIKE: False turkey tail. or Stereum ostrea and is non-toxic. Mushroom Expert has a useful check list to determine if it is true medicinal turkey tail.
Become a member and learn more about wild mushroom foraging in Texas!
Membership benefits include early access and discounts to walks, workshops, and more. Your membership helps support the larger community! Tag us to get help with ID and add your observations to iNaturalist.org. If you are trying a new mushroom, confirm the ID with an expert, then try a small amount to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. Texas Mushroom Identification Facebook group is great for quick responses and ID help. Also, don't forget to add your finds on the Mushrooms of Texas project on iNaturalist.