Common Name:   Jack O' Lantern Mushroom

Scientific Name:   Omphalotus illudens

The Jack O' Lantern is probably the most spectacular mushroom that one routinely finds along the trails. It grows in large clumps with multiple stalks emerging from a single point at the base of broad-leaved trees.

Potpourri:   The name Jack O' Lantern derives from the phenomenon that the gills of this mushroom will glow in the dark.  This can be observed by collecting specimens and putting them in a dark room.  When the eyes have adjusted, the gills give off an eerie greenish glow.

The Jack O' Lantern is often mistaken by mushroom pothunters for the edible chanterelle , which has a similar color and gill structure.  However, the Jack O' Lantern is poisonous and will reportedly cause gastric upset for a few hours to several days.  Interestingly, the Latin name illudens means deceiving.

The mushroom is pathogenic to (will eventually kill)  its host tree.  By the time it has reached the stage where the fruiting body is growing at the base of a tree, it is already too late.