Global Mushroom Species

Brown cap, cream pores bluing slightly when cut; mild flavor; ubiquitous in Scandinavian and Central European forests; good dried

Rough-stalked, grey-brown cap; strictly under birch; mild flavor; turns dramatically black when cooked

Vivid orange cap under aspen and poplar; also blackens when cooked; firm texture; widely picked in Balkans and E. Europe

Slimy brown cap under Scots pine; peel before cooking; introduced with pine plantations in the Southern Hemisphere

Red cap, yellow pores with slow bluing; reliable edible in eastern oak forests; cook thoroughly

Under western larch and Douglas fir; orange-scaled cap; introduced to South American plantation forests; edible after peeling the slimy cap skin

Slender, yellow-stalked, hollow stipe; dense clusters in mossy conifer forests; excellent dried; late-season and winter find

Bright orange brackets on Pacific conifers; cook thoroughly; conifer form causes GI upset for some people

Yellow-orange brackets on oaks and cherries; chicken-like texture when young; cook thoroughly; multi-pound fronds are common

White (not yellow) pores; grows from buried hardwood roots; milder flavor than conifer form; excellent when young and tender

Blood-red bracket on old oaks; bleeds red juice; marbled flesh slightly sour; best marinated and grilled; found on veteran oak trees

Large, scaly bracket on elm, sycamore, and box elder; watermelon-rind smell; tender and delicious when young and small

Massive cream-colored rosette at oak bases; slow-cook to tenderize; mild flavor; can weigh over 30 lbs; one of eastern forests' most dramatic finds

Major commercial mushroom of SE Asia; grown on rice straw; harvest before cap opens; the volva at button stage resembles Amanita

White to grey shelf clusters on dead hardwood; mild flavor; available across most seasons; the world's most widely cultivated mushroom species

Tolerates warmer temperatures than P. ostreatus; common on tropical hardwoods; widely cultivated in Thailand and Vietnam

Bright yellow clusters; native to NE Asian forests; now cultivated across SE Asia and Americas; delicate, slightly nutty flavor

Fast-growing tropical oyster; harvested in Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam; slightly firmer than P. ostreatus

Football-sized; slice and cook like French toast; always cut to confirm pure white interior; developing Amanita inside can look like a puffball outside

Largest western puffball; in montane meadows after summer rains; pure white inside essential before eating; excellent sauteed or battered

Covered in spiny warts; eat only when pure white inside; common and widespread across temperate zones; good in soups and sautes

Common across DRC and Zambia; bleeds watery white latex; grilled or dried; nutritionally important in communities with limited protein access

Variable cap (purple to grey-green); unusually non-brittle gills; mild, pleasant flavor; one of the most consumed Russula across Europe

Smells strongly of shellfish or crab after cooking; burgundy-wine cap under conifers; one of the Pacific NW's distinctive regional edibles

Common across central African savannas; mild flavor; a staple foraged species; traded alongside Termitomyces in dry-season bush markets

Cream-colored, teeth (spines) not gills or pores beneath; NO dangerous lookalikes; mild nutty flavor; a beginner-safe species

Small, drought-resistant; revives when rehydrated; forms rings in lawns and pastures across temperate zones; excellent dried

Pink gills turning chocolate brown; anise scent; in lawns and pastures; common across temperate regions globally; the classic wild button mushroom

Autodigests within hours of picking; tall cylindrical cap; harvest young and cook immediately; exquisite briefly sauteed in butter over high heat

Violet gills and cap; fruits late autumn through winter; must be cooked (raw causes allergic reactions in some); distinctive, beautiful, and flavorful

Clusters at tree bases; some individuals span miles underground among Earth's largest organisms; cook THOROUGHLY; raw causes illness

White coral branching with distinctive pink tips; in conifer duff; cook well; pink tips distinguish from bitter inedible Ramaria species

Brilliant orange parasite on Russula or Lactarius; firm, seafood-scented; visually unmistakable; confirm host species identity first

Lumpy white masses produced when Entoloma parasitizes Armillaria; firm, mild, versatile; a fascinating and delicious mycological phenomenon

Fan-shaped, leathery; on dead wood across the tropics; dried and cooked long in SE Asian soups; requires extended cooking to become palatable

Huge cream funnel caps forming rings in meadows and woodland edges; mild flavor; cook well; a dramatic find in Balkan and Carpathian meadows

Slippery when wet; mild; common in conifer duff; widely foraged in the Balkans and Scandinavia for its reliable late-season abundance

Vivid cobalt blue throughout; native NZ forest floors; depicted on the NZ $50 note; consumed cautiously as closely related species are toxic

Smallest of the termite mushrooms; fruits in dense carpets of thousands following heavy rains, on abandoned Macrotermes carton; sold by the bowl in West and East African markets; mild flavor, used in stews and groundnut sauces.

