Mushroom Hunting

Day 28: Even if I could identify this mushroom and it turned out to be "edible and choice," I would be hard pressed to find enough of them to fill a teaspoon. This has been without a doubt the worst mushrooming season in the fifty-plus years I've been gathering them. We've had heat, we've had dry...and when the rains finaly did come, they fell in a 'shroom-shattering torrent, had there been any 'shrooms to shatter. I have not seen a Shaggymane. I have not found a single Chanterelle. My yard should be full of  poisonous Stropharias, wormy green-staining Suilllus, antler-like "Blah Coral" and digestion-disturbing Russulas. There is nothing, save a dozen or so examples of this minuscule species. If, as I often hypothesize, fungus makes the world go 'round, we're in dire straits.

Tree Shells

Day 118: "We smells tree shells by the tree core." I'm not going to hazard a guess as to the identity of these blush-pink beauties. I was simply taken by the elegance of their spiralling form. They have gills and no stipes, and the largest was approximately an inch laterally. The length was somewhat more, but it was hard to tell where one left off and another one began. They were growing on a live Doug fir on the Trail of the Shadows in Longmire.

Walking around Trail of the Shadows, I realize I am not as fully recovered from the January plague as I thought. My co-workers even commented that I didn't seem to be my usual perky self. I was glad to be back at my desk, glad to get out for that brief walk in the forest. Spring is coming, and there are rare plants to find. I need to get back on my game, and there's nothing quite like the beauty of Nature to inspire me.

Fungus Makes The World Go 'Round

Day 91: This is a mushroom, i.e., a fungus. That's as far out on the limb as I'm going to go with respect to identifying it. I may not know its name, but what I do know is that it's doing an important job...one of many important jobs the fungal horde performs. Several years ago, I removed the diseased "Whatzit Tree" (unidentified flowering something) in my front yard, and since that time, I've been stump-grinding the remaining mound with the lawnmower until I've almost got it to the point that the blades will clear the wood without making horrible noises. Mr. Fungus is going to finish the job for me. He and his kin have taken hold and are happily sending out mycorrhizal filaments which will penetrate the remainder of the wood and break it down into nutrients. It's a slow process, but they'll get the job done. The deeper I delve into mycorrhizal relationships, the more convinced I become that fungus makes the world go 'round.

Verpa Bohemica Anatomy

Day 186: Quoting one field guide regarding false morels, "This is a really variable group, with toxic and edible species resembling each other confusingly. The chance for error is great. In addition, many people are adversely affected by some of the edible species...the toxins are not completely known, but the effect of one of them, monamethylhydrazine (MMH) in the bloodstream, is severe gastrointestinal disturbance and, in some cases, death." It goes on to explain that Verpa bohemica (above) "is eaten by many but it does make some people ill."

At 50 MPH, it's impossible to make a firm identification of a mushroom, so when I travelled the road again a week later and saw that the specimens had multiplied, I found a spot to turn around and went back to check them out. To my great disappointment, I saw that they were not the Morels I'd been hoping to have for dinner, but were Verpa bohemica instead. Nope, not gonna take a chance. I've been sick on one purportedly "edible and choice" mushroom (the Hericium commonly called "bear's-head) which comes with a similar caution. It was not an experience I care to repeat. If there is one rule to govern the gathering and eating of mushrooms, it is this: Better safe than sorry!

That said, I do love my Morels when I can find them, but in this case, I was out of luck. Since these two families of mushroom resemble each other superficially, I picked one so I could show my readers how to identify the suspect Verpas. Field guides will tell you that the cap of a Morel is "pitted" and that of Verpa is "wrinkled," but as you can tell from looking at this photo, that distinction is not one which can be readily made by most people. A much more reliable indicator is the attachment of the cap. In the cross-section, note how the cap of Verpa is attached only at the top of the stipe, like a lampshade. Almost without exception, the true Morel's cap will be attached to the stalk rather than opening out into a skirt.

