With its wide variety of mushroom species , Florida is a sanctuary for mushroom-shaped cloud connoisseurs . Among the vulgar sort are the vivacious red cinnabar chanterelles , frail livid puffball , and the unique lion ’s mane . However , Florida also harbors rare treasures like the problematical honey mushrooms . Thanks to the state ’s warm and humid mood , these fungi flourish , name Florida a nirvana for bothedible and visually stunning mushrooms .
Different Types of Mushrooms in Florida
Green-spored Parasol
The Green - spored Parasol , Chlorophyllum molybdites , sport caps 8 - 30 atomic number 96 in diam , white or off - white with irregular chocolate-brown spots and wart . Its prominent gill are seeable around the edges , produce it the most frequently eaten poisonous mushroom-shaped cloud inFlorida . Often mistaken for edible varieties , it causes severe breadbasket symptom like vomiting and looseness , posing hazard , particularly in lawn and pastures where children and pets may encounter it .
Oyster Mushrooms
Pleurotus ostreatus , or oyster mushroom , have fan - mold , 2 - 3 cm broad show caps with thick stalks that are often white or off - white but can sometimes occasionally have a light purple or gray tint . primitively grown during World War I to assist with food shortages , they are now widely devour worldwide and may be find in Florida ’s groundless and on farms .
It ’s interesting to note that oyster mushrooms are carnivorous ; they feed on nematodes to obtain protein and nitrogen , which help with tree decompose . Furthermore , a miscellanea of uses for its adaptable mycelium exist , such as the conception of leather - alike textiles and article of furniture .
Honey Mushroom
Honey Mushrooms , or Armillaria mellea , feature cap 3 - 15 cm wide-eyed , pasture from larder jaundiced to light brown , growing in declamatory clusters resembling ledge - similar structures . In Florida , they dissemble as tree sponger , invading living hardwood and coniferous tree trees , lento depleting nutrients and causing eventual tree death . Due to their resemblance to vicious varieties , it ’s propose to invalidate consuming them .
Shaggy Mane
The Shaggy Mane , or Coprinus comatus , boasts caps 4–8 centimetre spacious and 6–20 cm tall , initiallywhite and turn blackas scale leaf rhytidectomy . turn at once from the priming , they ’re often found in Florida yards or fields , earning their name from their shaggy appearance . Despite their typical look , they resemble poisonous varieties , guarantee dodging and refraining from use .
Ringless Honey Mushroom
The Ringless Honey Mushroom , or Desarmillaria caespitosa , features caps 2.5 - 10 curium wide , wakeful brown to blanch yellow-bellied with white stalks , often grow in expectant clusters . In Florida , they ’re often mistaken for other mintage like Honey Mushrooms due to their similar appearance but want of a dark ring around the angry walk . Unfortunately , they also resemble the mortal Galerina Mushroom . Parasitic to trees , they infect various specie , guide to tree descent and eventual end .
Hairy Curtain Crust
The Hairy Curtain Crust , or Stereum hirsutum , presents crown 1–4 cm wide , pasture from pallid white-livered to brown , sometimes with green lichen or alga . develop in crescent - regulate tiled formations on beat trees , its apt name think over its curmudgeonly visual aspect with inadequate , spiky hair . Best left untouched , it aids in the natural decay outgrowth of dead trees , render food to the woods soil .
False Turkey-tail
False Turkey - tail , or Stereum ostrea , exhibit caps 1–7 cm widely , featuring a intermixture of chocolate-brown and red shade in shell - regulate formations , often growing in stacked clump . Resembling Turkey - tail Mushrooms , they are , however , inedible and can cause stomach discomfort if take in . Unlike Turkey - tail , False Turkey - rear infect alive trees , weaken them until they decrease , aiding in chemical decomposition reaction . Caution is apprise to ward off misidentification and likely health danger link with handling or consuming this fungus .
Witch’s Butter
Witch ’s Butter , or Tremella mesenterica , stands out as one of the unearthly mushrooms in Florida with its irregular , jellylike , wit - like shape and bright lemon yellow - yellow colour . It defies ceremonious mushroom cloud show , often found on dead tree arm , peculiarly red alder . signally , it dries during dry conditions , vivify to its original state when it rains , showcasing its fascinating properties .
Mica Cap
The Mica Cap , or Coprinellus micaceus , features bell - shaped caps 1–2.5 centimetre wide , expanding to 5 cm , acquire in dumb clusters with longsighted , thin bow . Their grey - dark-brown coloring and grooved caps resemble unbent haircloth . Interestingly , this mushroom autodigests within hours of being clean , turning into an ink-black black liquid . regain at the pedestal of deciduous trees in ripe wood , it ’s best admire through photography rather than expenditure to avoid potential toxic condition and mussy encounters with its ego - destructive nature .
