Very few mushrooms resemble Lion’s Mane, and the ones that do are taxonomically placed in the same genus ( Hericium). The spore color produced by Lion’s Mane is white. These spines are white when young and yellowish when older. Each spine is soft and typically half-an-inch to 2 inches in length. The fruiting body of Lion’s Mane consists of numerous, icicle-like spines (“teeth”) that point downward and taper to a point. Lion’s Mane is the only Hericium species in eastern North America that is unbranched. The fruiting body of Lion’s Mane consists of an unbranched, cushiony, water-rich mass that is between 3-10” wide and typically the same size tall. Accordingly, Lion’s Mane is a great mushroom for beginning mushroom hunters. It is one of the most unique-looking mushrooms, with its unbranched body of icicle-like spines and soft white tissue. Lion’s Mane, for one, certainly does not. Not all mushrooms look like the portobellos and the shiitakes found in the grocery store. This list, therefore, is based on my experiences with the organisms in this area. These mushrooms are fairly conspicuous, they’re delicious, and they require a hefty stretch of the imagination to misidentify as toxic look-alikes. In this post, I have put together a list of 5 easy-to-identify edible mushrooms. Well, why don’t we begin with the most easily identifiable wild edible mushrooms? You know, the ones that when you see them you think, “Yep, that’s exactly it!” It can all appear quite daunting at first, especially after realizing you’re dealing with 5.1 million potential species (okay, this is an exaggeration much of this large number does not pertain to mushrooms in their fruiting body stages, but rather to microscopic fungi, such as yeasts and molds). Many individuals are interested in going one step further by foraging edible mushrooms, yet have no idea where to start. A quick trip to the grocery store confirms this.

There is another side to wild mushroom hunting, however. One must absolutely know what he or she has in hand before even thinking about pulling out the butter, salt, and frying pan.

It’s easy to focus all our attention on the dangers of wild mushroom hunting, and of course the risks are valid concerns. Amatoxin, forever popularized by their hit single, “Destroying Angel”

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