Free Medicinal Mushroom Identifier by Picture Online
Upload a photo and instantly identify medicinal and functional mushrooms — lion's mane, reishi, chaga, turkey tail, maitake, cordyceps, and more — with evidence-based health information.
⚠️ Safety Information
Medicinal mushrooms are not FDA-approved to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. They should not replace conventional medical treatment. Some mushrooms interact with medications (reishi may increase bleeding risk with anticoagulants). Always consult your healthcare provider.
About Medicinal Mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms are species with documented bioactive compounds studied for health effects. The main species used in modern supplementation: lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), chaga (Inonotus obliquus), maitake (Grifola frondosa), shiitake (Lentinula edodes), and cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis and related species). Our identifier covers all major medicinal mushroom species and their scientific evidence base.
How Our AI Identifies Medicinal Mushrooms
Upload a photo of the mushroom specimen. Medicinal mushrooms often have distinctive morphologies — lion's mane's cascade of spines, reishi's lacquered surface, turkey tail's concentric color bands, chaga's charcoal-like mass on birch trees. Our AI identifies the species and provides evidence-based information on studied compounds and effects.
🔍 Key Identification Features
- Lion's mane: cascading white spines on hardwood trees
- Reishi: lacquered kidney-shaped bracket, red-brown varnished surface on hardwood
- Turkey tail: multicolored concentric zoned brackets on dead hardwood
- Chaga: black, charcoal-like irregular mass on birch trees (not the same as bracket fungi)
- Maitake: overlapping gray-brown fronds at base of oak trees
- Cordyceps: parasitic on insect larvae; commercially cultivated on grain or rice
🧭 Forager Tips
- →Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) grows on birch trees as a black sterile conk — not a typical bracket fungus. Harvest sustainably by taking only a portion.
- →Cordyceps sinensis (the wild Tibetan caterpillar fungus) cannot be wild-foraged in North America — all US cordyceps supplements use Cordyceps militaris or mycelium.
- →Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) can be wild-foraged on dead oak in the eastern US in spring and fall — it is also easily cultivated on oak logs.
- →Most medicinal mushrooms are consumed as extracts or powders — hot water extraction (for beta-glucans) and alcohol extraction (for triterpenes) access different bioactive compounds.
- →Third-party tested supplements are preferable to unverified sources for medicinal mushrooms.
🍄 More Mushroom Identifiers
Not sure which mushroom you have? Try these related guides:
🌿 Also foraging? Use our free Plant Identifier to identify wild plants, edible greens, and medicinal herbs alongside your mushrooms.
🪲 Spotted an insect on your mushroom? Try our Insect Identifier to identify bugs, beetles, and insects associated with fungal habitats.
Ready to identify your medicinal mushrooms?
Frequently Asked Questions
Medicinal Mushrooms identification questions answered