Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Nayarit

1. Indigo milk cap

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.

2. Silky sheath

Silky sheaths (Volvariella bombycina) are widely distributed, being found in temperate and sub-tropical forests around the world, but rare. The fruitbody emerges from a silky-textured volva, and the mushroom's white or off-white cap is usually quite smooth as well. One of this species' favored microhabitats is the rotted knotholes of mature maples, elms, oaks, or beeches.

3. Veiled oyster

Veiled oyster(Pleurotus dryinus) becomes increasingly yellowish with age, and it may sprout on either dead or living wood (bearing a noted relationship with oaks). This species eschews others of its kind, most commonly appearing alone or in small groups. Foraging for consumption is not recommended.

4. Umber-brown puffball

Like all puffballs, this mushroom grows without a distinct stalk, and assumes a sort of inverted-pear shape. The umber-brown puffball is distinguished by its dark color and the short spines, less than 1 mm in length, that cover its cap.

5. 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.”

6. Snow fungus

Snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis) is so-named not because it is associated with winter, but, rather, because its fruitbodies look like little piles of snow fungus on the ground. This fungus actually inhabits very warm - tropical and subtropical - locations around the globe. Snow fungus does not have much taste, but it is cultivated for culinary use across East Asia, where it is often added to thicken soups and desserts.

7. Meadow mushroom

The meadow mushroom grows in meadows and pastures around the world—especially those rich in manure—when the weather is warm and wet. They are known to appear in “fairy ring” shapes. Originally identified in Europe, it is possible that North American specimens identified as meadow mushrooms may genetically belong to other species.

8. Fan-shaped jelly-fungus

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.

9. Purple-spored puffball

It's hard to mistake this mushroom for another. The aptly-named purple-spored puffball has a large, round, or pear-shaped fruiting body and is purple or chocolate-brown in color (with spores to match). Purple-spored puffballs are found in prairies and meadows across North America and Australia.

10. Lung oyster

Developing all around the northern hemisphere, lung oyster mushrooms grow in overlapping shelf-like clusters on deciduous branches, trunks, and fallen logs in the wild. They are easy to cultivate on other substrates, like spent coffee grounds and sawdust, for commercial production. They are generally considered safe to eat, although some people may develop allergies.

11. Oyster mushroom

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.

12. Ornate-stalked bolete

This beautiful, vivid species commonly associates with oaks and hickories. Like other members of the bolete family, the ornate-stalked bolete has a thick stalk and a bulbous cap - in this particular species, both are usually a bright yellow.

13. Bridal veil stinkhorn

Bridal veil stinkhorn (Phallus indusiatus) can be found rising up from the ground in tropical forests around the world. A distinctive netted fringe “skirt” descends from the cap along the length of the stalk. A type of “stinkhorn,” the fruitbodies of this species produce scents that vary between sickly-sweet to just plain unpleasant. The odor is meant to attract insects that usually lay their eggs in carrion.

14. Pink oyster mushroom

Pink oyster mushroom is a striking mushroom that grows in the shape of an oyster shell. It has a brilliant pink color that fades as the mushroom ages. Pink oyster mushroom is primarily found in warmer climates growing on tropical hardwood trees.

15. Corn smut

With a common name such as "corn smut," it is easy to guess that the most common place to find this crop-devastating fungus is on corn plants. The gall-shaped growths of corn smut (Ustilago maydis) are black in color with hues of grey and white closer to where they attach to the host plant. The corn will develop a scorched appearance, which is actually the smut rot.

16. Fried chicken mushroom

Lyophyllum decastes, often referred to as the fried chicken mushroom, is a gregarious species of mushroom found across North America that is particularly prevalent along the west coast. Though the species' dull brown cap and whitish stalk are rather unremarkable, it does have the tendency to grow in very large clusters, which may help to distinguish it from similar-looking species, some of which are quite toxic.

17. Fairy ring mushroom

Fairy ring mushrooms may dry out completely in the sun, but will “resurrect” during the next rain and regain their ability to make new spores. This is due to a sugar called trehalose which protects their cells. They appear in lawns and fields, sometimes in “fairy ring” configurations.

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. 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.

20. Indigo milk cap