Common Puffball
The Common Puffball , or Lycoperdon perlatum , rove from 1.5 - 6 centimeter broad and 3 - 10 cm improbable , with clean to off - white coloring and spine and wart in varying shades of John Brown . Found in Florida gardens , yard , and forest clearing , they ’re easy identified by their great size and distinctive spiky wart . Though nonpoisonous , caution is notify due to potential misidentification and the release of lung - conflagrate spore upon handling , especially risky for dogs .
Dyer’s Polypore
Dyer ’s Polypore , or Phaeolus schweinitzii , exhibits caps up to 25 centimetre across , varying in color from jaundiced , greenish , orange , brown , to red , often adorned with concentrical rings . acquire near conifertrees in Florida , it resemble irregular flat platter , sometimes emerging from tree diagram roots . Renowned for its dyestuff property , caution is advise due to potential eye and skin irritation upon handle , though it should never be consumed .
Deer Mushroom
Deer Mushrooms , or Pluteus cervinus , feature caps ranging from 3–12 cm in diam , with a distinctive umbrella - comparable conformation and intermediate brown colouring . determine in Floridaforests on rotten logs and tree stumps , they resemble the hues of a clean - dock deer , with a velvety texture cognate to deer fur . Despite being nonpoisonous , they ’re not typically consumed due to their biting taste and rubbery grain .
Orange Jelly Spot
The Orange Jelly Spot , or Dacrymyces chrysospermus , forms complex chemical group of chapiter up to 6 atomic number 96 wide , displaying vivacious orangish - yellow colour . Unlike typical mushrooms , it has an irregular , wavy shape resemble Georgia home boy stuck to a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Found on idle conifertrees like pineand spruce , its jelly - like texture and bright orange appearance make it a singular find in Florida forests .
Red Chanterelle
Red Chanterelle mushroom , scientifically love as Cantharellus cinnabarinus , exhibit classifiable features . With caps spanning 1 - 4 cm , they romp vibrant pink to red hues and an umbrella - like figure atop a slender chaff . Typically find in miscellaneous forests , they ’re prized for their beauty . However , caution is advised due to possible muddiness with toxic multifariousness . Despite their fragile nature and smaller sizing compared to common Chanterelles , both metal money often coexist in their prefer home ground .
Artist’s Bracket
The Artist ’s Bracket mushroom-shaped cloud , scientifically bed as Ganoderma applanatum , stands out with its distinct characteristic . With pileus ranging from 3–30 curium wide and 5–50 cm long , they grow on tree diagram body , making them hard to overleap . As they mature , their white-hot colour darkens to a blood-red - dark-brown . Notably , their rugged , woody texture and power to retain scratched designs on their underside make them a fascinating find in Florida ’s forests .
Eastern American Jack-O’-Lantern
The Eastern American Jack - O’-Lantern mushroom cloud , scientifically known as Omphalotus illudens , bears strike resemblance to its Halloween namesake . With caps ranging from 3 - 20 cm wide , their bright orange to pale yellow coloring and typical toadstool flesh evoke trope of carved pumpkin . unusually , these mushroom radiate green in the dark due to a bioluminescent chemical , draw insects for spore dispersal . However , caution is give notice as they are vicious to humans , causing digestive discomfort if ingested .
Sulphur Tuft
Sulphur Tuft Mushrooms , scientifically known as Hypholoma fasciculare , are easily recognisable by their light yellowed caps that darken to dark-green chromaticity with age . find in clusters on fallen log and tree diagram pulpit in Florida ’s deciduous forests , they fly high where other mushroom skin . However , precaution is warrant as they are toxic to humans , causing spartan digestive issues and , in rare cases , death . Interestingly , Sulphur Tufts play a role in forestry conservation by outcompeting parasitic fungus kingdom harmful to Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Summer Oyster Mushroom
The Summer Oyster Mushroom , scientifically have it away as Pleurotus pulmonarius , is acommonly cultivated variety in Florida . With caps ranging from 5 - 20 cm all-embracing , they grow in bundle shelf on tree diagram trunks , gas a suave white or off - white appearance . While readily available in supermarket and sodbuster ’s markets , precaution is advised when forage wild specimen , as misidentification can lead to grave toxic condition or even death .
Yellow Patches
Yellow Patches , scientifically known as Amanita flavoconia , are mint mushroom with promising orange to sensationalistic hood adorned with salient white-livered wart . Typically growing singularly , they resemble cartoonish toadstools . Though toxicity has n’t been definitively substantiate , as part of the Amanita family , they ’re assumed toxicant . It ’s best to avoid handling or eat up them and instead appreciate their vibrant visual aspect from a safe distance .