Lichens And 'Shrooms

Day 26: "Perspective," I remind myself. "It's all about keeping things in the proper perspective." When I start to lose my perspective, I go for a nature walk. The lichens and 'shrooms bring me down to earth, both figuratively and literally. Barring a lahar, they'll be there tomorrow and the day after, and the week after that, and if they don't come back next year, something else will take their place: equally beautiful, equally vital in its own niche. I am humbled by their perseverance and resilience as, on a whole, they adapt to changes in their circumstance, and I try to carry away with me the lesson which they silently put forth. Do I succeed? Not always, because I am human, but the lesson remains where I can refer to it time and again until it gives me some modicum of ease. Perspective. I need a walk.

Textbook Specimen

Makeup Day 9: With my eye on the goal of Pinnacle Peak saddle, I walked right past this field-guide specimen of Amanita muscaria and only noticed it as I came down the last few steps of the trail before reaching the Stevens Canyon Road. Only once before have I found such a picture-perfect example, and that one fostered the name my husband and I gave to his grandparents' ranch when we inherited it. "Toadstool Acres" was what we called our place, and the photos I took during the late autumn before we moved in became the centerpiece of our Christmas cards that year. Nowadays, I laughingly call this species the "Mario mushroom," and it is easily one of the most widely recognized fungi in the world. The old hippies among my readers will remember it by its reputation as a hallucinogen, a detail which led quite a few members of that era to experiment with it despite the very high potential for incurring liver damage from ingesting the alkaloids. Although not deadly in the short term like its cousin, Amanita phalloides, this pretty little toadstool will get you in the end.

Amanita Muscaria

Day 362: Easily one of the most recognizable mushrooms in the world, Amanita muscaria's bright red cap has lent itself to countless cartoon representations of what a "toadstool" looks like. So what's the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool? Some people use "toadstool" to describe poisonous species like our little friend here, but you would be equally correct if you referred to A. muscaria as a "mushroom."

Edible And Choice

Day 205: Driving by at 55 MPH, I said, "That looked like Morels!" I pulled into my driveway less than five minutes later, hung the camera around my neck, grabbed a bag and a pocket knife, and headed back down the road on foot. Halfway to the site, I remarked aloud, "I'm going to get there and it's going to have been a whole bunch of little brown birds."

But they weren't birds. They weren't leaves. They were Morchella angusticeps, one of Spring's greatest treasures. Okay, maybe they aren't quite as prized as M. esculenta, but they run a very close second. Morels are an excellent species for neophytes to mushroom collecting because they are all edible. They fruit only in the spring, and are easy to identify by the deep, angular "pits" in the cap. I picked a dinner-sized selection of young caps, leaving older and immature specimens to propagate or grow into a second meal.

How do you prepare Morels? Soak them in water (salted or not) for ten to twenty minutes to remove any bugs that may be hiding in the folds, then cut them in half, removing the stems, and give them another short soak. Squeeze them firmly to remove excess water, then fry in butter with a little garlic powder. Add a splash of your favourite white wine when they are tender. Serve with salt and pepper to taste.

Pholiota

Day 30: Without microscopic examination, Pholiota squarrosa and Pholiota squarrosoides cannot be differentiated reliably, and although both varieties were once believed to be edible and may be cited as such in older field guides, it is now known that these mushrooms can cause severe abdominal distress and vomiting, especially if consumed with alcohol. Also known as the Shaggy Pholiota, they are relatively uncommon outside deciduous forest. These specimens were located at the edge of Longmire Meadow in Mount Rainier National Park near a stand of young alders.

Elfin Saddle

Day 26: This has been one of the best mushroom seasons I've seen in a long time. Oh, I'm not necessarily talking about edibles. I simply mean that there has been a wider variety and a greater number of fungi spring up in our local forests. This is Helvella lacunosa, a fairly common species in the Pacific Northwest. It is characterised by a lacunose (ribbed and perforated) stalk and a purplish-grey to black wrinkled cap. The common name "Elfin Saddle" makes me glad I'm not an elf. That would be a bumpy ride!

