Though mention of mushroom hunting may bring spring to mind, foragers often find fungal fall harvests, too.
This week on Discover Nature, keep an eye out for puffballs, and other choice-edible mushrooms that grow from late summer through fall.
Puffballs are white, rounded to turban-shaped mushrooms, becoming pinkish to brownish with age. When mature, a pore opens at the top to release thick, dusty-brown spores.
Depending on their size, puffballs can easily be mistaken at a distance for golf balls, baseballs, or even soccer balls. Some can grow to as many as 20-inches in diameter and release a “puff” of trillions of tiny spores.
They appear in lawns, open woods, pastures, and barren areas on soil or decaying wood.
Bearded tooth mushrooms grow beard-like spines that hang from tree trunks and fallen logs. Oyster mushrooms, “chicken of the woods,” and “hen of the woods” also grow on wood and appear in cool autumn conditions.
Always positively identify mushrooms before eating them, by referencing the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Guide to Missouri’s Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms.
Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
