Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Catalina Foothills

1. Peeling puffball

It is easy to spot as it resembles a puffball but has spines that gradually peel off as it ages. This appearance gave this mushroom its common name "peeling puffball." peeling puffball thrives underneath deciduous and conifer trees, getting its nutrients from decaying plant matter.

2. 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.”

3. White king bolete

The habitat of the white king bolete is restricted to southwestern North America, but being a warm-weather species, it is most abundant in Arizona and New Mexico. The mushroom was given its scientific name Boletus barrowsii after the self-taught amateur mycologist Charles "Chuck" Barrows, who discovered the species just a few decades ago.

4. Felt saddle fungus

5. Tiger sawgill

The tiger sawgill (Lentinus tigrinus) is a small mushroom with a name that is not particularly accurate. Sporting neither the color nor the pattern that we commonly associate with the tiger, it has a subdued, pale cap that is usually covered in brown patches. The eighteenth-century European that named the species may have been thinking of a leopard.

6. Blue-staining slippery jack

If you come across a blue-staining slippery jack (Suillus tomentosus) in the wilderness, chances are you're adventuring through a conifer forest after heavy rain. True to the common name, the caps can stain your hands a brownish-blue color. The surface area of the cap has a velvety texture when young.

7. 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.

8. Bleeding milkcap

The bleeding milkcap (Lactarius rubrilacteus) is distinguished from other, more commonly found milkcaps by its burnt amber color and its propensity to grow beneath Douglas fir. When the cap is damaged, bruising appears green. If severely damaged, it will bleed a milky substance that is amber in color.

9. Giant sawgill

The impressively large caps of the giant sawgill (Neolentinus ponderosus) can spread up 30 cm across and encompass entire decaying stumps and logs. Unlike other mushrooms, the giant sawgill thrives in the hotter, drier months. Look for them near Ponderosa Pines.

10. Shoehorn oyster

The shoehorn oyster (Hohenbuehelia petaloides) fruits with an elongated, petal-shaped cap that often bears a resemblance to a shoehorn. Shoehorn oysters are unusual in that, in addition to digesting decaying wood, they also have structures which allow them to capture and digest nematodes, tiny worms that often feed on mushrooms.

11. Gold-flecked woodwax

This rare mushroom’s claim to fame comes from the remarkable yellow scales scattered over an otherwise ivory fruitbody. However, not every specimen of the gold-flecked woodwax (Hygrophorus chrysodon) species boasts these brightly-colored speckles. Examples of this species can usually be found under conifers.

12. Slippery white bolete

The slippery white bolete can be found beneath pine trees. Its large, slimy caps are particularly frequent sights around forest edges. Its scientific name, Suillus placidus, translates to “gentle and swine-like,” in poetic reference to the mushroom’s shape and greasy appearance.

13. Western elfin saddle

The western elfin saddle (Helvella vespertina) has a striking, brain-shaped cap that becomes even more fissured as it ages. They appear and flourish amidst the leaf litter on forest floors in the western United States. The shape of the cap makes it a wonderful hiding place for insects, especially millipedes.

14. 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.

15. Jelly Tree Ear

Jelly Tree Ear is a mushroom that grows on hardwood trees in North America. As suggested by its name, it can bear a striking resemblance to ears. This mushroom may completely dry up without enough water, but it is able to rehydrate after rain.

16. 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.

17. American slippery jack

A common sight underneath white pines in the summertime, the american slippery jack lives up to its name with its slimy cap, reminiscent of chicken fat's consistency. The subdued, yellow-brown hue is also the same color.

18. Lion's Mane Mushroom

Lion's Mane Mushroom(Hericium erinaceus) is easily identifiable by its characteristic appearance, reminiscent of the majestic mane of a lion. It often sprouts along hardwoods, which may be living or dead. Scientists thus debate whether this species is truly parasitic or merely saprophytic in nature.

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. Peeling puffball