Mushrooms

[Bluebinge]

Hello,

I live in the Northwest part of Mississippi and I have found a patch of nice looking orange mushrooms and was wondering if they are edible? I posted the pics. Hope someone can help.http://www.asapgraphicdesign.com/client

[Monique]

If I were you I wouldn't take advice on whether or not to eat a wild mushroom from someone on the internet. You can better go to a place where they are specialized in classifying mushrooms.

[hypatia]

I agree Monique, mushrooms are not something to take lightly. Their seems to be mushroom hunting groups in every state, do a bit of googleing to see if their is one near you.

[Astronuc]

It looks like - http://americanmushrooms.com/taxa/Omphalotus_olearius_00.htm
but I can't be sure. This is the "Jack-O-Latern" mushroom and it is toxic.

It looks similar to Chantrelles
http://americanmushrooms.com/chanterelles.htm
but one should not take chances.

See also - Jack-o-lantern Mushroom
http://typesofmushrooms.info/jack-o-lantern-mushroom/
Jack-o-lantern Mushroom, or the Omphalotus Olearius; this mushroom is known for its orange-yellow color and its blue green bioluminescence observed on the gills in low lighting. Interestingly, though poisonous it does smell and appear appealing and resembles the edible chanterelle mushroom. The Jack-o-Lantern mushroom contains a toxin called muscarine, which if ingested causes excessive secretion of saliva, tears and perspiration; it also elicits diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, irregular heartbeat, decreasing blood pressure and difficulty breathing.

The Jack-O-Lantern mushroom grows in clusters near stumps, dead trees or buried roots. Its orange cap ranges in size from 5-20 cm, and its stem ranges the same measurements in length and is usually 1-2 cm wide. One of the identifying features of this mushroom is that its gills run down along its stem.
Find an expert mycologist and get an expert opinion.

[Monique]

I have absolutely no knowledge on mushrooms, but they do look a lot like the poisonous Jack O'Lantern Mushrooms (http://americanmushrooms.com/taxa/Omphalotus_olearius_00.htm). So I say: stay away from them.

[Monique]

It looks like - http://americanmushrooms.com/taxa/Omphalotus_olearius_00.htm
but I can't be sure. This is the "Jack-O-Latern" mushroom and it is toxic.

Gee, you were faster than me :smile: we do get to the same conclusion though :biggrin:

[Bluebinge]

Thank you everyone for the advise. I thought they were really interesting looking mushrooms and the name fits the look, especially this time of year:)

[Ouabache]

Since you've already decided not to eat the mushroom you have asked about :yuck:
If you'd like to learn about mushroom identification for fun, you might try some mycological keys such as: key (http://www.fungaljungal.org/key/key.html).
This site (http://americanmushrooms.com/id.htm) has good descriptions (with photos) of characteristics used in mushroom identification.