Need your help identifying 4 types of mushrooms; are they edible? good pics attached

[George]

Need your help identifying 4 types of mushrooms; are they edible? good pics attached

[Dave W]

First mushroom looks like Hericium coralloides. Growth on wood confirms this ID proposal. https://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_coralloides.html As for eating this mushroom, it's your decision.  When I confidently identify H. corolloides, I cook it as part of a meal; a good edible species.  

Second mushrooms look like a species of Clitocybe. Growth in clusters suggests C. subconnexa. Knowing the spore print color would help. Not recommended for eating. Some species of Clitocybe are toxic.

Third mushrooms. Interesting they were growing in grass. There was probably some wood in the spot, possibly buried wood. These are very likely a species of Pholiota. (At least) two possibilities for the species, P. squarrosa or P. squarrosoides. The second name literally means "looks like Pholiota squarrosa". Tricky to tell apart. Some older field guides list one of these as edible, and the other poisonous. I believe they are currently both considered to cause significant gastrointestinal distress if eaten (at least for some people). If the mushrooms were truly growing from the ground/soil, then they're probably Pholiota terrestris. I know of no species of Pholiota considered to be a good edible. Pholiota mushrooms have brown spore prints.  Leucopholiota decorosa looks quite similar, but the spore print is white. 

Fourth mushroom. I think I see evidence on the upper stem of a collapsed cortina. This means that a cobweb-like covering over the young gills (partial veil) has broken apart and some of it got deposited on the stem, and also possibly along the cap margin. If this is true, then the mushroom in the photos is a species of either Cortinarius or Hebeloma. I'd guess Cortinarius, in which case the spore print would be rusty brown (or in the case of a few species, reddish brown). Hebeloma have light brown prints. Virtually all species of Hebeloma are thought to be quite poisonous. Cortinarius is a very large genus --lots of species-- with some types poisonous. If the spore print is pale fleshy pinkish (almost white) and there's no remains of a partial veil, then this could represent a species of Lepista. 

 

[George]

Thanks Dave,

I am a complete newbie! Been hiking with wifey all our life, but never, ever, picked mushrooms, nor eaten any other than from the store..

I put a a couple of apps on my phone, one is a an illustrated pictures guide, the other one is supposed to identify based on camera capture (not working well).

I thought these are

1) Hericium coralloides , also known as the coral tooth fungus

2) Infundibulicybe geotropa, also known as the trooping funnel or monk's head

3) Pholiota squarrosa, also known as the shaggy scalycap

4) Clitocybe nuda, alsoy known as the wood blewit and alternately described as Lepista nuda

Notes:

3) From an area with a lot of dead wood, probably buried under grass

George

[Dave W]

Your #4 proposal obtained from the app --Clitocybe nuda-- is also called Lepista nuda. It's why I mentioned "Lepista" as a possibility. But, Lepista nuda is easily confused with any of several species of Cortinarius, especially if the Cort has lost all evidence of the cortina (partial veil). You should do (at least) three things to ID this mushroom. 1. Carefully examine the stem for evidence of a collapsed cortina; 2. Carefully examine the cap margin for evidence of the remains of a cortina; 3. Most importantly, obtain a spore print on both white and black non-porous surfaces. If the spore print is light colored, it will be most evident on the black surface; but any subtle difference from white may be best evaluated by  viewing it on the white. If the print is dark --or at least significantly pigmented-- it will be most evident on the white surface; but any difference from black will be best evaluated against the black surface. The mushroom seen in #4 does look like Lepista (Clitocybe) nuda... except for what looks like possibly velar deposits on both the upper stem and cap margin. I don't think an app can teach you how to distinguish Lepista nuda from Cortinarius (without incorporating spore print color).  The following link shows one species of Cortinarius that resembles Lepista nuda.    http://www.mushroomexpert.com/cortinarius_azureus.html  . Also, you may want to browse internet photos of Cortinarius anomalus (fairly variable appearance). 

For #2, your app suggested Infundulicybe geotropa. Your mushrooms do look like this species. (Except the reported clustered growth habit does not fit this species.) Other species that can look like this are Infundulicybe gibba (usually smaller), Clitocybe maxima, Leucopaxillus giganteus, Clitocybe nebularis, Clitcybe gigantea, Leucopaxillus albissimus. Perhaps I am overstating the importance of "clustered growth habit", as it's not out of the question that any of the species mentioned may grow in close-knit groups. I suggested Clitocybe subconnexa based upon the clustered growth. L. albissimus also grows in clusters, although usually not in grassy areas. One thing I think you may take away from this is that large whitish mushrooms with decurrent gills can be challenging to ID to species. 

There are some types of mushrooms that are fairly easy to ID. But most types can be tricky, with traits that overlap and not infrequent atypical examples. 

[Steve B]

Dave, just wanted to mention there is a good edible species of Pholiota, Pholiota adiposa that is actually relatively commonly cultivated species.  However, they are only native to Europe, so not something you are likely to find in North America.