Fungus Types in Michigan

Chanterelle: Edible

• Chanterelle mushrooms or Cantharellus cibarius, are golden in color with a fleshy cap and thick gills. In the mushroom world, they are considered to be gold in more than color but in flavor and price. If a Chanterelle is harvested in the proper way, it will come back yearly like a flower with a bulb. Chanterelle mushrooms can be found at Bald Mountain, Hell-Fralick Woods, Highland, Holdridge Lakes, Otonville, Pontiac Lake, Seven Lakes, Silver Lake and Stony Creek.

Destroying Angel: Deadly Poisonous

• Destroying Angel mushrooms or Aminita virosa, are extremely poisonous and deceiving. They look like several other species of mushrooms that are not poisonous. Its gills, cap and stem are all white. The effects of its poison include "stomach virus like symptoms, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps. If misdiagnosed and untreated, the toxin could elicit irreparable liver or kidney damage." Destroying Angel can be found at Ortonville and Seven Lakes.

Dryad's Saddle: Edible When Young

• Dryad's Saddle or Polyporus squamosus, is edible when young but too leathery to eat in maturity. Its color is dingy yellow to brown with white flesh, visible pores and nearly round caps. Dryad's Saddle can be found at Hell Fralick Woods and Holdridge Lakes.

Dead Man's Finger: Inedible

• Dead Man's Finger or Xylaria polymorpha, can be found growing on decaying wood such as tree stumps or logs, causing a slow rot. True to its name, the fungus resembles fingers in shape and commonly grows in clusters. It has a very tough, whitish flesh. Dead Man's Finger can be found at Holdridge Lakes and Stoney Creek.

"Humungus Fungus" of Crystal Falls

• In Crystal Falls there is a gigantic mushroom. "It weighs roughly 11 tons and covers 37 acres. This makes it the largest mushroom (fungus) in the world." The "Humungus Fungus" is called Armillaria Bulbosa and it produces a kind of edible mushroom called a "Honey Mushroom."