Brown-orange cap exuding white latex; ectomycorrhizal in miombo woodland with Brachystegia and Julbernardia; one of the staple wild mushrooms of central and southern Africa, traded fresh, smoked, and dried.

Brick-red cap, white brittle flesh, mild taste; mycorrhizal with miombo trees; one of the most heavily picked Russulas in central Africa; cooked fresh or sun-dried for the dry season.

Tall white parasol with movable ring and dark scaly disc; in grasslands and forest clearings of Africa and the Indian subcontinent; tender cap is excellent grilled; verify free white gills to separate from green-spored Chlorophyllum.

Translucent brown ear-shaped fruitbody with a reticulate gelatinous lower surface; on hardwood logs in humid forests; widely eaten in tropical Africa and Asia; soaked and stir-fried or added to soups.

Small dark hypogeous ascomycete under Mediterranean junipers and Helianthemum; pale veined gleba; collected in the same desert truffle harvests as Terfezia; gentle flavor, prized for omelets.

Warm-climate oyster mushroom with a thick cap and distinctive black asexual spore droplets on the stipe; wild on hardwood in subtropical zones and widely cultivated; excellent texture, dense and meaty.

Lacquered crimson cap with red pores beading amber droplets when fresh; intensely reticulate red stipe; mycorrhizal with oaks in Mexican highlands and the eastern US; flesh blues, edible well-cooked.

Compact coral fungus with yellow-cream branches; fruits from forest floor humus in tropical and subtropical montane forests; eaten in Oaxaca markets as escobetilla; mild flavor, cook fully to avoid GI upset.

Bright yellow-orange gelatinous brain on dead hardwood twigs; mycoparasite of Peniophora crusts; texture rather than flavor is the draw; widely added to soups and tonics in Chinese tradition.

Massive scaly cap with serrated gills on conifer logs and stumps from Mexican highlands to the US Rockies; tough but flavorful; best young and slow-cooked or marinated.

Tiny orange chanterelle, only a few centimeters tall; on mossy forest floor; intensely fragrant despite small size; collected by the handful and used like a saffron-style finishing mushroom.

Pale tan cap with concentric scales and a tough fibrous stipe; on dead hardwood across the paleotropics; widely cultivated in India and West Africa; slice thin and stew long to soften the chewy flesh.

Very large dark brown cap with strongly decurrent white gills on a thick central stipe, on rotting hardwood in tropical and subtropical Asia; now widely cultivated as a meaty culinary oyster (chambok).

Hard earthstar whose rays open in humid weather and close again when dry; young unopened buttons are dug from sandy soil in Thailand and northeast India and eaten as het thob — only the immature stage is edible.

Golden golf-ball-sized clusters of pored ascomata gall-like on Nothofagus branches; a Patagonian rainy-season staple of the Mapuche and Yámana; eaten fresh, fermented into a mild chicha, or sun-dried.

Red tongue-shaped bracket bleeding pinkish juice when cut, on living Nothofagus southern beech in Patagonia and Tasmania; mildly acidic, used like its Northern Hemisphere relative F. hepatica.

Neotropical sister species of shiitake; tan cap, white serrated gills, on dead hardwoods in lowland rainforest; flavor and texture comparable to L. edodes; emerging cultivar in Brazilian agroforestry.

Pure white tropical oyster mushroom on hardwood snags in Brazilian Atlantic forest and the cerrado; widely cultivated in South American smallholder farms; mild, fast-growing, and tolerant of heat.

Slimy yellow-brown cap, granular yellow stipe, no ring; mycorrhizal with two-needle pines; native to Eurasia and naturalized across the Southern Hemisphere with pine plantations; peel slimy cuticle before cooking.

Thin, pale, fan-shaped polypores in overlapping rosettes on tropical hardwood logs; tender when young; long collected as orelha-de-pau in Brazilian backcountry markets and increasingly cultivated.

Bright yellow upright coral fungus with cream branch tips; in beech and oak duff; mild, slightly bitter; eat only young firm specimens — older or red-tipped Ramarias commonly cause gastrointestinal upset.

Tall slender parasol with dark scaly disc and movable ring, in eucalypt and pine forests across southern Australia and New Zealand; tender cap is edible cooked; verify white free gills to separate from toxic green-spored relatives.

