Comment
The Hericium
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Because of the somewhat dry weather, the
first half of this year did not produce many mushrooms in this area.
Only a few were worth noting. The best hunting I had was on a trip this
winter to Santa Barbara. This trip gave me a large basket of the Golden
Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) and a very large Lion’s Mane (Hericium
erinaceus). Both were cooked up immediately after we got back
and gave us some very tasty treats.
Both mushrooms are found
in this area. I found the Hericium here last year, but so
far have only found the White Chanterelle (C. subalbidus).
One mushroom in late November of last year was
a new one for me, the Phlogiotis helvelloides (Apricot
Jelly Mushroom.) Another new one this winter was the Pseudohydnum gelatinosum
(Toothed Jelly Mushroom.) Both
are considered edible, but with little or no taste. The
Apricot Jelly Mushroom looked like a small red flower
from the distance. The brownish-gray Toothed Jelly
Mushroom is noted for the small teeth covering the entire
mushroom. It was the only mushroom I found after the
first snow. It looked like a severed tongue.
Findings, May
(top)
Gyromitra
montanum, © Michael Wood
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By May, most of the snow
had melted around the area, and I concentrated on trying
to find the Snow Mushrooms (Gyromitra montana), and hopefully, some morels. The Snow Mushrooms
are the ones that, when small, look like walnuts next to
the snow. I wanted to gather enough for a meal this time.I didnt find anything in town, but received a tip about some mushrooms that
by their description sounded like Snow Mushrooms, were
spotted at a higher elevation, around 5100 ft..
I found a few Snow
Mushrooms (one the size of a softball), saw a few
scattered of the Snow bank Orange Peel Fungus (Caloscypha
fulgens), and also collected a couple of the Pigs
Ear mushrooms (Discina perlata), the brown, flat
mushrooms that look like flattened cup fungi.
I cooked up the Snow Mushrooms in
a little olive oil and thought they tasted pretty good. I wanted
to wait until I later found a bigger batch of Pigs ears
before I tried eating them. When I returned to the area, I
found enough of them to make an omelet. They tasted so good that
I think I will be very happy if I find more!
We also found two small Yellow
Coral Mushrooms, which probably are the Ramaria rasilispora. I
didnt try to eat any of these. They were packed with dirt
and looked like they would be much too hard to clean.
In all of the trips to the same area,
I only found a few small morels. But on one trip closer to town, I found one large morel that made
up for all that I didnt find. Here is that account from my
log:
Thursday, May 20th:
Late this afternoon I decided to go up the mountain.
I thought I'd look around for more
Snow Mushrooms. I didn't find any. Just before I got back to
where I parked the truck, I spotted a large patch of green under
some pines and decided to walk towards it. On the way, I spotted
a bright red snow plant just emerging from the duff. As I got
closer, I spotted more and more snow plants, and I felt this
might be a good spot to look for fungi fruitings.
There it was. A solitary black
sentinel, a wrinkled conehead, a fairly large Black Morel. It
seemed to be standing at attention waiting patiently for me to
notice it. When I moved it slightly to see if it was getting too
old to pick, it broke cleanly from the soil. I decided this was
the biggest AND freshest I had ever found. It turned out to be 5
1/4" tall and 2 1/4" wide.
I made a delicious omelet with it,
accompanied by a sole Shitake from the garden I had picked
earlier from an old buried mushroom log I had received as a
birthday present, but which never produced much.
Finding one good morel is probably
as good or better than finding several small puny ones.
Read this (top)
The following is an excerpt from
an editorial by Michael Boom (with his permission) from the Mycena
News, the newsletter for the San Francisco Mycological
Society.
I think anyone who picks mushrooms
in the wild should read it very thoughtfully.
From his column Editor's Rant,
February 1998:
- Uprooting, overturning, and
smashing mushrooms that you don't want is wasteful. A
mushroom stands upright so that it can drop spores and
protect its spore-bearing underside from the rain. An
upside-down waterlogged mushroom is not a successful
spore disperser, and is ruined for anyone who wants to
examine it closely, photograph it, or eat it if it's
edible. If you pick a mushroom to examine it and decide
you don't need it, put it back in the ground stem down so
it looks like it was never picked. Better yet, feel the
mushroom before you pick it. If you're looking for
boletes and feel gills under the cap, there's no need to
pick it.
