This is one of my favorite Fall edible mushrooms-in this area we call it a Stump mushroom. This is one of the last fall mushrooms that are edible to appear in this area. Depending on the weather you may see two flushes of them. The 1^st around the 1^st part of September. I don’t care for the 1^st picking a whole lot. The insects get to them very quickly. If the weather is right they will appear again in October. At this time they are great. Very little or no insect damage. In a good year they are very plentiful. I will can the buttons whole for use during the winter. This is a fairly easy mushroom to identify. I have found that birch tree areas that have been cut over are about the best habitat to find these in. You will find them growing in large clusters off the birch tree stumps. When they 1^st start to appear they are fuzzed over. Something like a deer antler in velvet. The spore print is whitish in color and many times will spread itself on the underlying mushrooms in the cluster. Making it easy to identify.However some caution should be taken. Watch what you are picking. The poisonous Amanita does not grow on stumps-however it can grow up from the ground and into the cluster. Just pay attention to what you are picking and you won’t have a problem.

Identification

Cap- 1 ¼ to 6 inches across. Very variable, convex then flattened. Color light to dark brown with age. Covered in dark hairy scales.

Gills-Attached or slightly descending. Whitish, then yellow turning brownish with age.

Veil-Partial-Leaving a thick yellow or whitish cottony ring.

Flesh white

Spore Print-whitish

This is to be used for educational purposes only. Remember if you don’t know, don’t eat. If you are new to mushroom foraging consult an expert to confirm your identification.

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For my area the fall is a great time of the year for foraging for wild mushrooms. The fall rain makes the mushrooms pop quickly and the cooler weather keeps the insect damage down to a minimum. One of my favorites to harvest in the fall is Agaricus campestral. After a couple days of rain along with some cooler temperatures this mushroom is fairly plentiful. You can find it growing in yards, ball fields and many other grassy areas all you really have to do is ride around in your car and look. They are good size and the taste is excellent. There are a couple of look a likes but once you know how to positively identify this mushroom you wont have a problem telling them apart. This mushroom is the same genius as the white mushroom you buy in the store.Cap-Rounded or cushioned shape 1 1/2 to 3 inches across. Becoming flat with age. The color is mainly white and takes on a brownish tint as it becomes older. Gills-In the button stage the gills are pink. As the mushroom ages they turn brown then to a dark brown to almost black at maturity. The gills are free and not attached to the stalk. The spoor color is dark brown.Stalk- 1 to 2 inches stuffed. Pretty much even from top to bottom.The spoor print on this mushroom is important. It has to be dark brown. If it is white you could be dealing with an Amanita which could make you very sick. Such as the destroying angle which is also white. But has a white spoor print. The good thing about this mushroom is, it is usually found in wooded areas.

The closet look a like I have found is Lepiota naucinus.
  

This is not a deadly mushroom but is not recommended for eating. It has been known to make some people sick.When this mushroom is young its gills are white not pink. The spoor print is white. In the Agaricus family itself watch for the yellow stainer. It pretty much looks like the edible one except if you scrape it with a knife it will turn yellow at the scrape. This one will make you sick.Remember if you are in doubt don’t eat it. If you are new at mushroom hunting consult an expert.

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A beautiful day here in Upper Michigan. It is starting to dry out , so we do need some rain. I was out of town last week and we had a couple days of rain. Right after the rain would have been a great time to go foraging for Oyster mushrooms. Although a little late I decided to go take a look today and see what I could find. I was able to find enough Oyster Mushrooms that weren’t dried out to take home. I will be posting the recipe we used on this collection of mushrooms in the recipe catagory . If you are not familiar with the oyster mushroom I have included the link from a previous post. Wild mushrooms-Hunting the Oyster mushroom
I also came across a mushroom called Platterful. This mushroom is edible but has absolutely no taste. They are very plentiful here in the spring and early summer. But are of no use.

Platterful Mushroom (Tricholomopsis platyphylla)

Cap-2 to 5 inches brownish grey streaked with dark radial fibers. Gills attached.Stem-3 to 5 inches fibrous with tough rind.Spore Print WhiteSeason-May to early October

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 This is one of my favorites. The sweet tooth mushroom or in this area they are called the hedgehog mushroom is very plentiful here in upper Michigan. Season starts in July an goes though September. I have my best luck foraging for the Sweet Tooth mushroom starting around the beginning of August and though the middle part of September.When my kids were younger-this was their favorite. They would come running to the door when I got home to see if I had found any.

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There is a lot to learn depending on how involved you want to get. You might want to focus on the easy to identify edible wild mushrooms when you first start out. A few I would suggest would be, the Morel, Oyster mushroom, Chanterelle and the Shaggy Mane. These all have fairly easy to identify characteristics. Several good books on identifying wild mushrooms is a must have. When you are choosing a book the colored pictures of the mushroom is as important as the information it provides. You want the pictures to be as true to the actual mushroom as possible to help with accurate identification.

For collecting your mushrooms carry a sharp pocket knife. Cut them off close to the ground, but high enough to leave the dirt behind. If you are collecting a mushroom for identification- take the whole mushroom. Make sure you get all of the stem. Do not put them in plastic. A plastic bag will destroy the mushrooms before you can even get them home. Use paper or a basket with a flat bottom. Do not mix varieties of mushrooms and never mix poisonous or mushrooms you are unsure of in the same bag. I like to carry paper lunch bags with me for collecting specimens I want to take home to identify. I package each of these separately.

