Looking to add edible mushrooms to your cuisine? Want to know which wild mushrooms are edible?
In this article we’ll cover some of the most easy to identify wild edible mushrooms.
Why have we chosen these? They are both easy to ID and delicious.
Note: If you click some of the links in this article we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Edible Versus Poisonous
There’s no easy method to guarantee if a mushroom is edible or poisonous. It’s key that you know without a shadow of a doubt that what you bring home to eat is safe.
The stakes are high. Poisonous mushrooms can have serious consequences like liver failure, kidney failure, and death.
We have another article on poisonous mushroom identification. Study it. Study the mushrooms below.
Get to know how to ID them based on these key features:
- Where they grow
- When they grow – never pick mushrooms you find out of season (e.g. morels in the fall)
- Caps
- Gills
- Stem
- Any poisonous look alikes?
- Spore Print
Get a Mushroom Guidebook
It’s also key that you pick up a mushroom guidebook to bring with you into the woods. There are a ton out there. The standy that I’ve used and the person who taught me used is the Field Guide to North American Mushrooms.
There are a ton of guides out there though. It’s best if you can find a small one that focuses on the mushrooms in your area. The most common division is mushrooms of the east vs mushrooms of the west.
Take a Local Class
Search your local gardener’s groups, agriculture extension agents, and mushroom groups on Facebook. See if you can find local classes.
The easiest and safest way to learn safe wild edible mushrooms is from another pro that knows your area. To get started just Google wild mushroom class near me.
Get Certified to Find and Sell Wild Mushrooms
If you want to sell wild mushrooms you sometimes need state certification. Here’s an example of a certification program through Michigan State University Extension Program to find and sell mushrooms in Michigan.
Sorry for so much intro but it’s important you learn the basics and stay safe. Now without further delay, on to our top and easy edible wild mushrooms!
Easy to Identify Wild Edible Mushrooms
Morel Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Yellow Morel (Morchella americana) – 4 to 22 cm tall, random pits and ridges on cap, no undercarraige of cap – it connects directly to stem (this is a key feature to tell it apart from false morels), hollow head and stem, yellow brown when mature.
Common Eastern Black Morel (Morchella angusticeps) – Up to 18 cm tall, again random pits and ridges, cap connects directly to stem at base, hollow cap and stem, gray to black/brown.
Where They Grow
Under deciduous trees mainly though sometimes conifers. Near streams. Found throughout North America but more common in the east.
When They Grow
Spring
Poisonous Look Alikes
- False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta)
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Seek morels under dying elms near streams. They also favor recently burned forests.
Chanterelles
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
There are many chanterelles of the genuse Cantharellus. Here are the more common edible ones:
- Cinnabar Chanterelle (Cantharellus cinnabarinus) – 1 to 5 cm wide cap; cinnamon to red colored; upturned cap with gills connecting to stem; stalk is 2 to 5 cm; pink or cream spore print; forked folds instead of gills.
- Common Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) – similar to above but pale yellow; forked “folds” instead of true gills.
Where They Grow
In forests on moss, in leaves, or soil.
When They Grow
Late spring to fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
False chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) – has true gills while the edible chanterelle has “folds” that randomly fork. Not truly poisonous but not great tasting.
Jack O Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus species) – also has unforked true gills. Poisonous.
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Be sure to study the difference between the true gills of poisonous look alikes and the forked folds of chanterelles.
See chanterelles in older growth forests with deciduous trees like birch, beech, poplar, and maple. They like moisture – always search after a recent rain.
Oyster Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
- Common Oyster Mushroom (Shelf Fungus – Pleurotus ostreatus) – Grows on rotting trees. Caps are 5 to 20 cm across. Very commonly cultivated and easy to grow. It’s probably safer to grow this than it is to find it in the wild! Decurrent gills (gills run from the cap down most of the stem). White to pale spore print.
- King Oyster Mushroom (P. eryngii) – See next mushroom type below.
Where They Grow
Grow in clumps or solitary on logs of deciduous trees. Sometimes on evergreens.
When They Grow
All year
Poisonous Look Alikes
- Jack-O-Lantern (Omphalotus Olearius) – Not white, usually yellow or orange instead. Poisonous.
- Ivory Funnel (Clitocybe Dealbata) – Gills stop at the base of the stem instead of running all the way down. Poisonous.
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Try dead or dying aspens and beeches to find oyster mushrooms.
