Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in San Antonio

1. 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.

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. 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.”

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. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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."

10. Big sheath mushroom

These large white mushrooms bloom all over cleared, harvested fields, as well as pastures and roadsides. The scientific species name comes from Greek words meaning “glue” (glioio) and “head” (cephalus), in reference to the sticky surface of this mushroom’s cap. The big sheath mushroom looks so similar to the poisonous Deathcap and Destroying Angel mushrooms that it should always be left alone.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Sordid blewit

The sordid blewit is a beautiful and attractive mushroom of the northern temperate zones around the world. The flesh is pink or purple when young, and it turns brownish as the mushroom matures. It forms so-called fairy rings. Although the sordid blewit is easily identified, inexperienced mushroom hunters can confuse it for certain Clitocybe species.

16. Veined shield

17. Coral tooth fungus

Coral tooth fungus (Hericium coralloides) is a species of coral mushroom most frequently sighted on dead or decaying hardwoods. Generally, younger specimens are white and become increasingly yellowish as they mature. Found around the world, the Māori refer to this species as pekepekekiore.

18. Fat jack

The fat jack is a member of the bolete family that can be found growing underneath Douglas Firs along the western coast of North America. The species' light yellow pore surface turns to brown when damaged or rubbed. Fat jacks also tend to have mild and pleasant, sometimes lemony, odors.

19. 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.

20. Chestnut bolete

Chestnut bolete(Gyroporus castaneus) is most readily identified by its cap, which tends to split and flare as the mushroom grows older. It often grows in groups, particularly in the presence of oaks, and its stem is hollow--one of its most salient features. It is found in Europe and eastern North America.

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