Today is Halloween. Time for Trick or Treat. But don’t get tricked into thinking that this mushroom is a treat. Visually, *DEFINITELY*. But not a treat to eat.

Eat the Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms and you will get treated to headache, stomach cramps, vomiting, and or diarrhrea. Sounds to me like a wicked trick.

Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms are said by many many sources to have gills that glow in the dark. I have serious doubts about this, after many unsuccessful attempts to see this phenomenon myself. Don’t depend on this to determine what mushroom you have discovered. You’ll be asking for trouble.

This beautiful mushroom is found east of the Rocky Mountains. They’re very common here in the mountains around my cabin. And it’s often found in urban areas too.

They’ll sprout up in large clumps from dead trees, stumps, and buried roots of hardwoods, particularly oaks, in the autumn. The time of year, and the color of the mushrooms, has paved the way for it’s common name.

Have a safe Halloween, and remember don’t eat mushrooms that you’re not totally SURE about.