In 2025 I split my fungus page in two. A separate page introduces my exploration of the fungi and covers the Agaricales.  This page covers all other orders of fungi. Images are organized alphabetically by taxonomic unit, up to order. Hover over a photo series to control the images.

To repeat what I say on the first page, I am not a mushroom expert. The IDs that follow are my best guesses. If you rely on those guesses when considering whether to eat a mushroom, don't blame me when you end up in an emergency room (or worse).

Auriculariales

Auriculariaceae: Jelly Fungus (Auricularia)

The Wikipedia article on jelly fungi admits that while few are poisonous, most of the rest taste like dirt.

Boletales (Boletes and their Allies)

Boletaceae: bolete mushrooms

On bolete mushrooms, the underside of the cap looks spongy rather than having gills. (They're not the only mushrooms for which this is true.) The brown examples from 2019 may have suffered from a lack of moisture.

The next set of photos shows "blue-staining" bolete mushrooms. When I turned them over to inspect the undersides of the caps, I damaged one of them. The damaged area rapidly developed a dark stain—a characteristic of multiple species within the family. 

Boletaceae: Leccinum

Mushrooms in the genus Leccinum have stems with lots of tiny points, giving the stems a rough appearance. 

Capnodiales

Mycosphaerellaceae: Septoria Leaf Spot (Septoria)

Here you see two sides of a cottonwood leaf. I'm identifying this as Septoria, as opposed to some other leaf spot fungus, based on (1) the light spots with dark margins and (2) the host plant. Many species of fungus cause leaf spot, on a variety of plants; this is just one example.

Dacrymycetales

Dacrymycetaceae: Calocera cornea

Dacrymycetaceae: Dacrymyces chrysospermus

Diaporthales

Cytosporaceae: Cytospora Canker (Cytospora chrysosperma)

Cytospora canker occurs on multiple species including aspens and cottonwoods. I encountered it on a large downed cottonwood branch. According to what I've read, the usual history is for a discolored patch to appear on living bark, with damage to the wood below. That's followed by bark death and both asexual and sexual reproduction. The small black asexual fruiting bodies extrude their spore masses as red-orange tendrils. 

Erysiphales

Erysiphaceae: Powdery Mildew

Multiple species in Erysiphaceae cause the plant disease known as powdery mildew. On aspens, it should have little to no effect on the plant as a whole.

Gloeophyllales

Gloeophyllaceae: Gloeophyllum sepiarium

Gomphales

Gomphaceae: Turbinellus kauffmanii

Heliotales

Lachnaceae: Lachnellula arida

To get a sense of how small these mushrooms are, note the fir needles and the needle scars on the twigs. Look for Lachnellula arida growing from the bark of downed high mountain conifer branches.

Hymenochaetales

Hymenochaetaceae: Inonotus munzii

According to one publication, this fungus "is one of the main decay fungi of willow and cottonwood in the Southwest."

Phallales

Phallaceae:  Common Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)

The dark, stinky goop exuded by this family of mushrooms has evolved to attract flies. The latter then fly off somewhere, spreading the spores. I found this example in a well-watered flower bed—a not uncommon thing. My thanks to Michael Kuo for his help with the ID.

Pleosporales

Venturiaceae: Black Knot (Dibotryon morbosum)

Dibotryon morbosum infects plants in the genus Prunus, including commercial fruit trees, causing black knot. The swellings, or knots, start out olive green and turn black, encircling and often killing the branch that hosts them. The swellings look very much like animal scat, so it's not surprising that black knot has been nicknamed "poop on a stick."

Polyporales

Fomitopsidaceae: Fomitopsis schrenkii

This was the biggest mushroom I'd ever seen. Recent DNA studies led to this species being split off from red-belted conks.

Polyporaceae: Coriolopsis gallica

The small caps of this fungus grow wood ear style (i.e., without a stem). The host species include cottonwoods, willows, and on occasion other species. Most of my August 2022 pictures are from this fungus growing in a downed cottonwood trunk. By the time I revisited the same fallen trunk in September 2022, the caps were more extensive.  One August 2022 shows this same species emerging from the base of the door on the front of my house. To ID this species, look for a cap with a very hairy brown top and pores that are angular or elongated rather than rounded.

Polyporaceae: Cryptoporus volvatus

Polyporaceae: Funalia

Polyporaceae: Trichaptum abietinum

Russulales

Auriscalpiaceae: Crown-Tipped Coral Mushroom (Artomyces pyxidatus)

Peniophoraceae: Peniophora rufa

Russulaceae (Brittle-gills and Milk-caps): Russula

Russulaceae (Brittle-gills and Milk-caps): Lactarius

Xylariales

Hypoxylaceae: Daldinia childiae

I found these blobby black conks on a downed tree trunk. They looked like they were burned. When I cut one open it showed a concentric growth pattern and tunnels occupied by grubs.