Edible wild mushrooms are more than just your next meal Source: Chris Evans, Forestry Extension and Research Specialist, Illinois Extension GALESBURG — While this song telling of the miraculous feats of edible mushrooms was part of a fictional story, it does underscore that we eat a lot of wild mushrooms. Commercially available, buttons, portobellos, shiitakes, and other varieties just aren't enough for some and foraging for wild mushrooms is a favorite pastime throughout Illinois. Morel mushrooms definitely rule the spring, but there are quite a number of other edible mushrooms that can be found growing in Illinois, including pheasant backs, oysters, chicken-of-the woods, chanterelles, lion’s mane, black trumpets, and my personal favorite - the hen-of-the-woods.