Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Lake Placid

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Scaly lentinus

Scaly lentinus(Neolentinus lepideus) may be found alone or in groups along dead or decaying pieces of timber. Due to its ability to colonize even chemically treated wood, including railroad tracks, it has been given the nickname "train wrecker." Due to inconsistent reports of safety, consumption is discouraged.

4. 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.

5. Scaly shield

The medium-sized fruitbodies of the scaly shield can be found across much of eastern North America. As it is fond of growing in mulch or woodchips, it is most commonly encountered in parks, yards, and gardens. The species is easily confused with its close cousin, Pluteus cervinus (also known as the "deer mushroom"), though Pluteus petasatus usually develops a distinct pinkish hue on its gills, wheras P. cervinus does not.

6. Gilled bolete

The gilled bolete (Phylloporus rhodoxanthus) is a unique variety of bolete because instead of having the typical pores on the underside of their caps, they have deeply-fissured gills. Since they do have traits more common to other species, it is easy to confuse these with toxic mushrooms, although they are not known to be poisonous themselves.

7. Dead man's foot

Dead man's foot (Pisolithus arhizus) actually bears a number of colorful names stemming from its unusual appearance, such as the horse dung fungus (Australia). It can be distilled into a viscous black gel, which is then used as a natural dye for clothing. It is considered to be inedible.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Old man of the woods

Native to Europe and North America, old man of the woods(Strobilomyces strobilaceus) is notable for its unusual coloring and texture, which visually resembles dark, overlapping scales against a white base. Interestingly, this mushroom has been depicted on a Swiss postal stamp worth fifty centimes.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Blewit

The blewit mushroom grows in fallen leaves in autumn and winter, sometimes appearing in ‘fairy ring’ circles. It can be used to make a green dye when chopped and boiled in an iron pot. The scientific name, Lepista nuda, derives from Latin words meaning “bare goblet,” a reference to the shape and texture of the mushroom.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Ruby bolete

True to its name, ruby bolete is bright red when young but fades to a greenish-red when older. This mushroom is most commonly found growing in groups in open areas or on forest edges. However, it may be difficult to distinguish ruby bolete from other boletes.

19. Snow fungus