Striking pink-red cap with a coarse longitudinally ribbed stipe; mycorrhizal with eucalypts and southeast Asian dipterocarps; edible after thorough cooking, though more often photographed than picked.

Red-brown velvety cap with thick, bright yellow gill-like decurrent ridges (a gilled bolete); mycorrhizal in tropical and subtropical forests; edible, mild flavor, best grilled to firm up the flesh.

Funnel-shaped tan cap with decurrent gill-like ridges, mycorrhizal with eucalypts and Nothofagus; edible after thorough cooking; never confuse with the Northern Hemisphere Paxillus involutus which is dangerously toxic raw.

Small brick-orange cap with thick widely spaced flesh-colored gills; almost exclusively under eucalypts and acacia; abundant in suburban plantings; edible but small — usually a forager's bycatch.

Enormous cream-tan cap up to 40 cm in clusters from termite-influenced soil; long picked across India and Southeast Asia and increasingly cultivated; firm meaty flesh, mild flavor, excellent grilled.

Tropical bolete with a red-brown cap, yellow pores, and a distinctive reticulate-veined red stipe; mycorrhizal in dipterocarp forest; eaten in northern Thailand and Laos as het tap tao, grilled in banana leaf.

Pink-red cap with coarse uplifted scales, yellow pores blueing slowly, and a tall fibrillose stipe; mycorrhizal with dipterocarps and eucalypts; edible cooked, with mild flavor.

Dark purple-brown cap, pink-brown pores, and a finely dotted purple-brown stipe; mycorrhizal with conifers and oaks; edible and mild, though some foragers report GI sensitivity — sample sparingly the first time.

Large pinkish-cream cap with watery vinaceous spots, abundant acrid white latex, strictly under poplar and willow; processed by salting and lactic fermentation across Eastern Europe and Eurasian steppe forests.

Tall red-capped Russula of damp Sphagnum-spruce-pine bog edges in boreal Eurasia; mild taste, firm flesh; a major commercial wild harvest in Finland, the Baltics, and Russia, often canned or pickled.

Honey-yellow cap with fine dark scales and a fibrous white ring, in clusters at the base of stressed conifers and hardwoods across boreal Eurasia; must be thoroughly cooked — raw or undercooked Armillaria causes severe gastric upset.

Vivid orange cap with a rough black-dotted stipe, strictly under birch in boreal forests; flesh blues and blackens dramatically when cooked; widely picked across Scandinavia, the Baltics, and northwestern Russia.

Smaller paler relative of true matsutake, mycorrhizal with oaks rather than pines; distinctive spicy-cinnamon aroma; common in Japanese and Korean oak forests and an acceptable substitute when true matsu is scarce.

Dense clusters of grey-brown caps with thick white attached gills, fused at the base; on disturbed soil and roadsides; mild flavor reminiscent of chicken when sautéed; cultivated in Japan as hatakeshimeji.

Brick-red cap with a paler margin and yellow-then-purple-brown gills, in clusters on hardwood stumps; edible after thorough cooking; widely picked in Japan (kuritake) but easily confused with the deadly Galerina marginata — verify spore print and habitat.

Stocky grey-black waxcap fruiting under late winter snow in alpine fir and beech forests; firm white flesh, mild flavor; a prized early-spring market mushroom in northern Italy, France, and Switzerland.

Cream saddle-shaped cap on a deeply fluted hollow white stipe, on calcareous soil along forest paths; contains heat-labile hydrazines and must be parboiled with the water discarded before sautéing; never eaten raw.

Heavy chestnut-brown cap with a glutinous coating and thick decurrent waxy white gills, strictly mycorrhizal with Mediterranean pines; firm flesh, mild flavor; the great late-autumn market mushroom of Catalonia (mocosa) and Provence.

Dark chocolate slimy cap, very short stipe; under 2- and 3-needle pines across western mountains; peel cap skin before cooking

Large white funnel-shaped cap; host to the prized lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum); bland alone but transformative when parasitized

Cream-yellow polypore at base of spruce; firm flesh with mild bitterness; popular in Nordic and Alpine cuisine; parboil to remove bitterness

Large brown scaly cap with toothed underside; under spruce; bitter when raw, fine after parboiling; traditional dried seasoning in Scandinavia

Bright golden-yellow slimy cap exclusively under larch; widespread wherever larch is planted; peel cap skin and slime before cooking

Tall stalked desert gasteromycete of arid Iran, Pakistan, and the Sahel; eaten young in regional cuisine; documented in Persian and Sindhi folk medicine

