While we could go to the store to purchase it ourselves we would be depriving ourselves of the opportunity to spend time in nature foraging for it (and saving money!)
There are many lookalikes to Turkey Tail and before using it (or any foraged good), it is imperative that you understand Turkey Tail identification to confidently get a 100% positive ID!
With their colorful, banded caps and health benefits, turkey tail mushrooms are one of the most popular wild mushrooms to forage. However, proper identification is crucial, as there are several lookalike species This guide will teach you how to confidently identify turkey tail mushrooms using appearance, texture, and location
What is Turkey Tail?
Turkey tail mushroom, known scientifically as Trametes versicolor, is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. It grows prolifically on dead logs, stumps, and trees in forests, especially hardwoods. The cap has distinctive colorful bands of brown, red, gray, orange, and sometimes blue or green. The underside contains tiny pores instead of gills.
Turkey tail has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Modern research has shown the mushroom contains polysaccharides that may help boost immunity and fight cancer. This makes proper identification key for wild harvest.
Distinctive Features of Turkey Tail
Keep these key features in mind when trying to identify turkey tail mushrooms
- Pores on underside – Very small pores vs. gills, teeth, or smooth
- Multiple colors – Bands of brown, tan, orange, reddish, blue, or green
- Fine hairs on cap – Velvety texture; suede-like when rubbed
- Thin and flexible – Easy to bend when fresh
- White margin – Bright white edge around caps
4 Steps to Identify Turkey Tail
Follow this step-by-step process to accurately identify Trametes versicolor:
1. Check the Underside
Flip the mushroom over. Turkey tail will have tiny, angular pores on the underside rather than gills, teeth, or a smooth surface. The pores should be white or cream in color. Use a magnifying glass to examine pores – there should be at least 3-8 pores per millimeter.
2. Look at the Cap Surface
The cap should be made up of colorful zones or bands. It will have a velvety or suede-like texture from fine hairs. Fresh caps can range from brown, reddish-brown, tan, orangish, blue, or green. Older specimens may fade to beige or gray.
3. Assess Flexibility
Healthy, fresh turkey tails are quite thin. You should be able to bend the cap and stem easily without breaking them. Older or dried mushrooms will be brittle.
4. Note the White Margin
Check the very edge of the cap. Turkey tail will have a bright white or clear margin around the perimeter before the first zone of color begins.
Common Turkey Tail Lookalikes
There are several species that resemble turkey tail. Here are tips to distinguish them:
- False turkey tail – Smooth yellow underside; often have algae growth on cap
- Violet toothed polypore – Underside has tooth-like structures; purple cap edge
- Gilled polypore – Has true gills instead of pores
Using the identification steps above will quickly eliminate any imposters. When in doubt, do not consume any mushroom. Proper ID is essential for safe foraging.
Where to Find Turkey Tail
Turkey tail mushrooms grow on dead trees and decaying logs, especially hardwoods like oak, alder, maple, poplar, willow, birch, and elm. They are saprobic, meaning they decompose dead wood. Moist, shady forests are the prime location to search.
Often you’ll find them growing in overlapping horizontal rows on fallen logs. Check tree stumps, sides of standing dead trees, and areas where timber work has been done. Parks, hiking trails, and woodland edges are great places to scout.
When to Harvest Turkey Tail
In most regions, turkey tail mushrooms fruit from spring through fall. However, you can still find old specimens in winter. Peak season is late summer to autumn.
Look for turkey tails that are bright in color with a flexible texture. Older mushrooms may be faded and brittle. Harvest younger caps for tea or tinctures. Leave some behind to allow spores to drop for future growth.
With practice examining the pores, colors, texture, and shape you will soon be skilled at recognizing these woodland jewels. Correctly identifying turkey tail mushrooms ensures you can enjoy their potential health benefits and unique beauty. This guide provides the key characteristics to search for when foraging.
Violet Toothed Polypore – Trichaptum biforme
The second fungi we’ll compare to Turkey Tail is Violet Toothed Polypore, Trichaptum biforme. This is another fungi that is extremely common in the forest.
Like with Stereum, all that we have to do is check the underside and we’ll know right away that we don’t have Turkey Tail!
Below you’ll see the presence of teeth, hence the name of this mushroom.
Additionally, the cap is different as well. I think the most distinctive difference is that the margin of Trichaptum biforme tends to be purple to lilac in tone whereas Turkey Tail almost always has a vibrant white margin.
The last lookalike to compare to Turkey Tail is Gilled Polypore (or Maze Polypore). To me, this one looks the closest to Turkey Tail by the cap alone. However, you probably guessed it, step one will eliminate this as a Turkey Tail candidate immediately just like the previous ones!
That is it for the lookalikes that we’ll compare in this article. There are of course, many more, but if you use the Totally True Turkey Tail test you will be able to determine that they are not a true Turkey Tail!
The Totally True Turkey Tail Test
In an effort to not reinvent the wheel, I’m just going to link an article which already has created a high effective method for determining if the mushroom you are observing is indeed True Turkey Tail or a lookalike.
It is called the “Totally True Turkey Tail Test”, devised by Michael Kuo of MushroomExpert.com (I also highly recommend MushroomExpert for all of your fungi learning and identification needs!).
Here is an overview:
- The underside of the mushroom contain pores (that should be white if fresh) (See lookalikes for other types)
- There should be about 3–8 pores per millimeter (difficult to discern individual pore with the named eye), NOT 1–3 pores per millimeter (easy to see with the naked eye) See below guide for examples
- The cap should feel fuzzy, velvety, or finely hairy to the touch
- The fresh cap should be colorful, not grayish or whitish (Old specimens may not be colorful, see photos in article for examples)
- The cap has distinct color zones
- The mushroom should be thin (and flexible if fresh)
Get the
Text explanations are great, but a visual guide is far more helpful in this scenario!
You can download my FREE guide, Photographic Totally True Turkey Tail Test and have it sent straight to your inbox!
How to Identify Turkey Tail Mushrooms ( and distinguish from false lookalikes )
FAQ
How do you identify a false turkey tail mushroom?
So how can you tell if you have a “true” turkey tail? From the top side or cap of a mushroom, many of the bracket fungus species look quite similar. Turkey tail has a highly variable color range, most often within the brown to red range while false turkey tail often has a bright orange hue.
What is similar to a turkey tail fungus?
Lookalikes discussed here are: Stereum ostrea, Cerrena unicolor, and Trichaptum biforme.
Is turkey tail mushroom psychoactive?
The testing instrument did not have capability to test for muscimol, ibotenic acid, muscarine, or the mushrooms indicated as ingredients on the product labels, although those mushrooms (lion’s mane, chagas, reishi, cordyceps, maitake, and turkey tail) are not psychogenic.