Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Texas

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.

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.

As the name implies, the Southern jack o'lantern is not only a striking pumpkin-like orange color, but it also has the ability to glow in the dark — resembling carved Halloween jack o'lanterns with candles in them. This phenomenon that the southern jack o'lantern produces is called bioluminescence and is most evident at the peak of spore production.

Fructicose lichen cartilage lichen showcases an extraordinary ability to thrive in various habitats, from arid deserts to moist woodlands. Unique to cartilage lichen, it has a symbiotic relationship with both fungi and algae, with each benefiting the other. Intriguingly, cartilage lichen can capture atmospheric nutrients, even in the most nutrient-poor environments.

Just as its Latin and the common English names suggest, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) is a fan-shaped or spatula-shaped jelly-like mushroom. It commonly grows in wood cracks and it sometimes even appears in the cracks of the processed wood and lumber. Despite the word "jelly" in its name, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus is not considered edible.

Oyster mushrooms grow wild but are also cultivated for sale in supermarkets. They can even be cultivated at home. They will grow on coffee grounds and spent grain, and are occasionally even fashioned into an environmentally-friendly substitute for styrofoam. There are several toxic look-alike species, so it is best to buy these mushrooms at the store.

Immature fruiting bodies of L. periphragmoides start as round or oval "eggs" that may be up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter. On the underside of the egg are whitish rhizomorphs that anchor it to the substrate. The peridium is white to buff-colored on the external surface, and has a gelatinous layer inside. An egg cut in half lengthwise reveals internal layers, including a tough white outer peridium, and a thick layer of firm, translucent, gelatinous matter transversed by strands (trabeculae) of denser white tissue. The strands are anastomosing partitions, connecting with the peridium externally and with the bars of the receptaculum within. The gelatinous layer is therefore divided up into many irregular longitudinal chambers. The egg eventually ruptures as the stalk expands and breaks through, creating a volva at the base of the stipe. In maturity, the fruit bodies, are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall, with a latticed spherical cap (the receptaculum) atop a long yellow or reddish stipe. In general, Old World specimens tend to be yellow, while New World specimens are reddish, although exceptions have been noted in the literature. The receptaculum is typically 1.5–3.5 cm (0.6–1.4 in) in diameter and forms a red or orange lattice, or mesh. There are typically between 20 and 100 small pentagonal to hexagonal meshes in the receptaculum; the arms of the mesh have sharp ridges on the outer surface, corrugations on the sides, and are flat to weakly ridged on the inner surface. The internal surfaces of the receptaculum are covered with an olive-green spore-bearing gleba, which sometimes seeps through the mesh holes. Like most stinkhorn species, the gleba has a foul odor, comparable to rotten meat, but it is "less-offensive" than most. The smell of fresh, newly exposed gleba has been reported to be sweet, similar to amyl acetate; the foul odor forming only after it has been exposed to air for some time. The stipe is 5–15 cm (2.0–5.9 in) by 0.8–3 cm (0.3–1.2 in) thick, and is hollow and spongy. The walls of the stipe are made of an inner layer of large tubes and two or three outer layers of small tubes. Specimens may occasionally be found with fused heads on two separate stipes arising from a single volva. A variety with a white fruit body is known, Lysurus periphragmoides var. albidum (originally described as Simblum texense var. albidum by Long). It was reported growing from sandy alkaline soil in semi-arid regions of New Mexico, but has not been reported again since Long's collections in 1941. Spores are elliptical or oblong in shape, smooth, inamyloid, and have dimensions of 3.5–4.5 by 1.5–2.5 µm. The use of scanning electron microscopy has revealed that L. periphragmoides (in addition to several other Phallales species) has a hilar scar—a small indentation in the surface of the spore where it was previously connected to the basidium via the sterigma. Like many of the stinkhorns, L. periphragmoides is generally considered only edible when in its immature "egg" form.

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.

This gorgeous species is unlike any other. The indigo milk cap, a member of the often-drab russula family, is deep blue in color. Like other milk caps, it bleeds a latex-like substance when cut or damaged, but instead of the usual white this species bleeds deep blue.