Tall club-shaped desert puffball on termite mounds and dunes; edible only when interior is pure white; used as charcoal pigment and in Indigenous Australian cooking

Stalked secotioid Agaricus of arid soils; gills enclosed at maturity; edible when young and firm; widespread across deserts of the SW US, Mexico, and N. Africa

Locally collected pale Russula of Nile delta oak and Tamarix groves; mild taste; cooked simply with olive oil and garlic in rural Egyptian and Sudanese kitchens

Small dark desert truffle of N. Africa and Iberia; semi-hypogeous; commonly mixed with Terfezia in Moroccan and Algerian markets

Massive yellow-pored bolete relative of S. American subtropics; can exceed 2 kg fruiting bodies; collected in Argentina and Paraguay

Tall scaly-capped Macrolepiota of Andean grasslands; eaten in Colombian and Ecuadoran highlands; cook thoroughly; do not confuse with toxic Chlorophyllum

Under introduced Pinus contorta and P. radiata in S. America; slimy ochre cap; peel before cooking; key invasive-pine associate now harvested locally

Cream-capped Russula of Atlantic Forest and Andean foothills; mild taste; cooked simply in rural Brazilian and Bolivian kitchens

Mild-tasting pink-capped Russula of central Himalayan oak and chestnut forests; widely sold in Kathmandu valley markets in summer monsoon

Pale orange Himalayan milkcap exuding carrot-orange latex; under deodar cedar and pine; cooked in dal and pakoras in Uttarakhand

Among the largest bolete relatives in the world; massive caps to 60 cm under eucalypt; eaten locally when young and firm; cook thoroughly

Deep wine-red cap with yellow pores under karri and jarrah eucalypts of W. Australia; flesh blues slowly; eaten cautiously by some foragers

Thai 'hed phor'; ground-dwelling earthstar with hygroscopic rays; immature white balls collected pre-monsoon in deciduous dipterocarp forest; sold by the kilo in NE Thai markets

Pale cracked greenish cap, white gills; common in lowland dipterocarp forest after rains; mild flavor; widely eaten in Thailand and Bangladesh

Tough brown saw-edged gills on hardwood logs; cultivated and wild-foraged; central to NE Thai cuisine ('hed kradang'); needs prolonged cooking

Brilliant orange cap, free yellow gills, sacculate volva; choice edible across tropical Asia; serious ID skill required to distinguish from deadly Amanita species

Tall white-grey Asian Amanita with prominent saccate volva; traditional edible in Thailand and Laos; harvested in dipterocarp forest in early rainy season

Red-pored bolete of warm temperate to subtropical forests; flesh stains blue; sold seasonally in Japanese and Thai markets

Large puffball turning lilac-purple at maturity; edible only when interior is pure white; widespread in tropical grasslands and open woodland

Pink-orange cap with carrot-orange latex staining green-blue; under pine; traditional edible in Japan, Korea, and northern Thailand

Robust white fleshy fruiting body in forest leaf litter; widely sold in West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Thai markets as 'svetashimeji'

Funnel-shaped white cap, decurrent crowded gills; flesh peppery raw, mild cooked; widely foraged from Spain to Thailand

Giant tropical bolete forming clusters under hardwoods; brown cap up to 40 cm; eaten across Indochina; firm meaty texture

Yellow-staining tylopilus described from Yunnan and northern Thailand; under oak; mild flavor; eaten locally

Greenish patchwork cap, flexible white gills; choice edible across SE Asian montane forests; very mild nutty flavor

Pale straw cap; flesh stains instantly deep indigo when cut; under oak and pine; firm sweet texture; widespread in northern temperate and montane SE Asia

Bolete with true gills not pores; brown cap, yellow gills bruising blue; eaten in Yunnan and northern Thailand

Pale bolete with deeply pitted, lacunose stipe; under Nothofagus and eucalypts in Tasmania and NSW; mild, edible after thorough cooking

Tiny vivid scarlet waxcap of unimproved grassland and mossy banks; widespread; edible but too small and ecologically valuable to harvest

Orange-buff Lactarius native to eucalypt forest; mild orange latex; edible after cooking; common across south-eastern Australia

Small purple-gilled laccaria of NZ Nothofagus forest; widespread native species; edible but slight

Yellow golf-ball galls on Nothofagus branches in Tasmania; traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal food; mild sweet flavor

Soft pink-orange bolete of NZ beech forest; tubes easily separable; mild flavor; reliably edible after cooking

Tropical-subtropical wood ear; the species cultivated as 'kikurage' across Asia; common on dead hardwood in coastal Australia

