How to Identify Wild Northwest Mushrooms

Seek out the Boletus. Boletus mushrooms look like tiny little umbrellas with meaty caps, thick stalks in the middle and little lines that are tubules under the cap. They can vary in color, and there are hundreds of types of mushrooms in the Boletus group.

Look for Porcini mushrooms. They can be anywhere from medium to large size, have light brown to dark brown caps. They are found in the fall at lower elevations such as valleys and in the summer at higher elevations such as hills.

See if you can find Smith's Boletus. This mushroom has a mid-sized cap that is brown or reddish-brown. The stalks are somewhere in the pink family and are found at mid to high elevations, generally in the fall.

Find some Zeller's Boletus mushrooms. These have small- to mid-sized caps that have a yellow or brownish color. Their stalks are basically yellow and are found at the base of large trees such as redwoods.

Discover chanterelles, which are another group of mushrooms with many edible species. They are generally found on the floors of dense forests, and they grow in great abundance.

Locate a group of Yellow Foot Chanterelles. They have reddish-brown, slender stalks and can be found on dead or dying trees when the weather is cool, such as in the late autumn or winter.

Find the group called Puffballs. All the species in this group look a bit like aliens or astral bodies.

Find a Gemmed Puffball along trails and paths in woods and forests. They are shaped like a light bulb and are a yellowy brown color during the cooler seasons.