What are the names of bad fungi and good fungi?

Answer 1

Er...I'm not sure I completely understand the question, but I'll give it a shot. Also, since my specialty is macro-fungi (commonly known as "mushrooms") and I'm not qualified to answer on any OTHER type of fungus, I'll only be talking about those. Sorry if this wasn't the answer expected.

If you are an amateur mushroom-hunter and you want to 100% avoid getting mushroom poisoning, I would recommend not going mushrooming at all. There are some very poisonous mushrooms out there and they can be confused with some delicious edibles. However, to significantly lower the risk of getting mushroom poisoning, there are some specific groups to stay away from.

The Genus Amanita: Amanitas are generally not as hard to identify as other mushrooms. And, there are some genuinely delicious species of Amanitas out there, such as the Caeser's Mushroom (Amanita Caesarea), which is of choice edibility. However, the Genus Amanita houses some of the most volatile species, such as the European Destroying Angel (Amanita Virosa) and the Death Cap (Amanita Phalloides), the latter being responsible for the majority of deadly mushroom poisonings worldwide. If you are an amateur, it is best to avoid this genus all together.

LBM'S: Okay, admittedly, this is not a recognized species or genus or ANYTHING. LBM stands for "little brown mushrooms" and they are the bane of mycologists everywhere. These mushrooms are small, and generally very hard to identify without a trained eye or microscopic examination. All though most are harmless, or slightly hallucinogenic, there are some that are deadly poisonous, so if you are not sure if it is edible, toss it. It's not worth your life.

False Morels (Helvella and Gyromirta spp.): True morels are choice edibles. However, there are posers in ever group. False morels look like morels to the untrained eye, and have caused serious illness and death is people who mistakingly put them in their mushroom collecting basket. These genuses are a little harder to treat, since some people actually enjoy eating these mushrooms, but please remember that they ARE poisonous. If you are not sure whether a morel is false or not, look at the cap. False morels have a cap that sort of hangs free around the stem, almost skirt-like. On true morels, the bottom edge of the cap is attached to the stem. If you are still not sure, DON'T EAT IT.

Jack-O-Lantern's: These mushrooms can look remarkably like Chantarelles, a genus in which most of the mushrooms are edible. However, these can be very poisonous, so if hunting for Chantarelles, it is good to know the physical differences between these two.

When hunting for mushrooms, please be careful. Also, leave any old wives tales' behind. Poisonous mushrooms do not all taste bad. Poisonous mushrooms do not blacken silver or turn water red. If you aren't sure if a mushroom is poisonous or not, JUST THROW IT AWAY. It's definetly not worth a hospital visit or a funeral!