King Oyster Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Pleurotus eryngii – The largest oyster mushroom. Looks more like a wide large stalk than the wavy shelf oyster mushroom. Has a small tan cap. Other oyster mushrooms grow on dead trees and logs. King oysters like to feast on the roots of shrubby plants.
Where They Grow
Native to the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East. Cultivated around the world.
Poisonous Look Alikes
Not many. See other poisonous look alikes for oysters above.
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Giant Puffball
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Calvatia gigantea – Large circular mushroom that grows in lawns and gets to 20 to 50 cm in diameters. White skin that gets creamy and breaks with age.
Where They Grow
World wide in temperate zones
When They Grow
Summer to fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
None
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Harvest before mushroom turns tan.
Shaggy Mane
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Coprinus comatus – Shaggy cap that’s long and cylindrical. 3 to 15 cm in diameter. Turns inky and black as it ages. Black spore print.
Where They Grow
Temperate areas
When They Grow
Spring, Summer and fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
Vomit Mushroom (Chlorophyllum molybdites) – Does not have the distinctive shaggy mane. Most commonly eaten poisonous mushroom that causes the most poisonings.
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Look for shaggy manes on lawns or in wood chips.
Chicken of the Woods, Sulfur Shelf Mushroom
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Laetiporus sulphureus – also knows as sulphur shelf or chicken of the woods, bright orange shelf fungus, 5 to 30 cm in diameter, white spore print,
Where They Grow
Worldwide
When They Grow
Fall and Early winter
Poisonous Look Alikes
Jack O Lantern – these have gills, Chicken of the woods don’t.
Lion’s Mane or Bearded Tooth Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Hericium erinaceus – Tooth fungi due to it’s beard like mass instead of gills, up to 20 cm tall, spines can get up to 9 cm, soft white color, white spore print.
This is one of two species of “Hedgehog mushrooms.” The other is Hydnum repandum. H. repandum has much smaller spikes that only get 3 to 10 millimeters long. Has a much more defined cap while Lion’s Mane looks like a giant lion’s mane. Pale brown to reddish orange when mature. White spore prints. Grows under evergreen trees and deciduous trees in summer and early fall.
Where They Grow
Temperate areas
When They Grow
Summer and early winter
Poisonous Look Alikes
None
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Look for Lion’s Mane on stumps, logs, and decaying hardwood trees in summer and early winter.
Porcini, King Bolete, or Penny Bun
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Boletus edulis – A bolete which means no gills or spikes. Instead it has tubes underneath the cap. Large 7 to 30 cm cap at maturity. Large stem that can also get 7 cm in diameter. Olive brown spore print.
Where They Grow
Deciduous and evergreen forests through the northern hemisphere. In the U.S. it’s more common in the west than in the east or south.
When They Grow
Summer through fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
- Devil’s bolete (Rubroboletus satanas) – red stem that turns blue if you bruise it
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Look for these in the summer and fall after a rain in coniferous forests.
Maitake Mushrooms or Hen of the Woods
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Grifola frondosa – large 60 cm fruiting body of wavy white to grey caps. Each cap is 2 to 8 cm wide. White spore print. Like shelf fungus, this is a perennial fungus that will reappear in the same place after rains year after year. Has tubes instead of gills under the caps.
Where They Grow
Under oaks and hardwoods
When They Grow
Late summer to fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
None that are poisonous
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Look for Maitake mushrooms under oaks and hardwoods.
Buna Shimeji or Beech Tree Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Hypsizygus tessellatus – When in Asia, look for these growing on beech trees in summer and fall. More commonly found in stores and easier to grow than to find.
Where They Grow
East Asia
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Look for these gilled mushrooms growing in clumps on beech trees.
Paddy Straw Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Volvariella volvacea – Mostly cultivated, grown on rice straw. Pink spore print – If searching in the wild always check the spore print of this one! Deadly look alikes from the Amanita genus have white spore prints.
Where They Grow
Asia
Poisonous Look Alikes
Little brown mushrooms. Be wary of this category. Better to buy plug spawn and grow these yourself.
Also resemble poisonous death caps.
Button Mushrooms or White Mushrooms
Key Features (Cap, Gills, Stem, Spore Print)
Agaricus bisporus – Not commonly found in the wild. Easy to confuse with highly poisonous Amanita species. The white button mushrooms matures into large brown Portobello mushrooms when mature.
Where They Grow
Native to Europe and North America
When They Grow
Spring through fall
Poisonous Look Alikes
Death caps, Destroying Angel, and other deadly Amanitas
Mushroom Hunting Tips
Avoid hunting these in the wild. They can be found outside however they are easy to confuse with Amanitas.