Pardon Me, Your Slip Is Showing

Day 21: First let me say that I did not place that piece of lichen on the cap of this mushroom. This is exactly how I discovered it. Today along the Yelm-Tenino trail, the mushrooms were abundant and varied, but of all I saw, this specimen was the most beautiful. Based on what I observed in other examples, I believe it is a member of the Stropharia family, although the annulus is not readily apparent in this photo. Others exhibited a distinct "ring" beneath the cap. The gills were dusky lavender, and some specimens showed significant scales on the stipe. The "lace" is typical of Stropharias: "Pardon me, your slip is showing."

Taking the mushroom tour today brought back a lot of good memories. My late husband and I lived only a few miles from the future trail, although in those days, it was still an active railroad line. Our property had been his grandparents', and when we inherited it and started making preparations to move in, we often took walks on the acreage to familiarize ourselves with the unique ecology of western Washington prairie. On one particular occasion, we found a dozen or more perfect specimens of Amanita muscaria, the "Mario mushroom" with the red cap flecked with white spots. The species became our mascot for the family ranch, which we then named "Toadstool Acres," although it wasn't the only Amanita which occurred there, nor even the most prevalent. Each walk in the autumn woods turned up something new and generally suspect. Occasionally, we'd find something we knew was edible: boletas, shaggymanes, and one spring, a solitary morel which chose to grow at the very edge of our concrete stoop. Some years, the muscarias failed to appear; other times, they grew in profusion. We never determined what conditions they favoured.

In other mycological pursuits, Bruce proved himself to be a superb "truffle hound," rooting out the best and biggest before my mom or I had added a single 'shroom to our baskets. He had a nose for boletas which couldn't be matched, and frequently out-picked us two to one. Riding through Mushroom Country today, I had to wonder what he could have found for dinner while I was grubbing around on my knees taking pictures of "toadstools" you wouldn't want to eat. I bet he'd have come up with something.

Footnote: I am almost certain this is Stropharia ambigua, a mushroom common in Pacific Northwest conifer forests. It is reputed to be edible, but "tastes like old leaves" and therefore is not desirable.

Teenage Mutant Ninja...

Day 20: Cowabunga, dudes! This bodacious yard 'shroom reminded me of my all-time favorite super-heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's a Suillus or a Boleta and therefore potentially edible, but I chose to let sleeping turtles lie. I don't want to go down in history as the successor to the Shredder.

Yard 'Shrooms

 Day 5: It's the time of the year when my yard sprouts mushrooms by the hundred and over the years, I've never found any I knew for certain were edible. These, a species of Russula, are not, but they are abundant in my yard and always put me in mind of my mother whenever I see them.

When I was young, my mom taught me to recognize many savoury 'shrooms, mostly those classified as "beginner species," and the family often ate the provender from Nature's larder without questioning her mycological skills. However, her ability to identify mushrooms reliably came into question after I had reached adulthood and caught her fixing herself a meal of "blewits." The white stalks and blue caps told me immediately that they were Russulas and that she had made a potentially dangerous misidentification. After that, I never trusted her IDs again.

These days, I stick with chanterelles, a few particular boletes, shaggymanes and the occasional spring morel. For all of the mistake she made in mushrooming, my mother gave me one piece of advice which is unshakable in its accuracy: Better safe than sorry! And that goes double where 'shrooms are concerned.

Mycology 101

Day 358: It's autumn, and the wild mushrooms are springing up everywhere, so I want to post a warning for any of you who are thinking of gathering Nature's provender for your dinner table. There are many species of 'shroom which are very difficult to tell apart, and a mistaken identification can kill you, or make you very sick either now or in the long term by causing organ damage. Some are so lethal that a single mispicked mushroom can contaminate the edibles in your basket, so be sure you know what you're doing when you go collecting.

I don't mean to put you off mushroom hunting. In fact, there are a dozen or so delicious "beginner species" which can hardly be mistaken for anything else, and I'll put my Chanterelles up against your Portobellos or Shiitakes any day. They fry well, and make a delicious cream of mushroom soup. That said, if I'd found one growing alongside this Amanita, I'd have left it right there in the interest of living long enough to enjoy another season of picking what I know to be safe to eat.