Mushroom field guides are books often specific to regions containing what kind of mushrooms are common in that area, where to find them, and how to identify them. While there are too many mushrooms to encapsulate in one article, here are some common tips you might find in these field guides.
Mushroom Field Guide
Common Habitats to Find Mushrooms
The most important part of mushroom foraging is finding them. There are two main areas mushrooms grow: woodland areas and grasslands.
Woodland mushrooms will often be found on decaying wood. Many popular edible varieties such as oyster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, and hen of the woods are saprophytic, meaning they derive their energy from detritus or dead and decaying matter. These mushrooms prefer deciduous trees and are often found on oaks, beeches, maples, and other hardwoods. Oyster mushrooms may also be found on beech trees. Chicken of the woods can be found on ash trees, and hen of the woods can be found near maple and elms. All of these types of fungi are likely to be found on fallen logs or upright decaying trees. Morels are found on south or west-facing slopes along the edges of deciduous forests and are typically associated with coniferous trees like pines, as are porcinis. This association can be attributed to the mycorrhizal association of the mushrooms with other plants, in this case coniferous species. This type of symbiosis benefits the plant by allowing more nutrients to be taken up through the plant and the plant provides the mushroom with a carbohydrate source.
Grassland varieties include wax caps, coral and club fungi, and common field mushrooms such as fairy rings, parasols, and ink caps. Many of these types of mushrooms are poisonous or, if they are edible, are not renowned for their taste. Instead, they are appreciated for their beauty and interesting spore prints. Some types are found on animal manure, like the snowy inkcap. Grassland mushrooms are the types you’re more likely to find along slopes, with waxcaps commonly being found on coastal slopes and even in neighborhood lawns.
No matter where you go in nature, you’re likely to stumble across some type of mushroom on your way, and the more you look, the more you will find! In addition, you can record the collection site, when you find the mushrooms. so that you can come to the same place to find them next year.
Humidity and Seasonality
Moisture and humidity encourages fungi to sprout from its underground mycelium. Most mushrooms grow under humid, wet conditions, so foraging the morning after a heavy rain is the best time to find a wide variety of fungi. Mushrooms are not commonly found on dry soil, though decaying, moist leaf litter is a good substrate for many saprophytic mushrooms like oyster mushrooms. Soil temperature also plays a part in when the underground mycelium will fruit, with most mushrooms fruiting at the lowest temperature of 55ºF and a high of around 70ºF. Fruiting times can differ based on geographic location and region, though it is safe to assume most mushrooms will fruit under moist and shaded conditions.
The season for each mushroom can vary depending on your location, but generally the most plentiful times to forage for mushrooms are from summer to early winter, with fall having the most abundance globally. Some common autumnal mushrooms are: honey mushrooms, puffballs, lobster mushrooms, and chicken of the woods.
Common Forage Mushrooms and Tips to Find Them
These mushrooms are commonly foraged for their culinary use. As always, it is imperative to never eat a mushroom unless you are 100% certain it’s identity, and that it is edible.
- Morels: usually found along forest edges around conifers. The season for morels starts in April and typically ends in mid-May, sprouting up on damp nights. False morels and other poisonous look alikes can be differentiated from a true morel are the seamless cap attachment of a true morel: false morels will have an appearance of the stem sliding underneath the cap. Another good way to tell if a morel is a true morel is by cutting it in half: true morels are hollow from the stem to the tip of the cap.
- Chanterelles: the season for chanterelles is broader than the season for many other mushrooms, as it runs from late spring to early fall, with the largest amounts available during the summer. They can be found in hardwood forests amongst oak, maple, and poplar trees. They grow individually, not in clumps like its poisonous look alike, the Jack-o-lantern mushroom.
- Oysters: This is another type of mushroom with a long season, spreading from spring to fall. Look for these on fallen oak or beech logs. Oysters can be differentiated from jack-o-lanterns or other look-alikes in that they have true gills which run down the stem, instead of stopping at the base of the stem like poisonous look-alikes often have.
- Chicken of the woods: These meaty mushrooms can be found in August through October near the base of dying hardwood trees such as oaks or beeches. There are no poisonous look-alikes for this mushroom, though proper identification is still very important.
- Hen of the woods (Maitake): Found at the base of oak trees or on dead or dying trees. This mushroom is common in the northeastern US, Canada, Japan, and China. They are most abundantly found in the fall months. There are no known poisonous look-alikes.
- Lions Mane: Lion’s mane mushrooms are found high up on decaying hardwood trees, usually on birches, maple, and walnut trees. These are also saprophytic mushrooms, meaning they feed on dead and decaying matter. The best season for these mushrooms are late summer to early fall. This is another mushroom with no known poisonous look alike.
There are many more species of mushrooms being discovered every year, with an estimation that only 1% of the world’s mushrooms have been identified. Even if you’re not hunting for culinary wild mushrooms, exploring the terrain for any kind of mushroom or fungus can be a rewarding and entertaining experience.
In the app the local field guides for your area will give the comprehensive and exhaustive review of when to find specific mushrooms for your region and where to look. For those without field guides, this guide should give a basic overview of what to look for and where to look, as well as what to look out for when it comes to common look-alikes for popular foraging mushrooms.
Warning! Even though Picture Mushroom’s identification accuracy is extremely high, you should NOT consume any wild mushrooms without being identified as edible by an expert! Some wild mushrooms might be wrongly identified as consumable as they can look very similar to edible species. Please be advised, some mushrooms are extremely poisonous and harmful to humans and pets. Only consume mushrooms from an official source of supply like supermarkets or food stores.