South Dakota Mycology

Are you odd? Me too! Welcome friend. If you’re interested in South Dakota mycology and REALLY want to nerd out, then go check out my work at SouthDakotaFungi.com. There you will find a guide filled with local photos to help you identify mushrooms from SD and the Midwest area. Have fun!

SD Mycology Guide…

If, on the other hand, you have come here to learn more about me (this is LoganSpader.com after all) then check out my top 10 favorite mushrooms below!

#10 – Phallus Impudicus

Haha! The name, the smell, I love this mushroom. Warning, it smells like a rotting corpse and tastes even worse. Check out the video of us eating it: https://youtu.be/ix5rgoqHwnU

#9 – Coprinus Comatus

So yummy! Shaggy mane will deliquesce very quickly which makes finding it in an edible phase even more exciting! Cook and eat them quickly before you end up with a black blob of goo on your plate.

#8 – Boletinellus Merulioides

This was the first edible bolete that I found in South Dakota. It will forever have a place in my heart. It’s also awesome because it grows in HUGE patches and tastes great. You can watch my Ash Bolete hunting video here: https://youtu.be/z6CxyzETkaY

#7 – Dead Man’s Fingers

The scientific name starts with an “x”. But who cares? With a name like “Dead Man’s Fingers” my kid’s and I are ALWAYS psyched to stumble upon this little fungus. It usually ends with a game of zombie.

#6 – Polyporus Squamosus

A mushroom that fruits almost as big as my child? Instant spot on my top 10 list. It also tastes pretty good in soups! You can learn the mycology and edibility information in my YouTube video: https://youtu.be/vQuYPY3-3vM

#5 – Auricularia Auricula

This mushroom is almost entirely responsible for my obsession with eating wild mushrooms. I was hiking with a good friend when we first found a log covered in them. My friend said it looked like “wood ear” mushrooms that he uses in oriental meals. After a bit of research and a taste test I was hooked!

#4 – Laetiporus Sulphureus

Known commonly as “chicken of the woods” this mushroom is one of my favorites due to the fact that it grows in such large chunks and tastes very similar to chicken if cooked properly.

#3 – Ganoderma Applanatum

The “artist’s conk” takes my #3 spot due to the fact that it is one of the few mushrooms that can be found when it is -22°F outside (or colder, because this is South Dakota we are talking about). G. Applanatum grows for years and can get impressively large.

#2 – Morchella Esculenta

I hate that I love this mushroom so much. I’m usually the guy that rebels against popular opinion simply to be different but damn morels are tasty AF.

#1 – Unknown Mushrooms

Taking the #1 spot on my list of favorite mushrooms is the unknown mushroom! Mycology would be quite boring if I already knew all the local wild fungi. There are hundreds of thousands of known species and possibly millions left to find. How exciting to be part of the treasure hunt!?

But why?

I do not make money from the hundreds of hours that I have spent documenting these mushrooms. GASP! That’s right, while the majority of Americans are turning their hobbies into “side hustles” to feed our capitalistic monster I have promised myself to NEVER become a paid influencer in the field of mycology.

So why put all the work into this website? Hunting mushrooms is awesome. I love eating them, experiencing them, finding them, and photographing them. Each time I add a new mushroom to this list it forces me to learn the Latin names and grow my personal knowledge which I pass on to my kids. This website exists for me to learn mushrooms and use my many talents to help teach other people about South Dakota mycology.