Found this on the side of a downed cottonwood tree. Is it good?

Looks like it has fins on the underside. That would mean no.

Looks like a oyster mushroom to me. I like them, they smell kinda fishy when you break them.

It does have fins. I ditnt eat it.

Looks like an oyster mushroom to me, perfectly edible and pretty tasty. Fins are not a sign of it being bad for you.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&a...242&bih=572

Love them oysters

That there is some fine eats! It's an oyster for sure, no toxic look-a-likes, 'least round here.

Sauteed they taste like morels, no dirt contact, easy to clean. Heck, better than morels actually.

I agree with you that they are better then morels. and more abundant.

Nice thing about those oysters is how clean and how often they grow.
Many flushes a year from early summer to fall.

All mushrooms are edible. Some of them will kill you however. Don't do what you don't know about.
Trust me on that! I spent 3 days in the ICU for being arrogant. The doctors told me that there was a distinct possibility that this could be terminal, but the good news was that a liver transplant might save me.
They sent in a guy with a do not resuscitate waiver form if I wanted to sign it, and then another guy came in and told me that they had a chaplain available if wanted one.
I spent 36 hours not knowing if I was going to die or not.
Whatever they pumped into me for 4 days saved me, and I had no permanent damage to my liver.
Carry on as you see fit.

so you not going to tell use what kind of mushroom you eat? Or why you liver went bad?

Are those the same ones that get hard and woody when past their prime? I've seen a lot of fungus growth on trees around here at times, but it seems like the majority of what looks like that are hard as a piece of wood.

I'm with Carl on this one.

I bought a mushroom book for the above reason. Lots of look a likes out there that will kill you...or try. It can be pretty complicated if you don't have the proper research material with you....if any doubt, you need to do a spore test.

Russian roulette

I don't think God made mushrooms for us to eat

He made a lot of Mushrooms for us to eat. That is one reason he gave us a brain. So we could find out the good ones from the bad ones. Lot of mushrooms are easy to know. Two of the best and easiest are Chicken of the woods and hen of the woods. Little puffballs are good to eat if you like tasteless mushrooms.Lot of Oysters like the ones shown are real good eating. Shagy mane mushrooms are great eating and easy to identify. Lot of the ink caps are good to eat. You just must get them when they are young. They generally grow in what we call fairy rings. They are always hollow on the stems.

I love giant puff balls, no doubt what they are when you find them, slice like a loaf of bread and fry them up in some butter & maple syrup.

I have heard the woody ones called turkey tails.

A lot of very good mushrooms have fins/gills on the underside. Shiitake being one of them along with the oyster mushrooms.

I found what I believe is a dryads saddle this weekend but not sure. I don't know how to load a picture on here but would love to email a picture to one of you experts to help with identification if possible. Just pm me with your email and I'll send a picture. I won't eat it just on what you tell me but would really like to know.

I would say Oyster at first glance.
One thing that helps to ID is if you can take pictures of the bottom of the mushroom also.
The underside is often the extra identification that is needed.
Most any mushroom forum (F/B , ect.) wont attempt to ID it for you with out this added.
Not a mushroom expert but most that grow on trees are safe ( although not always tasty)
BTW I have eaten thousands that look like that.
And always remember some people have zero tolerance for any mushroom,
Use common sense when attempting to consume.
Your body has a natural indicator ( bitterness).
But some mushrooms just the taste to the tip of tongue is fatal !!!
Google look alike types .
I as others have given way from Morel's to all the summer/fall varieties.
Hands down favorite is "Hen Of The Woods"
2 seasons ago I photographed / videoed easily 2 tons of them.
I know it sounds far fetched, but I have pics or videos of all, Quit counting at #804.
Harvesting a few hundred lbs of the freshest for drying/ freezing/ pickling.
Last year I couldn't find a single one to harvest ?

This is one of my favorites , marked 10/23/2016.
Note says I found 39 that day.
106 for that week.