Fri - February 4, 2005
Pleurotus ostreatus (Tree oyster)
This arboreal fungus is unmistakable, and a
welcome find on an otherwise soggy day.
Date:
December 2004
Nearest city: Stinson Beach, CA
Local climate: Wooded; coastal
Location: Dead tree trunk
Recent weather: Very heavy rain
On a walk that had uncovered nothing but death caps and rare, waterlogged, maggoty boletes, a tree covered with oysters was a sight for sore eyes.
After oven-drying them overnight (they were a bit damp) we made omelets. This wasn't the best thing for their consistency but they were still delicious.
More Pleurotus ostreatus on the web
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
- Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month
Nearest city: Stinson Beach, CA
Local climate: Wooded; coastal
Location: Dead tree trunk
Recent weather: Very heavy rain
On a walk that had uncovered nothing but death caps and rare, waterlogged, maggoty boletes, a tree covered with oysters was a sight for sore eyes.
After oven-drying them overnight (they were a bit damp) we made omelets. This wasn't the best thing for their consistency but they were still delicious.
More Pleurotus ostreatus on the web
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
- Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month
Posted at 09:44 AM
Wed - February 2, 2005
Boletus flaviporus
While I certainly wish I could someday find and
identify an edible bolete, I was still happy to find a few samples of this
beautiful yellow-pored member of the genus.
Date:
January 2005
Nearest city: Berkeley, CA
Local climate: Wooded
Location: Roadside, dense fallen leaves
Recent weather: One week after several weeks of rain
This is a pretty easy ID and I'm just including these pictures because they capture the striking yellow color of the tubes, in the context of the place where the mushroom actually grows:
Here's a close-up:
We took a few home to do a more careful characterization (mostly because we thought they might be something else).
More Boletus flaviporus on the web:
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
Nearest city: Berkeley, CA
Local climate: Wooded
Location: Roadside, dense fallen leaves
Recent weather: One week after several weeks of rain
This is a pretty easy ID and I'm just including these pictures because they capture the striking yellow color of the tubes, in the context of the place where the mushroom actually grows:
Here's a close-up:
We took a few home to do a more careful characterization (mostly because we thought they might be something else).
More Boletus flaviporus on the web:
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
Posted at 11:34 AM
Wed - January 26, 2005
Helvella lacunosa (Black elfin saddle)
The "black elfin saddle" out in force in
January.
Date:
January 2005
Nearest city: Berkeley, CA
Local climate: Hillside, near a wood
Location: Berry bramble
Recent weather: One week after several weeks of rain
Unless my hiking partner had known what he was looking for on this particular day (having just been clued in by a French colleague who used to hunt mushrooms in this area), we would have missed these exotic-looking edibles.
The black hood makes this mushroom very hard to spot, and the irregularity of its shape makes repeated spots hard even after you know that you're in an area that has them. Plus, these don't match my intuition about what an edible mushroom "ought to look like" -- I realize this is utterly nonsensical, but there you have it. I would have walked on by.
As it turns out, there were quite a few Helvella lacunosa growing in the area where we found this first one, but they were sparse -- no more than one or two per square meter. The ground in which they grew was fairly well typified by the photo above: lots of dead leaves covering fertile soil in an area that's probably covered by a berry bush during the summer. (It looked like blackberry, but without the leaves or any remnants of flowers and berries it's impossible for us to be sure.)
Since multiple references say that this mushroom likes pine, I want to point out that there were no conifers anywhere to be found.
The black elfin saddle is reputed to be edible, so you'd better believe that we took some home:
We plan to dry them down and use them at some point in the future, after we've accumulated more.
More Helvella lacunosa on the web:
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
Nearest city: Berkeley, CA
Local climate: Hillside, near a wood
Location: Berry bramble
Recent weather: One week after several weeks of rain
Unless my hiking partner had known what he was looking for on this particular day (having just been clued in by a French colleague who used to hunt mushrooms in this area), we would have missed these exotic-looking edibles.
The black hood makes this mushroom very hard to spot, and the irregularity of its shape makes repeated spots hard even after you know that you're in an area that has them. Plus, these don't match my intuition about what an edible mushroom "ought to look like" -- I realize this is utterly nonsensical, but there you have it. I would have walked on by.
As it turns out, there were quite a few Helvella lacunosa growing in the area where we found this first one, but they were sparse -- no more than one or two per square meter. The ground in which they grew was fairly well typified by the photo above: lots of dead leaves covering fertile soil in an area that's probably covered by a berry bush during the summer. (It looked like blackberry, but without the leaves or any remnants of flowers and berries it's impossible for us to be sure.)
Since multiple references say that this mushroom likes pine, I want to point out that there were no conifers anywhere to be found.
The black elfin saddle is reputed to be edible, so you'd better believe that we took some home:
We plan to dry them down and use them at some point in the future, after we've accumulated more.
More Helvella lacunosa on the web:
- Mykoweb: Fungi of California
Posted at 03:59 PM
Wed - January 5, 2005
Gymnopilus spectabilis
The "big laughing mushroom" of Japan, found
en
masse near a lake in the East
Bay.
Date:
November 2004
Nearest city: Hayward, CA
Local climate: Riparian woodland
Location: Base of a living tree
Recent weather: Relatively dry
We found this large cluster (~2-3' across) in a low-lying area near the bottom of a steep valley. The host tree appears to be alive and well.
The largest of these caps is probably 10" in diameter:
Note, in the pictures above and below, the huge quantities of bright orange spores that have been dropped on the wood and soil surrounding the base of the tree:
The ID:
Per David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified:
I can't remember just now how we stumbled over the initial idea that it was Gymnopilus to begin with. Once you see it, though, it's hard to forget.
More Gymnopilus spectabilis on the web:
- Mykoweb: The Fungi of California
Nearest city: Hayward, CA
Local climate: Riparian woodland
Location: Base of a living tree
Recent weather: Relatively dry
We found this large cluster (~2-3' across) in a low-lying area near the bottom of a steep valley. The host tree appears to be alive and well.
The largest of these caps is probably 10" in diameter:
Note, in the pictures above and below, the huge quantities of bright orange spores that have been dropped on the wood and soil surrounding the base of the tree:
The ID:
Per David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified:
CAP 5-40 cm or more board, convex becoming broadly convex or nearly plane; surface dry...bright yellow-orange to yellowish-buff when young...often somewhat darker in age (rust-orange to holden-tawny to orange-brown or reddish brown).,.SPORE PRINT bright rusty-orange
I can't remember just now how we stumbled over the initial idea that it was Gymnopilus to begin with. Once you see it, though, it's hard to forget.
More Gymnopilus spectabilis on the web:
- Mykoweb: The Fungi of California
Posted at 10:08 AM
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Published On: Jun 08, 2005 08:34 PM
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Published On: Jun 08, 2005 08:34 PM