Turkey-tail Mushroom
The Turkey - can Mushroom , scientifically fuck as Trametes versicolor , boasts crown up to 8 atomic number 96 long and 5 cm wide-eyed , adorned with doughnut of various hues run fromblack to brownish and blank . Its busty development form resembles roof tiles , a usual ken in Florida ’s mature forests . Though used in Eastern medical specialty and supplements , wild consumption is cautioned against due to lack of FDA approval .
Common Greenshield Lichen
Common Greenshield Lichen , or Flavoparmelia caperata , form rotary form with wavy edges , display hues from pale fleeceable to yellowish . Unlike mushrooms , it ’s a lichen , comprise both fungi and algae . Thriving in diverse climates , it ’s far-flung in Florida , commonly found on tree bark or occasionally on rocks . Look for its distinctive rounded , pallid - green emergence for identification .
Blewit
Blewit , scientifically named Lepista nuda or Wood Blewit , features detonating machine ranging from 4 to 15 cm in diameter with hue from pinkish - purple to lilac , often with a hoar - browned shape . Recognizable by its retentive , woody stem and wide , matte cap , its prominent , consecutive gills extend underneath . calculate for its distinctive scent , often likened to frozen orange succus dressed ore , while search forest floors amidst decompose leaf litter .
Dryad’s Saddle
Dryad ’s Saddle , scientifically Cerioporus squamosus , boasts a cap up to 30 centimeter across and 10 centimeter thick , feature brown scale atop a snowy or off - white control surface . grow in clusters resembling stacked tile , it thrives near fallen trees in Florida . Despite its nonpoisonous nature , caution is advise as it resembles toxic species , emphasize the need for expertise before consumption or handling .
Splitgill Mushroom
The Splitgill Mushroom , scientifically have sex as Schizophyllum commune , feature small , sick ashen or gray caps grow in stacked clusters resembling shelf . Its unique feature lies in its spaced - apart gills , resembling case-by-case threads . Thriving on decaying trees during rainy periods in Florida , it ’s important to take down recent research linking it to fungal lung infections , advising against wild uptake due to potential disarray with toxic species .
Chicken of the Woods
Chicken of the Woods , scientifically named Laetiporus sulphureus , features shelf - like cap up to 60 cm across , with strikingly bright yellow chromaticity , occasionally tinged with orange or pink . raise in stacked shelves on hardwood trees , it ’s consumed in Florida and Europe . However , caution is apprise as it can stimulate stomach upset if uncooked and may be confused with toxicant variety . It ’s safe to hold from expert forager rather than wild harvesting .
Crowded Parchment
Crowded Parchment , or Stereum complicatum , showcases caps about 2 centimetre across , clustered in maverick semicircles , circle , and crescents , with hues of brown and orange resemble crumpled paper . Commonly establish on deadoak trees in Florida , it assist in rot . While not toxic , its law of proximity to harmful jelly fungus or alga imprimatur shunning . Appreciate its structure through picture taking rather than handling .
Pear-shaped Puffball
The Pear - shaped Puffball , scientifically known as Apioperdon pyriforme , displays cap 1.5 - 4.5 cm wide of the mark by 2 - 4.5 cm tall , feature off - white tinge with dense brown spots toward the plaza spreading out at the edges . Often pear - shaped but also globose , they cluster in groups of 4 - 10 on rotting logs in Florida . Despite being nonpoisonous , carefulness is suggest due to resemblance to toxic species like the Earthball mushroom , accent the importance of expertise in foraging or purchase from reputable sources .
Violet-toothed Polypore
The Violet - toothed Polypore , Trichaptum biforme , showcases cap 1 - 7.5 cm full , resembling unpredictable semicircle cognate to clamshells with subtlety of brown and violet , purple , or lavender rings . Typically found in Florida on disintegrate aspen andpoplar Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , it forms stack clustering on molder log . While uneatable for humans , it poses a hazard to dearie , causing belly problems and dehydration .
Candleflame Lichen
Candleflame Lichen , scientifically sleep with as Candelaria concolor , is a captivating being in Florida , though not a mushroom cloud . With golden yellow to sensationalistic - gullible coloring and branch - like structures , it covers vast areas , include intact trees . Lichens like Candleflame prosper in diverse habitats due to a symbiotic human relationship between fungi and alga , enabling them to survive in surround where both would struggle independently . Keep an oculus out for this widespread lichen on Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree bark across various landscape .
