Jack O' Lantern Mushroom Omphalotus illudens (Schweinitz) Bresinsky & Besl.    Synonyms: Eastern American Jack-o'-lantern, Omphalotus olearius.
Kingdom Fungi   >   Phylum Basidiomycota   >   Class Agaricomycetes   >   Order Agaricales   >   Family Omphalotaceae   >   Genus Omphalotus   

Status:

Found in clusters at bases of deciduous stumps and tree trunks (usually oak); may be on ground on buried wood.

Description:

Cap: Bright orange, sticky; convex, to flat, to funnel-shaped; may have small umbo; flesh white with orange tinge; sweet odor. Gills: Yellow-orange, decurrent, close. Stalk: Yellow-orange. Handling stains hands. In a dark room, the gills of fresh specimens "give off an eerie green glow" (Lincoff). (J. Solem, pers. comm.)

There are 134 records in the project database.

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Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Garrett Co., Maryland (7/16/2013). Photo by Matt Tillett. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushrooms in Montgomery Co., Maryland (9/29/2019). Photo by Tim Friedlander. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Howard Co., Maryland (8/20/2014). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Howard Co., Maryland (8/20/2014). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

A Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Howard Co., Maryland (9/24/2011). Photo by Nancy Magnusson. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (10/14/2018). Photo by Bob Cammarata. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushrooms in Howard Co., Maryland (8/16/2013). Photo by Richard Orr. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (6/26/2019). Photo by Anne Looker. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Baltimore Co., Maryland (10/5/2020). (c) panchosail, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by panchosail via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom (gills of mature fruiting bodies) in Howard Co., Maryland (8/20/2009). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Baltimore City, Maryland (10/6/2018). (c) Peter M Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Peter M Martin via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (9/10/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (9/28/2021). (c) kathyninmd, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by kathyninmd via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushrooms in Frederick Co., Maryland (9/28/2014). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (8/18/2019). (c) Giff Beaton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Giff Beaton via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (9/1/2019). (c) thosmoore, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by thosmoore via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (8/18/2019). (c) Giff Beaton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Giff Beaton via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Allegany Co., Maryland (10/1/2014). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (8/18/2019). (c) Ashley M Bradford, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Ashley Bradford. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (8/17/2019). (c) Scot Magnotta, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Scot Magnotta via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (8/18/2019). (c) Ashley M Bradford, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Ashley Bradford. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (Date obscured). (c) romainclem, all rights reserved. Photo by romainclem via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (10/14/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (9/1/2019). (c) thosmoore, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by thosmoore via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Howard Co., Maryland (10/1/2020). (c) msoutherland, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by msoutherland via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Howard Co., Maryland (10/1/2020). (c) msoutherland, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by msoutherland via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/17/2020). (c) abverl, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by abverl via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (10/6/2019). (c) rhoads, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by rhoads via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Allegany Co., Maryland (9/25/2021). (c) Thomas Tooke, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by tmtooke via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom (growth habit) in Howard Co., Maryland (10/9/2009). Photo by Robert Solem. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/22/2021). (c) David, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA). Photo by David via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/22/2021). (c) David, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA). Photo by David via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Spores collected from a Jack O' Lantern Mushroom specimen in Howard Co., Maryland (8/20/2014). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/19/2020). (c) ama231, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by ama231 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/19/2020). (c) ama231, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by ama231 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Montgomery Co., Maryland (10/19/2020). (c) ama231, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by ama231 via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (11/24/2020). (c) Emilio Concari, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Jack O' Lantern Mushroom in Frederick Co., Maryland (11/24/2020). (c) Emilio Concari, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Emilio Concari. (MBP list)

Spores collected from a Jack O' Lantern Mushroom specimen in Howard Co., Maryland (8/20/2009). Ellipsoid, smooth; measured 4.5-5.0 X 3.2-4.0 microns. Photo by Robert Solem. (MBP list)


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