Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Western Australia

The ghost fungus is an Australian mushroom, similar in appearance to the well-known Pleurotus ostreatus (the Oyster mushroom). So similar, in fact, that it was even once considered a member of the same genus. But unlike the oyster mushroom, the ghost fungus is not edible, but mildly poisonous instead.

Southern cinnabar polypore grows in a variety of contexts, though it prefers to grow on deadwood near open water sources. This mushroom fruits from the late summer to early winter. True to its name, young southern cinnabar polypore has a bright orange color that's similar to cinnabar but may fade in older age.

These large white mushrooms bloom all over cleared, harvested fields, as well as pastures and roadsides. The scientific species name comes from Greek words meaning “glue” (glioio) and “head” (cephalus), in reference to the sticky surface of this mushroom’s cap. The big sheath mushroom looks so similar to the poisonous Deathcap and Destroying Angel mushrooms that it should always be left alone.

Split gill(Schizophyllum commune) can be found across the globe. Uniquely, it is the only mushroom species known to display the capability to retract by movement. It is considered inedible, although not necessarily toxic. Furthermore, it is not recommended to smell this species, as the spores are capable of sprouting and growing in nasal passages.

Yellow fieldcap can be found across Europe and North America, with dung patties or heavily-manured fields being its favorite fruiting habitat. The species sometimes goes by the common name Yellow Fieldcap because its young cap sports a bold yellow or golden hue (that color often fades as the mushroom cap matures and flattens). Yellow fieldcap is not know to be edible.

Beefsteak fungus(Fistulina hepatica) is an unusual fungus that visually resembles a slab of raw meat; cutting into it will cause a discharge of thick red liquid resembling blood, adding to this resemblance.

Up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, the cap is convex to flattened in shape with a central umbo (a rounded elevation) and is various shades of cream, yellow and tan. The cap surface is covered with darker scales and feels rough to the touch. The cap edge, or margin, is rolled inward in young specimens. The crowded gills are sinuate and white to cream in colour initially, brownish-cream or pinkish brown in maturity, and sometimes with yellow or rust-coloured marks close to the margins. The stem is central (that is, it joins the cap in the centre) and is up to 20 cm (8 in) long by 1.5 cm (1 in) thick. It is slightly thicker at its base than its apex, sometimes almost bulb-like. The stem surface is streaked with fibrils that run up and down its length. It has a floppy yellow wool-like ring which may develop irregular, jagged edges with time. The flesh is white, and in the stem has a woolly or stringy consistency. Although it has a hot-bitter taste, Armillaria luteobubalina is edible, and cooking removes the bitterness.

Australia: Gymnopilus allantopus is extremely common in the Perth region most often seen on fallen Banksia logs and branches. It is a decomposer fungus occurring on a wide range of rotting logs stumps and woody debris. The Golden Wood Fungus produces fruit bodies over most of the main local Australian fungus season – spring to summer and also produces masses of fan-like white thread in the wood that can be seen any time of the year. The best way to see the fans is to lift off a strip of bark to reveal the underlying threads amid the soft white-rotted wood. The fungus is easily identified in the field by its bright gills that develop rusty spots when old white flap on the margin of young caps and white fan-like mycelium. It has a bright ochre brown spore print. Most often the fruit bodies have a straight stem but if the specimens emerge from the side of a log the stem curves upwards. . Gills bright orange-yellow. Young caps with white flap on margin. Abundant white fan-like threads in rotting wood. Cap: 10–40 mm. Spore print: ochre brown.