Wild Gilled Mushrooms That Grow on Dead Trees

Oyster Mushroom

• Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) look like their common name suggests--the shell of an oyster mollusk. They are white to tan in color, soft-bodied and may be up to eight inches wide. Their gills are pronounced and run at least half-way down the stem. Mushroom hunters may find oyster mushrooms growing in clusters on fallen trees and rotting logs all year round. They act as decomposers on the dead tree material, gaining nutrients from ingesting the woody material and turning it into nutrient rich soil. Oyster mushrooms can be differentiated from similar-looking species from their spore prints, which leave white to lilac markings on the printing paper. Oyster mushrooms are edible and are added to soups, sauces, stir-fries and other dishes.

Honey Mushroom

• Honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) are also decomposers on dead trees, but they also act as parasites on living hardwood and softwood trees. In clusters, honey mushrooms attack the root system of live trees by extending tendrils called rhizomorphs ridden with a pathogen, causing the wood to rot and die. Naturalists will likely discover honey mushrooms on dead tree stumps or live trees during the fall. They are white, with caps slightly tilted upwards. Underneath the caps are numerous thin-bladed gills that just slightly start to extend down the stem. The caps may be up to six inches across. Honey mushroom are edible, and their spore prints are also white.

False Parasol Mushroom

• The false parasol mushroom (Chlorophyllum molybdites) gets its name for looking similar to the parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera). Both are gilled mushrooms that live on and decompose dead trees. False parasol mushrooms have a dome-like, oval-shaped cap that may be up to 12 inches across. The white to yellowish-white cap may flatten out as the mushroom matures and develop pink or brown scales on its otherwise smooth surface. Unlike the parasol mushroom, false parasol is poisonous. Its gills found underneath the mushroom cap are shallow and do not extend to the stem. Older false parasol gills turn a gray to green color, which is an uncommon feature among mushrooms. A spore print for this species reveals green or rusty-colored markings, depending on the mushroom's age.