#mushroom hunting

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Found some Conocybe filaris/Pholiotina rugosa/Conocybe rugosa--the name depends on who you talk to. Regardless of what you call it, this is one of the world's deadliest fungi in the world. Unlike most LBMs (little brown mushrooms), these tiny things contain the same liver-dissolving amatoxins as the deadly Amanitas (death cap and the various destroying angels). I don't get to see them very often, so it was a treat finding them along the trail with their annulus rings intact.

[melgillman]

Chanterelle season is here! Here’s the page I drew about them in my brand new mushroom hunting zine. You can read the whole comic for free or pay-what-you-want: https://ko-fi.com/s/6c16d1553e

[memoriesofthepark]

Pink cup lichen 》 Cladonia peziziformis

My first cladonia lichen! So gorgeous!!

Found growing on the stones of a fire pit.

Caddo Lake State Park, Texas, 3 Aug. 2024

[lavender-appalachia]

[herbalnature]

Check out these vibrant Gliophorus psittacinus mushrooms sprouting from the earthy bed of a British Columbia forest. Their whimsical shapes and colors seem like little treasures hidden amidst the forest floor.

[turtlesandfrogs]

I haven't been posting much because this mushroom season has been incredible, and incredibly abundant! And I may have been spending every spare moment I had either foraging, double checking identifications, or looking up recipes. Here, have some pictures:

[fungusqueen]

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus gilbertsonii) I found by chance when my friend was running late for our beach date. I had heard there was a small local farm on this street and decided to drive around looking for it; I spotted this growing on a big eucalyptus tree! I happened to walk up just as the homeowner was pulling in her trash cans and we started talking about the fungus...she already knew what it was and told me I could harvest as much as I wanted!

There's a rumor/myth in the mushroom community (also written in a lot of mushroom guides) that say you shouldn't eat this mushroom growing on eucalyptus trees...because allegedly something in the eucalyptus can enter the mushroom and make you sick (with short-term gastrointestinal distress). I asked the homeowner about this and she says this mushroom has been fruiting on her tree for the past 10 years and she's eaten/cooked it and never had any issue.

I harvested some/set it aside for myself with the intention of doing my own "research" (cooking and eating) to debunk the myth but I haven't had time to cook it yet.

I brought some for 4 of my friends, with the warning that they may experience gastrointestinal distress, but they are still willing participants in my impromptu "study". One even told me he hoped it might give him diarrhea (because he's been constipated), so honestly this type of honesty and willingness to get diarrhea is the best case scenario for my "sample group". I will keep everyone updated here because I'm genuinely curious and I do intend to "study" people's alleged reaction to eating this fungus.

Anyway, the homeowner was lovely and I suggested she consult an arborist to test if her tree may be dying. This fungus causes brown rot, which decays the cellulose of the wood it grows in. She expressed concerns about it falling on her house or onto the street if it was dead inside.

I plan to revist next year to see if it's still fruting and if the tree is still there!

[mariekonrad]

we went hunting for mushrooms, but found wild herbs instead, alcublas, spain / oktober 24

[truepinkshape]

Aesthetics of the inedible...

[sunflowerrwitch]

Barlow Trail // Sandy, Oregon

[rebeccathenaturalist]

For those who don't know, the death cap (Amanita phalloides) is one of five mushrooms, along with four Amanita species known colloquially as destroying angels, that I refer to collectively as the "deadly Amanitas". They all contain amatoxins that cause massive cell death in your liver within a few hours of consuming them, and half a cap can kill a healthy adult. There's no reliable cure, and all that can be offered is supportive care in the hopes you don't end up needing a liver transplant or simply dying.

This is why I bang the drum of identification so hard in my foraging classes. It is NOT enough to just look at a bunch of photos of mushrooms; you HAVE to be able to carry out a detailed observation of the physical characteristics of a mystery mushroom and then be able to use your observations in conjunction with LOTS of tools (not just one app or one field guide) to arrive at a positive I.D. You don't need to be a scientist to do this; you just need patience, critical thinking skills, and lots of practice.

I also want to emphasize, once again, that you should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use an ID app as your only tool, even if it's a really solid one like iNaturalist. Apps can be wrong more than occasionally, and I treat iNat as a way to get some suggested species to look into that might match my mystery mushroom, not the end point of identification.

There's no minimum number of field guides you should use, either; I've heard the assertion that if three field guides agree it must be right, but what if there's been new information that's come out since they were published? Apps, field guides, websites, blogs, journal articles, online foraging groups, other foragers in-person, classes--these are all the many resources available to you, and if you are relying on only one, you're much more likely to end up with a dangerous misidentification.

I see my job as a foraging instructor as doing my very best to make sure you don't end up as yet another cautionary tale, not just show you a bunch of pretty pictures. We have multiple examples of people who, for example, misidentified a poisonous mushroom with an app and ended up seriously regretting it. We don't know the whole story here, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what occurred in this instance.

Be careful, be thorough, and when in doubt, throw it out. You can also contact me any time if you want my opinion on the ID of a particular mushroom--but DO NOT take my word as your only source!

[melgillman]

A page from my new mushroom hunting zine! dinosaur egg mushrooms are real and they are delicious

Check out the whole zine here!

[memoriesofthepark]

Two different species of Lentinus found in the park this morning.

Spring polypore 》 Lentinus arcularius (images 1-5)

Fringed sawgill 》 Lentinus crinitus (images 6-10)

This was my first encounter with a pored Lentinus, very exciting!

Southeast Texas, 1 Sep. 2024

[herbalnature]

A touch of whimsy in the woods of British Columbia with these vibrant Gliophorus psittacinus mushrooms, their glistening caps peeking out from the forest floor. They really bring a pop of color to your day, don't they?

[obelisart]

Meow Are You? Territorial (part 1)

[theenbyroiderer]

Went mushroom foraging today and found so much pretty stuff to photograph too!