Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in New Orleans

1. Christmas lichen

2. Column stinkhorn

The slime of the column stinkhorn emits an extremely foul odour, but many insects, particularly flies, find this slime very attractive. Attracting flies is the fungus' method for spreading its spores. This warm climate fungus has been introduced to North America, probably together with exotic plants.

3. Powder-puff lichen

4. Peach-colored fly agaric

If you're looking for peach-colored fly agaric (Amanita persicina), start by hunting around in the leaf litter of hemlock, pine, and oak trees on the eastern coast of North America. Their rotund cap can commonly be overlooked, but well worth seeking out just to view the freckles and color. This species is poisonous, so take nothing but a photograph.

5. Split gill

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.

6. False parasol

Though the false parasol appears unassuming, the species is famous—or, infamous—for its toxicity. It looks unfortunately similar to Agericus campestrus, a commonly eaten mushroom, but the false parasol can be distinguished by its highly unusual green spore print. Although they are no good to eat, they can be pretty to look at. The species may grow in ring-shaped groups in meadows and on forest floors in what are sometimes called "fairy circles."

7. Flowerpot parasol

This tropical/subtropical mushroom is known to be toxic. If eaten it causes a very unpleasant stomachache with the risk of fatal complications. In temperate zones, flowerpot parasol is only found in hothouses and greenhouses, so the risk of accidental foraging is low, but it may occur with potted plants and indoor landscaping and pose a risk to curious children.

8. Leiotrametes lactinea

Leiotrametes lactinea thrives in warmer climates growing on decaying and dead trees, stumps, and branches. The white-rot fungus provides an important ecological service by aiding in the decay of dead wood by removing lignin, which is the organic material in the tree’s cell walls that prevent it from decaying.

9. Fringed sawgill

The odd shape cap of the fringed sawgill can be spotted from afar by its fuzzy, almost wig-like appearance. The cap is predominately dark tan towards the concave center but fades to a crisp white along the edges and gills. Size ranges from thumb-sized to dinner plate size.

10. Tropical white polypore

Tropical white polypore(Favolus tenuiculus) can be most often found on pieces of decaying wood, particularly in areas replete with moisture. Until recently it was a member of the genus Polyporus, which has since been subdivided. Named for its evocative appearance, the species is a favorite food of local insect species.

11. Turkey tail

The distinctively-striped turkey tail fungus grows on stumps and logs all over the forests of the northern hemisphere. It is, in fact, probably the most common species you will find. That doesn't mean this mushroom is plain, however; each cap is uniquely patterned. Look for bands of alternating textures as well as color.

12. Crowded parchment

The crowded parchment is a common mushroom that can be found on dead hardwood material. The species is so-named because it grows in very thin, sheet-like shelves, which often become folded when they run up against each other. Crowded parchment is usually found in shades of brown, tan, or orange.

13. Ganoderma resinaceum

The Harzige Lackporling is a console-shaped mushroom that can be 15-35 cm long, 10-20 wide and 4-8 cm thick. The top is colored red or purple-brown. The hat is covered by a pale yellow resin crust, which melts in the match or lighter flame. The beaded rim is fresh yellow to yellow orange, creamy in a dry state. The underside of the mushroom covered with round pores (3 per mm) is young white and later cream colored. The tubes are about 8-10 mm long. The relatively thin trama is light brown and tough cork-like. Juicing occurs when young fruiting bodies are cut, which solidifies into a resinous mass within a short time. The fruiting bodies are annual.

14. False turkey-tail

A common woodland fungus found across North America, the false turkey-tail thrives in wet environs and can be found in copious quantities on decaying wood. The species is so-called because it looks similar the also-common Turkey Tail (Tremetes versicolor) - both species grow in thin, roughly semi-circular sheets. False turkey-tails have tough, woody bodies and are considered to be inedible.

15. Hairy hexagonia

The hairy hexagonia (Hexagonia hydnoides) is not the most common mushroom you'll find, but has very distinctive qualities. Stiff, dark brown, bristle-like hairs emerge from an ochre flat cap and are found growing from a decaying tree stump or wood. The large pores on the cap's underside create an almost sponge-like appearance, and the stem is otherwise not visible.

16. Cup lichen

17. Ravenel's stinkhorn

Ravenel's stinkhorn (Phallus ravenelii), as its quite evocative common name may suggest, is easily identified by the pungent odor that emanates from this diminutive mushroom. The elongated, spongy cap towers over a plain white stem. The cap itself secretes not only a strong scent but also a slime that attracts various insects. The repulsive smell makes it inedible and extremely undesirable.

18. Bush beard lichen

Bush beard lichen is a shrub-like lichen. It is called Bush beard lichen after its white and dangling heads that have the appearance of beards. It is incredibly small at only 4 cm tall and can be found on deadwood bark.

19. Fairy inkcap

The mushrooms of the fairy inkcap species have a tendency to congregate in large masses over dead tree stumps and decaying roots. They appear all around the world from early spring all the way to the first frosts, but each fruit only lasts a few days before turning black and distributing its spores.

20. Golden reishi

The golden reishi is a tough-fleshed fungus that can be found on dead or live hardwoods, and sometimes conifers, sporting deep shades of red, orange or yellow, although some can be quite pale. While some claim that the golden reishi may convey health benefits, there is no evidence to support this, and the species is considered inedible.

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