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Wild Mushrooms: Top 5 Most Beautiful

Updated on February 6, 2013

Mushroom Beauty Contest

Which mushroom is prettiest?

See results

They're Like Ruffles, Leather, Bubbles, Feathers

Some of these mushrooms are edible, but rather than eating them I simply photograph these elusive botanical marvels that seem to pop up overnight in Midwestern oak and hickory woods. Mature trees, forest floors and downed logs make perfect living rooms for fungi. All they seem to need is some rain.

Vote for your choice of the most gorgeous among these true beauties. Mushroom hunting is best in the fall!

Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa)

Found in autumn at the base of an oak tree, where they are usually found, this specimen called "Hen of the Woods" weighed 24+ ounces. Edible.
Found in autumn at the base of an oak tree, where they are usually found, this specimen called "Hen of the Woods" weighed 24+ ounces. Edible. | Source

Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotis ostreatus)

Found in November at eye level on an oak, this oyster mushroom variation is probably the Late Fall Oyster mushroom. They say it is edible if cooked long and hard. The regular Oyster mushroom isn't so leathery.
Found in November at eye level on an oak, this oyster mushroom variation is probably the Late Fall Oyster mushroom. They say it is edible if cooked long and hard. The regular Oyster mushroom isn't so leathery. | Source

Spiny Puffball (Lycoperdon echniadum)

This one, about an inch and a half wide, you'll find among leaves, just like the non-spiny or smooth puffballs. Some puffballs are poisonous. Don't eat any.
This one, about an inch and a half wide, you'll find among leaves, just like the non-spiny or smooth puffballs. Some puffballs are poisonous. Don't eat any. | Source

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)

This specimen, found near a creek, is fresh. Turkey Tail that has dried out is white and will endure for years. Not edible.
This specimen, found near a creek, is fresh. Turkey Tail that has dried out is white and will endure for years. Not edible. | Source

Sulfur Shelf (Laetiporus sulphureus)

Parasitical mushroom found on a dying oak tree in the fall. Also called "Chicken Mushroom," they're pink and white on top with sulfur-colored petticoats. Edible, they say, if found when it is young, but I think I was about a week late for that.
Parasitical mushroom found on a dying oak tree in the fall. Also called "Chicken Mushroom," they're pink and white on top with sulfur-colored petticoats. Edible, they say, if found when it is young, but I think I was about a week late for that. | Source
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