Browse Mushrooms

North America Mushrooms: Edibles and Regional Hazards

North America spans deserts, boreal forest and temperate coast, so its mushrooms are as varied as its trees. That range includes prized edibles and some genuinely dangerous species.

Species in this group

18 species
Large chalky agarikon conk with a cracked pale surface high on an old conifer

Agarikon

Laricifomes officinalis

Medicinal
Thin white angel wing mushrooms in overlapping nearly stemless fans on a decayed conifer log

Angel Wing

Pleurocybella porrigens

Poisonous
Booted amanita with pale patched cap free white gills ring and collared bulb

Booted Amanita

Amanita multisquamosa

Poisonous
A brown roll-rim mushroom with an inrolled cottony cap margin and yellowish gills running down the stem

Brown Roll-Rim

Paxillus involutus

Poisonous
A cluster of golden chanterelle mushrooms on a mossy forest floor

Chanterelle

Cantharellus cibarius

Choice edible
A tight cluster of small tawny deadly galerina mushrooms growing from rotting wood

Deadly Galerina

Galerina marginata

Poisonous
A pure white destroying angel mushroom with free white gills, a skirt-like ring, and a sac around its base

Destroying Angel

Amanita bisporigera

Poisonous
Eastern flat-top Agaricus with a dark-scaled pale cap and slender ringed stem in leaf litter

Eastern Flat-Top Agaricus

Agaricus placomyces

Poisonous
A reddish-brown false morel with a brain-like wrinkled cap

False Morel

Gyromitra esculenta

Poisonous
A large white green-spored parasol with brown cap scales and a ringed stem growing in mown grass

Green-Spored Parasol

Chlorophyllum molybdites

Poisonous
A cluster of bright orange Jack O'Lantern mushrooms growing on a stump

Jack O'Lantern

Omphalotus illudens

Poisonous
Yellow morel mushrooms with honeycomb caps on a spring forest floor

Morel

Morchella esculenta

Caution
Overlapping gray oyster mushrooms growing on a hardwood log

Oyster Mushroom

Pleurotus ostreatus

Edible
Illustrated eastern black morel with dark vertical ridges and a pale stem in hardwood leaf litter

Black Morel

Morchella angusticeps

Caution
Illustrated cluster of gray common inkcaps in different growth stages beside a decaying stump

Common Inkcap

Coprinopsis atramentaria

Poisonous
Half-free morel with a small pitted cap attached halfway down a long pale stem in spring woodland

Half-Free Morel

Morchella punctipes

Caution
A white, shaggy Lion's Mane mushroom with cascading spines on a tree trunk

Lion's Mane

Hericium erinaceus

Medicinal
Western destroying angel with a white cap, free gills, fragile ring, and membranous volva in oak leaf litter

Western Destroying Angel

Amanita ocreata

Poisonous

A Wide and Varied Range

From the Pacific Northwest to the eastern hardwoods, North America carries a deep list of wild edibles. Chanterelles, morels and oysters all appear on it. The same forests hold dangerous species, and the grid shows both side by side. Which ones you meet depends on your region and its trees.

A Spreading Danger

The death cap, native to Europe, has established across parts of North America, especially near introduced oaks. Its spread gives you another reason to treat every pale gilled mushroom with care. Native deadly Amanitas grow here too, and the destroying angel fruits with oaks and other hardwoods.

On the West Coast, the western destroying angel grows under living oaks in California and the Pacific Northwest. Each of these species carries amatoxins, and cooking does not neutralize them.

Warning

Foraging rules and species differ by state and province. Learn your local flora and its dangerous lookalikes before you pick.

Forage Locally

The safest approach starts where you live. Join a local mycological society and learn the handful of species that are common and safe in your own area. Our regional pages cover California and the Midwest, with their own seasons and land rules.

Pages for the Northeast and the Southeast do the same for those parts of the country. Each page names the species and rules that apply there, which no continent-wide list can do.

Frequently Asked Questions

What mushrooms grow in North America?

Chanterelles, morels, boletes and oysters all grow here, alongside dangerous species. The exact list depends heavily on your region and its trees.

Is the death cap found in North America?

Yes. Though native to Europe, the death cap has established in parts of North America, often near introduced oaks. That spread gives you one more reason to treat pale gilled mushrooms with caution.