Where to see ghost mushrooms in South Australia

Ghost mush­rooms get their name because they have an eerie glow. The mush­rooms’ cup-shaped fruit­ing bod­ies grow in clus­ters and some­times bou­quets on pine stumps, the base of liv­ing euca­lypt trees or along old roots, and can grow as big as 20 cen­time­tres across.

In day­light, they appear a creamy white colour, some­times with brown, black or pur­ple shad­ing, but at night we can see them glow­ing green. 

Like glow worms, fire flies, and sea sparkle, ghost mush­rooms pro­duce light known as bio­lu­mi­nes­cence through an inter­nal chem­i­cal reaction.

Where to find them 

The best place to find ghost mush­rooms in South Aus­tralia is in Glen­coe For­est near Mount Gambier. 

Walk the Lime­stone Coast offers guid­ed tours in May and June, tak­ing you to the best spots to see these fas­ci­nat­ing fungi. 

You will have to be feel­ing a bit spon­ta­neous. Due to the frag­ile nature of the mush­rooms, tour dates are only released a few days in advance. 

After wet weath­er, you may be lucky enough to find these amaz­ing fun­gi in oth­er parts of SA as well, typ­i­cal­ly near the base of the trunk or in crevice’s of native euca­lypt species, but espe­cial­ly where there are pine trees. 

Over the past few years, they have been seen in the Ade­laide Hills, includ­ing in Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park and Scott Creek Con­ser­va­tion Park, as well as Padth­away Con­ser­va­tion Park in the South East and even on Eyre Penin­su­la, so keep an eye out next time you’re on a walk. 

For recent sight­ings, you can vis­it iNat­u­ral­ist – you may even like to put your cit­i­zen sci­ence hat on and record sight­ings for yourself. 

Keep your­self safe around mushrooms 

Ghost mush­rooms are for look­ing at, not eat­ing. Like many wild fun­gi, they are poi­so­nous and con­sum­ing them can make you very ill. 

Vis­it SA Heath for more infor­ma­tion about stay­ing safe around wild mushrooms. 

Want to learn more about fun­gi? Try this post on 10 types you might see in the Ade­laide Hills, and learn more about why it’s a good idea to get your mush­rooms from the mar­ket instead of the field.

Main image cour­tesy of Ock­ert le Roux.