Pay attention to the time of year it is. Chances are you won’t find a Shaggy Mane in the middle of the summer.

Is the mushroom growing in a wooded area or a field? In clusters, fairy rings, singly or on a tree? All characteristics of different genera’s. Know the characteristics of the Wild mushroom genera you are searching for.

Note the cap color, size and texture. Smooth or sticky, fibrous or scaled. How long is the stem? The color of the stem can be different then the color of the cap and many times will aid you in a positive identification of the mushroom such as the Chrome-footed Bolete.

Is the flesh soft brittle or rubbery? What does the mushroom smell like. I love the smell of the Chanterelle. It is as close to the smell of fresh apricots as you can get. Another one I can think of off hand is the Almond scented Russula. Smells exactly like almonds. But although this Wild mushroom smells great this Russula is a poisonous mushroom.

I hope this article was some help to you if you are new at hunting Wild mushrooms and has provided some helpful tips for you on mushroom hunting. If you cant positively identify the mushroom don’t eat it. Consult an expert to aid you in the mushroom identification.

Tags: mushrooms, wild mushrooms, how to hunt wild mushrooms

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With summer almost here the thought of hunting Chanterelle Mushrooms gets me pretty excited. This is one of my favorites. This mushroom is one of the easiest wild mushrooms to identify. They are very good and many times grow in large quantities. They have excellent size, caps ranging 1 ¼ to 6 inches. They have a good texture and taste great. They also freeze well for later use. I have not tried canning these- but think they would also take to that very well. Their color being yellow to a yellowish orange makes them very easy to find. There are some poisonous look a likes so be sure of your identification before eating them. The Chanterelle Mushroom has a great smell. It smells just like fresh apricots. They don’t have true gills, but instead have shallow thick edged wrinkles and veins descending down the stem of the mushroom, often being crossed veined and distant. The stems are about the same color as the caps being ¾-2 1/4 by ¼ to 1 inch. They are found in July though September here in this part of the country. I seem to have my best luck in hardwood forest areas. But I have found these in almost any type of wooded area. As with almost any mushroom you do need the moisture in order to have a good season. Their are also growing kits available for Chanterelle Mushrooms.If you are new to Mushroom Hunting be sure to consult a professional for positive identification. If you are not sure what it is -don’t eat it.

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Toward the end of the Morel hunting season and after a couple days of good rain. It is usually a good time to start hunting oyster mushrooms. Although Morel mushrooms have to be the most popular there are many good wild mushrooms to be picked though out the summer and fall. In the early part of the summer one of the first to appear are the oyster mushrooms. These can pretty much be divided into 2 groups. The most popular being the summer oyster ( Pleurotus populinus), And the darker fall version (Pleurotus ostreatus).

One advantage to hunting the fall oyster mushroom is you don’t have as many problems with insects destroying the mushrooms before you can get to them. As far as look a likes- there are not many. Most of them are so tough or thin you can’t eat them anyway. I find the summer oysters growing mostly on dead or dying poplar trees, from ground level all the way to the top of the tree. Which can get kind of frustrating if you are a short person like me.

This mushroom can get pretty large. Cap-2 ¼ to 5 ½ inches.

Color-Brownish white to white or grayish- in the shape of an oyster shell as the name implies.

There is a very short stem if any. The flesh is white. The spore print should be white to lilac.

The oyster mushroom is classified as an excellent edible.

This article is written for educational purposes only. If you are not sure what you are picking- don’t eat it! If you are new to mushroom hunting purchase some good books. Consult a professional for positive identification.

If you are not comfortable picking wild mushrooms there are many mushroom growing kits on the market. You can purchase a kit. You can also purchase spawn and start from scratch.

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Here in Northern Michigan when you are hunting for Morel mushroom, one of the first mushrooms to appear is the False Moral. I wouldn’t really call it a look alike but this is what they call it. Here it is called a beefsteak mushroom. I have also head it called a brain mushroom. I guess that is what it really resembles. It is found though out the country. But is most common in the North, and in the Mountains. It is very popular here in upper Michigan. The color is brownish becoming darker with age going to almost black. This is a fairly good size mushroom. The cap averaging two to four inches wide with a short stalk ¾ to 2 inches long. The cap sometimes will take on a saddle shape but mostly they look like a brain. The flesh is very brittle and the cap is chambered.For Habitat they are found in conifers and deciduous woods singly or in groups.This mushroom is classified as deadly.It has been found that this mushroom creates a chemical similar to what is used to make rocket fuel. It has been fatal in a number of cases. The toxins can be removed by the process of boiling. The problem is sometimes they are not completely removed. The poison appears to be cumulative. You could eat a meal of these and not have a problem. But the next meal could make you very, very sick. If you’re not sure don’t eat. In my opinion this is a good mushroom to stay away from.

Tags: Moral mushroom, wild mushrooms, mushroom hunting, false moral

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With spring and summer coming I cannot emphasize enough. Know what you are picking. I just thought I would touch on the death cap a bit. This mushroom intrigues me because of its place in history. As I have said in past articles this is a good genus to stay away from. There are some edible mushrooms in this group. But why take the chance. The caps are generally greenish in color, with a white stipe and gills. This is one of the most poisonous of all the mushrooms. It appears mostly in the summer and fall. The spore print is white.Murder, or by accident, Roman Emperor Claudius and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, death by Death Cap. This is a brief discription of this mushroom- consult your mushroom guide for further identification. Tags:wild mushrooms, mushroom hunting, poisonous mushrooms

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