This edible, toothed mushroom looks like a frozen waterfall sprouting out of the side of a tree. Aside from its unique appearance, the mushroom is notable for its putative ability to help the nervous system regenerate.
Witches might not be real, but witches’ brooms certainly are – and they’re destroying chocolate! Yes, Halloween’s favorite treat (chocolate) is suffering at the hands of a disease with a Halloween-themed name: Witches’ Broom Disease. Witches’ brooms are actually fairly common and occur on many different plants. In chocolate trees (Cacao trees, Theobroma cacao, whose genus name literally means “food of the gods”), witches’ brooms are caused by the fungal pathogen Moniliophthora perniciosa and have an enormous economic impact on chocolate production in Central and South America.
If you need a mushroom centerpiece for your Halloween party, then this is it. This large mushroom has a bulbous, bright red, reticulated base that easily invokes demonic fires (hence its common and scientific names). As a bonus, Satan’s Bolete has a fetid odor – quite fitting, don’t you think? Unfortunately, this mushroom is rather rare.
Noting what decorations a bolete has on its stem can be very helpful in identifying that bolete. One type of decoration you may find on a bolete’s stipe is reticulation. Reticulation is a net-like pattern of ridges that extend partially or all the way down the stipe. These ridges are actually an extension of the pore surface, much like decurrent gills in agarics. The reticulum does produce spores, but is not as efficient at discharging spores because it is oriented parallel to the ground. Heimioporus betula is hands-down the best example of reticulation in any bolote.
This is without a doubt the strangest-looking puffball-like mushroom in North America. It starts out looking like the inside of an oddly-colored egg and ends up resembling a little, red balloon glued to the top of a tiny termite mound. This description really doesn’t do the mushroom justice, so please do an image search for “Calostoma cinnabarinum” to see what the mushroom actually looks like.
This is one of the strangest fungi you can find in North America. Like other jelly fungi, it is characterized by its squishy, gelatinous texture. Most jelly fungi have a fairly disorganized, globular structure. However, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum has a distinct stipe, pileus, and spore surface. In fact, its spores are borne on teeth, much like the unrelated Hedgehog Mushroom (Hydnum repandum)!
This edible mushroom resembles the chanterelles in looks, flavor, and microscopic characteristics. The one big difference: it has teeth underneath its cap!
This edible mushroom has a few common names, including: “Hen of the Woods,” “Sheepshead,” and “” It is parasitic on hardwood tree roots, so look for this mushroom around the bases of hardwoods (especially oaks and maples) in the fall.
This mushroom is a gateway mushroom to foraging. There is no mistaking the large, bright, yellow-orange fruiting bodies of the Chicken of the Woods. It is also a good edible that has the look, texture, and taste of chicken when cooked (which resulted in one of its common names).
These mushrooms are the mycophagist’s (fungus-eater’s) best friends. They taste great, are large enough to eat, often fruit plentifully, are easy to spot, and are unlikely to be confused with anything else (if you know what to look for). Golden Chanterelles are very popular in Europe. The European species is called the “Griole” in France, while Germans call it the “” These choice edibles can also be found in North America, where they fruit from summer through fall. Look for chanterelles near streams, in hollows, and in other tree-covered places with abundant moisture but good drainage. I recently found some in a small park in Northern Virginia, so they may be more common than you would expect!
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