Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Nancy

1. Shaggy mane

The shaggy mane mushroom is commonly found in North American and European grasslands. Some peoples foraged for its young egg-shaped caps, but it has more recently been found to be a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, meaning it pulls toxic metals up from the soil where it grows. As a result, shaggy manes should not be eaten. The mushrooms usually appear in clusters or “fairy rings.”

2. Parasol

Found in clearings and grassy areas in late summer, the wild parasol mushroom has a snakeskin-patterned stem. The brown spots on its cap make it look a bit shaggy, but that name is reserved for its poisonous counterpart, the Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes). You can distinguish the two by the stems: the latter has a smooth stem and red flesh inside.

3. Amethyst deceiver

The amethyst deceiver (Laccaria amethystina) is a breathtaking mushroom that pops up from coniferous forest floors. The caps are a striking violet color in youth and are generally flat with a small indentation when the stem connects. As they mature, this violet color transforms to a less than breathtaking grey color, making it quite hard to identify after a certain age positively. Not edible.

4. Common puffball

These puffy mushrooms grow in small groups on the forest floor. Once they're mature, common puffballs turn yellow and "puff out" smoke-like spore clouds when disturbed. Be very careful when identifying these mushrooms, as their young, immature form looks very similar to the lethal Deathcap.

5. Deer mushroom

The deer mushroom is can be found sprouting up from rotting logs, branches, and roots, and while it may have a preference for hardwoods it isn't very picky. Unlike many other mushroom species, the fruitbodies can be found blooming across a wide range of seasons. They have a faint, radish-like odor.

6. Chicken of the woods

Chicken of the woods is very noticeable in hardwood forests, appearing in clusters on standing tree trunks in bright orange and yellow hues that sometimes last through the entire winter. It is a parasite that causes an unfortunate brown heart rot, and is considered a particularly troublesome pest of Yew trees. If the fruitbodies can be seen, the tree is likely already beyond saving.

7. Pear-shaped puffball

The mushrooms of this species grow in such tight clusters that they may cover fallen trees and stumps almost entirely in a brownish, puffy coat. Pear-shaped puffballs appear all around the northern hemisphere on decaying hardwoods from fall through winter.

8. King bolete

Extremely popular in many cuisines, this edible wild mushroom grows around the world near the roots of forest trees. In some regions, king bolete mushrooms are collected in great enough volumes that their sale can support entire families during the harvest season. King boletes are reported to be high in fiber, vitamins B and C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and several antioxidants.

9. Sheathed woodtuft

The sheathed woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis) is a fairly distinctive species that can be found growing in clusters on dead or dying wood in temperate areas across the world. This mushroom's cap has the unusual trait of being highly hygrophanous - this means that its color changes significantly with changes in moisture level. In the case of the sheathed woodtuft, moist individuals are deep orange brown while dry individuals are a lighter brown or buff color.

10. Red cracking bolete

The red cracking bolete mushroom is considered difficult to accurately identify, due to its similarity in many ways to others of its genus. It seems to occur only rarely around the northern hemisphere, but it may have been misclassified in some sources. In spite of the name, the surface of the red cracking bolete's cap only rarely appears "cracked."

11. Bay bolete

The common bay bolete is found across the northern hemisphere, often in spruce and pine forests and occasionally under deciduous trees. While it lives in a symbiotic relationship with a living tree, the mushrooms are most often found near well-decayed, mossy stumps, usually singly or in very small groups.

12. Blusher

The blusher mushroom is so named because it “blushes” to a pinkish red color when cut or bruised. It is found in many countries around the world, although it may not be native to the southern hemisphere. It contains a hemolytic toxin that can cause anemia if eaten.

13. Honey fungus

The honey fungus is a parasitic fungus that grows on the roots of many woody and perennial plants, damaging and possibly killing its host. It spreads underground and is considered to be the most damaging fungal disease in gardens across the UK. The appearance of the mushrooms above-ground heralds a much more extensive infection below.

14. Jelly ear

The distinctive jelly ear grows mainly through winter and spring, mostly on the dead trunks and branches of elder trees. It occurs around the world and is often cooked into dishes in Asian countries. This ear-shaped jelly mushroom is often available in stores both fresh and dried.

15. Porcelain mushroom

Porcelain mushroom can be found on a variety of deadwood including logs, dead standing trees, and dead upper branches. However, this mushroom is pickier about the type of deadwood, as it only grows on beech trees. This mushroom prefers to keep these trees to itself, releasing fungicides that can kill other mushrooms.

16. Yellowfoot

Found in temperate forests, wetlands, and bogs across the northern hemisphere, the yellowfoot is a highly sought after member of the chanterelle family. Considered a choice edible, it boasts a lovely, complex flavor (though it is somewhat less fruity and sweet then some of its more popular cousins). Yellowfoots are sometimes called "winter mushrooms", as they tend to be very late-season fruiters.

17. Garlic parachute

Garlic parachute has a helpful name that gives a couple of clues as to how to identify it. With its slim stem and wide cap, this mushroom does look like a parachute. It has a strong garlic-like aroma and can often be found on leaf litter and decaying wood.

18. Common laccaria

Common laccaria may sound like a malevolent name for a mushroom, but fret not! This species is so-called because its appearance is highly variable, with individual caps taking on a whole host of colors, from whitish to pinkish to dark brown.

19. Enoki

The enoki grows wild on dead elm trees, and is also cultivated for human use. This flavorful species (Flammulina velutipes) has been used in dishes around the world for generations, being particularly high in nutrients. Though store-bought enoki are often plain white, wild ones can be found in a range of colors.

20. Common stinkhorn

The common stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) grows incredibly quickly, sometimes nearing 30 cm in a single afternoon. Their caps are pitted in a way which makes them reminiscent of morels. However, there's little mistaking the common stinkhorn for a morel; the former, in addition to sporting a much longer stalk, has a clear and pungent odor.

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