- Leaving holes in the duff is
a good way to dry out and harm the mycelium in dry
weather. If you pick up duff to check out a mushrump, put
the duff back when you're done. A moist, healthy mycelium
produces more mushrooms than a dry, shriveled mycelium.
- Trashing unwanted mushrooms
looks like hell. Even if it's not environmentally
damaging (the worms will eventually eat up the trashed
mushrooms), it's esthetically damaging, and let's face
it: most of us are out in the woods to enjoy the beauty
of our experience. Mushroomers making a mess of fungi in
the woods can kick up resentment, something that
inevitably blows up in our faces when land- use
authorities hold hearings on whether or not to allow
mushroom picking.
- Leaving your mushroom
trimmings uncovered tells the rest of the world what
you've been up to. If you want everyone to know exactly
where you found each mushroom and just when you've been
there, then by all means leave your trimmings in plain
sight. If you'd rather keep it a private experience and
picking spot, bury the trimmings under the duff.
The upshot of the
matter is this: making sure you leave no trace of your mushroom
picking helps you, your fellow mushroom hunters, and the
mushrooms themselves. Be an artist when you pick, and if you see
someone rooting like a pig, see if you can enlighten them.
Here's hoping your
hunting is fruitful as well as artful.
- Michael Boom
Autumn List (top)
The following is an updated list
of most of the mushrooms I believe I have found here
during the autumn months of September, October, and November.
This list includes those found
near here during the fall of 1997 and 1998:
Agaricus bitorquis, Tork
(edible and choice)
Albatrellus avellaneus. Sheep
Polypore (edible)
Albatrellus ellisii. Greening
Goat's Foot (edible)
Amanita muscaria, Fly Agaric
(poisonous)
Amanita silvicola, Western
Woodland Amanita (edibility unknown)
Amanita vaginata, Grisette
(edible)
Armillaria albolanaripes,
Sheathed Armillaria (edible)
Armillariella mellea, Honey
Mushroom (edible and choice)
Boletopsis subsquamosa, Kurokawa
(edible)
Boletus aereus, Queen Bolete
(edible and choice)
Boletus brevipes, Short-Stemmed
Slippery Jack (edible and good)
Boletus erythropus (poisonous to
some)
Boletus pinophilus, King Bolete
(edible and choice)
Boletus regius, Red-capped
Boletus (edible)
Boletus subtomentosus, Boring
Brown Bolete (edible)
Boletus zelleri, Zeller's Boltete
(edible)
Cantharellus subalbidus, White
Chanterelle (edible and choice)
Chroogomphus psuedovinicolor,
Robust Pine Spike (edible)
Chroogomphus rutilus, Pine Spike
(edible)
Clavariadelphus truncatus,
Truncate Club Coral (edible)
Coprinus comatus, Shaggy Mane
(edible and good)
Cortinarius sanguineus, Blood-red
Cortinarius (edibility unknown)
Gomphidius glutonosus, Glutinous
Gomphidius (edible)
Gomphidius subroseus, Rosy
Gomphidius (edible)
Gomphus floccosus, Wooly
Chanterelle, Scaly Chanterelle (not recommended)
Hebeloma crustuliniforme, Poison
Pie (poisonous)
Hericium erinaceus, Lion's Mane
(edible)
Hydnellum peckii, Strawberries
and Cream (inedible)
Hydnum imbricatum, Shingled Hedgehogm, Hawks Wing (edible)
Hygrophorus agathosmus, Gray
Almond Waxy cap (edible)
Hygrophorus eburneus, Cowboy's
Handkerchief (edible)
Hygrophorus gliocyclus, Glutinous
Waxy Cap (edible)
Hygrophorus pudorinus, Spruce
Waxy Cap (edible)
Inocybe sororia, Corn Silk
Inocybe (poisonous)
Lactarius deliciosus, Delicious
Milk Cap, Saffron Milk Cap, Sanguinine (edible and good)
Lactarius rubrilacteus, Bleeding
Mik Cap, Sanquinine (edible and good)
Lepiota castenea, Petite Parasol
(poisonous)
Leucopaxillus albissimus, Large
White Leucopaxillus (not recommended)
Leucopaxillus amarus, Bitter
Brown Leucopaxillus (inedible)
