The South Dakota mushroom hunting season just isn’t long enough. So I created this mycology guide to help you make the most of it! Below you will find categories filled with pictures, videos, and descriptions to help you identify fungi found near Sioux Falls, SD and surrounding areas. All photos and videos were captured locally by me, Logan Spader. If you want to skip to the short list of my favorite edible mushrooms visit the edible mushroom list HERE. But remember:
I AM NOT A MYCOLOGIST! Mushrooms in this guide may be incorrectly identified. Eating wild mushrooms could lead to a painful death.
I recommend Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest by Teresa Marrone & Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora for final identification.
Cap & Stem with Gills
This category includes the most familiar mushrooms that have an obvious stem & cap with spore-bearing gills.
Cap & Stem with Pores
Mushrooms must have a stem and pores such as with Boletes and Polypores.
Atypical Caps
This category includes morels and saddle mushrooms.
Shelf Mushrooms
Any mushroom growing laterally out from an object such as a tree or log.
Spherical Mushrooms
Mushrooms shaped like a ball can be found in this category.
Cup-Shaped Mushrooms
Any cup-shaped fungi including wood-ear and nest mushrooms.
Miscellaneous Fungi
Includes club-shaped, coral, jelly, and crust fungi along with other unique mushrooms like cedar-apple rust.
Unidentified Mushrooms
Mushrooms here may fit any category above but I have not been able to ID them!
Trees
Tree identification is very important to mycology.
This mycology guide was started in 2021 and grows weekly. Most of the work on this website happens in the winter since I spend my summers outside photographing and identifying the mushrooms. If you have found an error, please send me a message HERE. I’d really appreciate your time as it helps me and other people studying mycology in South Dakota!
This guide exists first and foremost to help ME learn to identify and memorize important fungal information! This work motivates me to bring my children outside and teach them about an often overlooked aspect of our world.
Best Mushroom Books for South Dakota Mushroom Hunting
This website would not have been possible without many of my favorite authors! NEVER use the internet for final identification of a mushroom that you plan to consume. I have a stack of eleven foraging books on my bookshelf and recommend the following:
Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest by Teresa Marrone – this should be the first guide you buy. Tons of awesome pictures and you will notice the organization of the book inspired my own guide that you see above.
Mushrooms of the Midwest by Michael Kuo – I absolutely love this man. He is the creator of MushroomExpert.com and he keeps things simple. His book lists all mushrooms in alphabetical order and does NOT use common names. The glossary and index are combined into one section which speeds up the learning process. And lastly, the pictures of each mushroom are great! This book does not talk much about edibility though so choose a different book if you are a new mushroom hunter!
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora – I have a very difficult time using this author’s key but no other book can compare to the mountains of knowledge contained in David’s mushroom guide.
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake – this is NOT a guide book but the author is a beautiful person with eloquent writing and truly unique ideas. It will make you fall in love with mycology.
MushroomObserver.com – this is not even a book but if you love hunting mushrooms and documenting them you should join and help advance mycology! Recent notes that I am learning from others: corticioid fungi.
South Dakota Fungi 