Orange Lactarius of native eucalypt forest; orange latex unchanging; choice native edible — long overshadowed by introduced L. deliciosus

White-capped lawn parasol with pink-tinged gills; edible but easily confused with deadly Amanitas — only for confident foragers

Lacquered shelf-fungus on dead hardwoods; used in Aussie herbalism analogous to Asian reishi; tough — used as decoction or extract

Whitish russula widespread under eucalypts; mild taste, edible cooked; one of the more reliable native Aussie edibles

Mouse-grey fibrillose cap under pine; mild; long eaten in S Europe but now considered potentially mildly myotoxic — eat sparingly

Wine-brown cap with cuticle peeling back from the margin showing 'teeth'; nutty mild flavor; one of the safest European russulas

Large scaly bracket on dead and dying hardwoods; cucumber-watermelon scent; edible only when very young and tender

Brown fibrillose cap, free pink gills; ubiquitous on rotting hardwood; edible but bland; useful learning species

Vivid red waxcap of unimproved meadow; indicator of healthy grassland; technically edible but conservation priority — leave standing

Striking purple-tipped coral of grassland and woodland; bland flavor; UK Red List — admire only, do not pick

Bright yellow cap in sphagnum under birch; mild; flesh grays when cut; one of the better edible russulas

Urban-loving agaric pushing through pavement and verges; double-ringed stem; firm and mild; excellent eating; avoid roadside polluted finds

Tall pale tan funnel-cap forming long arcs and fairy rings; mild almond-anise scent; choice edible after cooking; widely picked in S Europe

Blue-green funnel-cap with strong aniseed scent; used sparingly as a flavoring rather than a bulk mushroom; common in deciduous woods

Small ochre-yellow granular-capped mushroom of mossy banks; mild; technically edible but slight

Pink wrinkled gelatinous cap on dead elm; rare and protected in much of Europe; admire but do not collect

Honey-orange clusters on dead willow and poplar in winter; the wild relative of cultivated enokitake; needs cooking

White-skinned bracket exclusively on dead birch; medicinal tea use documented since the Iceman; not eaten whole but sliced and brewed

Orange-yellow slimy-capped Suillus exclusively under larch; mild; widely picked in alpine Europe

Smoky-brown slime-capped mushroom under spruce; peel before cooking; mild; one of the few edible mushrooms with decurrent dark gills

Tall white Amanita with prominent saccate volva of Nepal and N. India; choice edible — but Amanita identification requires expertise

Spoon-shaped grey-brown cap on rotting wood and woodchip; firm gelatinous texture; choice edible across temperate zones

Black saddle on fluted ribbed stem; common on disturbed ground; edible only after thorough cooking — raw is toxic

Honey-brown ink cap with micaceous flecks on rotting stumps; edible young; avoid alcohol when eaten (mild coprine-like effect reported)

Yellow slimy bolete under five-needle pines from Siberia to Himalaya; peel cap and eat cooked; mild

Reddish-brown corrugated cap, abundant white latex turning brown; sweet flavor; eaten in southern Appalachia and Indian hill forests

Tall club-shaped puffball of grassland and woodland edges; edible only when interior is pure white; mild flavor; cosmopolitan European meadow species

Pear-shaped puffball with mosaic-cracking skin in dry pasture; edible while gleba is white and firm; commonly mown in chalk grassland

Orange-brown funnel-cap forming arcs in conifer litter; mild flavor; edible cooked but some people experience GI upset — eat sparingly

Pure white waxcap of unimproved meadow; mild; technically edible but a grassland-quality indicator — best left uncollected

Cream-buff chicken-of-the-woods of southern Eucalyptus and Nothofagus forests; firm flesh; edible when young, must be thoroughly cooked

Caterpillar fungus of high Tibetan plateau; one of world's most valuable wild mushrooms; medicinal; harvest tightly regulated

Cream-capped Himalayan bolete under blue pine and oak; mild sweet flavor; recently described from Pakistan and N. India

Olive-brown cap, red pores, intense blueing of yellow flesh; edible only when fully cooked and consumed away from alcohol

Funnel-shaped white russula with bluish gill edge; widespread across temperate Eurasia into Himalayan oak forest; mild after cooking

Grey-capped bolete of northern Thai dipterocarp forest; mild rich flavor; sold seasonally in Chiang Mai markets

Already cultivated as oyster relative across Asia

Local SE Asian segregate of split-gill on hardwood; tough; long-cooked in Thai and Lao soups

Brown leafy jelly fungus on dead hardwood; mild; widely eaten in Asia as a gelatinous tonic ingredient