Melanoleuca melaleuca (edible)
Naematoloma capnoides, Conifer
Tuft (edible)
Naematoloma fascinulare, Sulfur
Tuft (poisonous)
Phlogiotis helvelloides, Apricot
Jelly Mushroom (edible)
Pluerotus ostreatus, Oyster
Mushroom (edible and good)
Pluteus cervinusDeer Mushroom
(edible)
Polyporus elegans, Black Foot
(inedible)
Ramaria strasserii, Coral
Mushroom (edible)
Russula albonigra, Blackening
Russula (not recommended)
Russula rosacea, Rosy Russula (to
be avoided)
Russula xerampelina, Shrimp
Russula (edible)
Strobilomyces floccopus, Old Man
of the Woods (edible)
Suillus lakei, Western Painted
Suillus (edible)
Suillus pungens, Pungent Slippery
Jack (edible)
Tricholoma flavovirens, Man on
Horseback (edible)
Tricholoma leucophyllum (edible)
Tricholoma saponaceum, Soapy
Tricholoma (inedible)
The added words "and
choice" and "and good" are my own additions for
most of those that I have tasted.
Last Issues Update (top)
Because autumn is just around the
corner, here is more information about some of those mushrooms I
have found here during that period:
Russula xerampelina (Shrimp
Russula) This mushroom is mainly characterized by its
shrimp-like odor when mature. Other distinctive characteristics
include a brittle stalk that breaks like chalk, cap viscid when
wet, a reddish tinged stalk that usually stains yellow, then
brown or grayish when handled or bruised, yellow spore print,
mild taste, and gills that turn brown to gray with age. The color
is EXTREMELY variable which can make field identification very
difficult. They can be can be found with caps that are described
in David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified as "red to
dark red, purple, or brownish-olive, but often laced with (or
sometimes entirely) green, brown, yellow-brown, purple-brown,
etc. "
I usually grab an older, big one
and smell it first. If it smells fishy, I give it a taste. If it
tastes mild, I will take some home to see if the other
characteristics appear. I always recheck my books. Because they
were so plentiful last year in certain areas, I usually just went
back to the same area where I had picked them before.
Of all the russulas, it is perhaps
the best flavored and best textured, especially the young
buttons. Remember, because some mild tasting russulas can make
you sick, BE SURE OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION!
Albatrellus ellisii (Greening
Goat's Foot) This is another mushroom that doesn't budge when
you nudge it. It is a very firm-fleshed polyporaceae, where the
pores (usually) do not separate easily from the cap. I found it
here on the ground under some pines near Round Valley Lake.
The caps were yellow-brown with an
off-center stalk and white decurrent pores that stained yellow
green when I rubbed them. The spore print was white.
David Arora's book, Mushrooms
Demystified lists it as edible with a mild flavor and
pleasantly chewy texture. So, always willing to try a taste, I
tried cooking some following the preparation suggestions from the
book (i.e., cooking slowly and thoroughly). I added beef broth to
allow me to leave it simmer in a covered pan while I tended to
other matters.
It tasted okay.
Boletus zelleri (Zellers
bolete) This is a very distinctive edible bolete, with its
black cap, red stalk, and yellow pores. There is nothing that
grows around here that comes close to that description, so it is
fairly easy to identify (check your books though!). I have found
most of mine north of town.
It is listed as edible and highly
rated by some, but Arora feels that it cooks up slimy and
insipid. I think, like all mushrooms, it depends on where they
are picked. The ones I picked here tasted okay to me, and I will
probably try them again.
