How to Identify a Hill Jack Mushroom

Jack-o'-lantern mushrooms are toxic, but not often deadly.

When out in the wild in search of food, identifying which mushrooms will provide you nourishment and which will make you sick can be crucial. The jack-o'-lantern mushroom can grow in forests or hills and can trick food gatherers into thinking it is a tasty chanterelle mushroom. However, jack-o'-lantern mushroom varieties can cause severe cramps and diarrhea if eaten due to the levels of the toxin muscarine (See Ref 1). Luckily, the jack-o'-lantern mushroom has unique characteristics, allowing a trained eye to differentiate between it and a chanterelle.

Instructions

1. Examine the color of the mushroom cap. The mushroom earned its "jack-o'-lantern" name from its bright orange color. Jack-o'-lantern mushrooms are often more orange than the slightly-yellow chanterelle mushroom.

2. Lift the cap so you can see underneath. The underside of a jack-o'-lantern mushroom cap has true gills, which are not forked and appear knife-like. As a comparison, chanterelles have false gills on the bottom of the cap, which appear to be folded wrinkles that are forked and look melted together. (See Ref 1 and 2)

3. Smell the mushroom. Jack-o'-lantern mushrooms are known for their pleasant, fruity aroma, which can entice people to taste them, only to later make them sick. Chanterelles have a similar scent. (See Ref 2)

4. Examine where the mushroom you want to identify is growing. If it is growing at the base of a tree or on a stump, it could be either a chanterelle or a jack-o'-lantern mushroom (See Ref 2). However, jack-o'-lantern mushrooms can grow in grassy areas where there are no trees, while Chanterelles cannot.

5. Determine if the mushroom is growing in a large cluster with attached stems, which is how jack-o'-lantern mushrooms thrive. This is a primary method of telling jack-o'-lanterns apart from chanterelles, as chanterelles grow individually or in small bunches with separate stems.

6. Take one of the mushrooms into a dark area or wait until night fall. Some types of jack-o'-lantern mushrooms glow slightly green in the dark when fresh.

Tips & Warnings

• When in doubt, do not eat a mushroom found in the wild.

References

• Mushroom-Appreciation: Identification of Chanterelle Mushrooms
• Missouri Department of Conservation: Poisonous Mushrooms

Resources

• American Mushrooms; Jack O'Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus olearius); David W. Fischer; 2006