The Earth’s 12 Most Beautiful Mushrooms

JJ

These mushrooms are quite beautiful but do you know if any of them are actually edible?  Here are the 4 choices:

  • Edible: You can eat it alright.
  • Inedible: Eating it will cause discomfort but it’s probably not poisonous
  • Poisonous: It will make you sick if not kill you when eaten!
  • Unknown: Nobody has tried it so we don’t know for sure.

 

 

 

 

? By Lebrac - eigene arbeit von Lebrac, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3528646Question #1: Hericium erinaceus: AKA the Bearded Tooth Fungus

It's edible!

? By Ian Dodd Kundabung NSW Australia (kundabungkid) - Entoloma hochstetteri (13958), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8291362Question #2: Entoloma hochstetteri: Was on the back of New Zealand’s $50 bill in 1990.

Edibility unknown.

? By Hcrepin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11979558Question #3: Giant Puffball: One of the largest mushrooms in the world.

It's edible when young, however, older samples have been known to cause digestive upset.

? By H. Krisp - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20421006Question #4: Octopus Stinkhorn: As the name suggests, it packs an offensive odor.

We don't know for sure because nobody wanted to sample a mushroom that smelled like rotten flesh.

? By self - Own worklalalfdfa, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3967070Question #5: Mycena chlorophos: Glow in the dark mushrooms!

We really don't know yet.

? By bernd gliwa - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1229265Question #6: Gem Studded Puffball: Like its Puffball cousin but with spiny bumps.

It's edible when young, but take care as it may resemble various poisonous species at this stage.

? By Kruczy89 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25904479Question #7: Gyromitra esculenta (aka false morel): Resembles a brain.

It's deadly poisonous!  (And edible too, if you prepare it properly by parboiling to remove the toxins.)

? By H. Krisp - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14614519Question #8: Amanita muscaria: You’ve seen this mushroom many times if you’ve played Super Mario Brothers.

Most people know this mushroom is poisonous and you are right.  But it's worth mentioning that it can be edible with proper preparation (by parboiling to remove the toxins, but that's beyond the scope of this.)

? By H. Krisp - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35189050Question #9: Dog Stinkhorn: As the name implies, you probably don’t want to be smelling this mushroom, much less eating it.

As far as we know, it's inedible due to the highly offensive smell.

? By This image was created by user Darvin DeShazer (darv) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here.The original uploader was Alan Rockefeller at English Wikipedia - This image is Image Number 5760 at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5804466Question #10: Hydnellum pecki: Did somebody leave their pastries here?

The people who have tried tiny samples of this have given up due to its extremely bitter taste, so we don't really know for sure.

? By Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa - Anemone stinkhorn fungus, Aseroe rubra, in Vumba, Zimbabwe, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45107199Question #11: Sea Anemone fungus: It stinks and it resembles a sea anemone!

No brave souls have tried this stinky mushroom so we don't know for sure.

? By Thomas Schoch - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2881361Question #12: Jack o Lantern Mushroom: Glows in the dark (just like a real jack o lantern) and resembles chanterelles. But is it edible?

It's poisonous but probably not deadly, at least not in normal doses.  It's also worth noting that this is also a medicinal mushroom and its toxins have potential anti-cancer uses which are being researched.

 

 

Comments

More from my site