Suillus brevipes (Short-stemmed
Slippery Jack) The Suillus genus is usually characterized by
the slimy cap and glandular dots on the stalk. The S. brevipes
that grows around here is no exception. As its name implies, it
has a short stalk which is usually very firm. The caps of the
ones I find here were dark brown to yellow brown and very slimy
when moist. The pores are usually white when young, are somewhat
small, do not stain blue, and there is never a veil present. The
flesh is firm and almost white when young.
It is probably the best of our
slippery jacks here, as long as you peel the skin before cooking
it.
I'd imagine they would also be
good if cooked using the following recipe for cooking boletes:.
A Recipe for Cooking Boletes
Here is the picture John
sent me of some of the boletes that he uses for his
recipe (probably B. pinophilus)
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I received
the following from John Laugenour, who spends much of the
non-winter months foraging for mushrooms south of Quincy:
Our favorite way to
serve Boletes (Kings) is to slice them 3/8 inch
thick, dip them in egg, beer and bread crumbs. We
then just brown them in butter, place them on a
cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Add
salt and pepper to taste.
We serve them with
cocktails. They have the texture of oysters. I think
you would like them.
Make sure of Your
Identification, Part III
Part of the identification process
is making a note (paper or mental) of the conditions where you
found a new mushroom: side of road, grassy area, forest, what it
was growing in (earth, tree), what it was growing with (type of
trees), and for later reference, what time of the year and the
location where you found it. Each bit of information will make it
easier to make an accurate identification and find it again the
following year.
Another important thing to
remember is to try to limit the number of new mushrooms each
trip. The first time I started finding mushrooms in this area, I
was so impressed by the number of unrecognized mushrooms, that I
easily filled my basket! The problem is, is that keying new
mushrooms can be a slow, tedious process, especially for an
amateur like me.
So I only identified four or five
new ones that day.
Here is some information I copied
(with permission) from the book, Identifying Mushrooms to
Genus I: Macroscopic features, 2nd edition, by Dr. Largent, Mad River Press:
In order to identify fungi,
one must be able to understand the features used for this
purpose. Since the mycelium of the various species of fungi
are so similar to one another the features of the fruiting
body are used exclusively for those fungi that form this
structure.
Almost every conceivable
feature of the fruiting body has been used to identify the
various species: macroscopic features, features visible only
with the aid of a microscope, the reaction of the fruiting
body to various chemical reagents, and even the detection of
special compounds using paper chromatography. Obviously, some
features are more easily used, and give more useful
information than others. The novice will be able to tell
which mushrooms are poisonous and which are edible by
learning no more than spore color and macroscopic
characteristics, and this book is designed to teach him
how to accomplish this.
Though the book is pretty
technical, I would recommend getting a copy of it if you are
serious about eating or keying new mushrooms. You can order the
book directly from the publisher. To obtain the latest edition of
the book, or a catalog which includes several reference books
pertaining to natural history and many books just on mushrooms,
you can contact the publisher at:
Mad River Press
141 Carter Lane
Eureka, CA 95503-9549
707-443-2947
Featured Mushroom, Ramaria
botrytis (Pink-Tipped Coral Mushroom)
For this issue I decided to
feature the Pink-Tipped Coral Mushroom or Ramaria botrytis. I
really want to talk about the R. strasseri, which is
similar but has tan-colored tips, and is the one that I have
found here. However, the R. botrytis is usually the mushroom you
find when you go through the keying process. The R. strasseri is
listed in the comments section of the R. botrytis.
As I mentioned in a previous
issue, the R. strasseri looks much more like cauliflower then the
Cauliflower Mushroom (Sparassis crispa). I think the pictures I
have seen for the Cauliflower Mushroom make it look more like a
plate of linguini pasta.
I have found the R. strasseri
almost everywhere around here
It is listed as edible (and
choice, in some books) but may have laxative effects on some
individuals.
I cooked up a small batch,
discarding the tips as suggested in one book, and found the taste
and texture to somewhat like crab meat. I did not have any
ill effects from eating it. I will collect more when I find it
again.
Here is the link to the Ramaria
botrytis mushroom on the Mykoweb website: Ramaria
botrytis
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