4rum Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 Well morel season was pretty bleak but I am very thankful for the winecaps and early oysters. Not going to cry ... well ... maybe a little and some whining ... sniffle ... Instead I'm going to work on my 'bucket list'. I'm still new to gathering edible mushrooms except morels which I've harvested for over 60 years. I found one king bolete year before last. I didn't know what it was at the time. I harvested several edible boletes this past year but they were not king boletes. So, this year, I want to harvest (and eat) some king boletes. Over the past year I've been logging hemlock patches to check this year. I'm going to toss one more into my bucket for this year. I want to harvest a hen of the woods. Field guides inform me they grow in my area. I've looked every year for four years now and have never found one. I may add more to my bucket list as the spring turns to summer and then fall ... what's on your list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 I want to find some fresh White Matsutake. Maybe after I retire I'll spend a little time out on the west coast at the right time of year for them. Also, even though they are reported from PA, I've yet to find Lactarius indigo. I'd like to get into another Rocky Mountain burn site and find a few "greenies", a large Fire Morel. Some of the interesting varieties of west coast Chanterelles and morels would be fun to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adawg Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 I am also rather new to the edible hunt except for morels,chants and oysters . I feel comfortable in my knowledge of these as table fare . I'm with you 4rum, my bucket list includes expanding my knowledge of boletus, and though I have never found a king (to my knowledge), that will be a top of the list to do's this year . That is, if they even exist here ????????? But I also want to expand my database beyond edibles . I think that learning on the fly will require many, many years .. But that is the challenge, and the fun of it .. Not giving up on morels yet though, found about a lb this morning . Cooked them for mom's special brunch ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DufferinShroomer Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 4rum, Im not so sure that hemlock is the tree of choice when looking for B. edulis. If it were me I would be focussing hard on Norway Spruce pretty much exclusively even to the point of running across university lawns to check those 3 Norways in the middle of a half acre of neatly mowed grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4rum Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Thank you especially for the tip on Norway Spruce DufferinShroomer. No one to consult in my area so I depend on google and youtube. That's where I got the recommendations for eastern hemlock. I'll revisit some of those sources and check my memory. I was out for a little while yesterday. No morels. I did find one beautiful, fresh oyster and loads of old ones. The fresh on was not enough for dinner so I left it in the woods. I did revisit the stump where I harvested a Dryad's Saddle earlier. I'd left one just sprouting out there. It was huge and past the stage where I'd want to cook it. Adawg, I agree. I need to expand my knowledge base in every way, edibles and nasties. I'm trying to 'learn' one or at most two new varieties a season. I started this process about 4 years ago with Chicken of the Woods and have expanded it as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Smalldridge Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 4rum, I have not found a true king in my area and would be surprised if I did. What I have found is a species that is one of the better edible boletes closely related to kings. I have also talked to others that have found similar species here in N.C. September seems to be the month to look from my research and grassy areas near oaks seems to be the environment. Also, if you do a search on Mushroom Observer for your area, you can look for dates and areas where others have found the species you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Nice bolete, John. I don't recognize the species. Could it be Boletus reticulatus? Or maybe what Phillips lists as B. edulis var. aurantio-ruber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Smalldridge Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Dave, I was unable to pinpoint exactly what species it was, but I was also leaning toward B. reticulatus. I hope to see it again this year and get a more firm I.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4rum Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Beautiful bolete. That's a good tip to check mushroom observer for local and seasons. I'll do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasso Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 King Boletes, Black Trumpets, Shrimp Russula. None of these occiur in my immediate area and I have yet to get the timing right while searching for them where they do exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott C Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 Fistulina hepatica has eluded me for years here in Ohio, that is one I plan to track down some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eat-bolete Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Chanterelles, King boletes primarily...and maybe Chicken of the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4rum Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Chanterelles, King boletes primarily...and maybe Chicken of the woods. Surprisingly, after two years of HUGE crops of Chicken of the Wooks ... they were scarce last year. NO chanterelles . In the 2013 season I picked bushels of Chanterelles ... literally (I have photos) ((and a video)). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eat-bolete Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 4rum, really? That's a disappointment, I was hoping to pick plenty of chanterelles, I thought they grow everywhere and every year in abundance. As I got into mushroom picking last August, I'm yet to learn what grows where and when in early summer. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Chanterelles are mycorrhizal with a variety of different types of trees (different Cantharellus species associate with different tree types). Once you find a good spot it tends to produce annually... given there's enough rainfall. Also, during a particularly chilly summer chanties may be scarce due to undesirable soil temps. In my area, the classic "yellows" with well-defined pseudo-gills tend to start up during the second half of June. The smooth type (C. laeritius) gets going in mid July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4rum Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Dave I'm sure you're right ... but ... two patches of chanterells year before last were absolutely astounding. Hundreds spread out over a large area in both these patches. I fried and froze till the freezer was full. Last year, same patches, PLENTY of rain, much more than the year before when they were plentiful and ... nothing. The one patch that I filled two bushel baskets in one evening after dinner, I found two or three very small ones. The other patch, nothing. Not one. I did find three of the dark red/orange cinnebar chanties on the way there though so the trip wasn't wasted. They were my first ever. BEAUTIFUL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 That's interesting, 4rum. Last summer was also certainly warm enough to get the chanties going. I think that morels may be prone to the "too much rain" phenomenon. Maybe the same thing happens with Cantharellus? Another possibility to coinsider. If there were several really good consecutive years, then the chanties may rest for a year. I have seen this with Boletus edulis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4rum Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Good point on the 'resting'. I believe this happens too. I just don't know in this particular instance. I'm new at hunting chanterelles. Season before last was the first time I'd ever hunted or harvested them. I will be checking those two patches again this year. There was another decent patch just above the house here that I found too late in that same season. None there last year either. I thought chanterelles were going to be easy ... NOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shotwade Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 So when do the chantrel start anyway? I have only found them in the fall here in southern Indiana. Wade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 The cibarius types of chanterelles (well-developed pseudo-gills) start up in late spring. The earliest I have found them here in NE PA is June 13. The smooth chanterelles start up in early summer. My guess is that, in Indiana, the smooth chanterelles (Cantharellus lateritius) are more common. Look in sunny oak-hickory woods for this types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Smalldridge Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 4rum and DaveW, here are my observations for my local chanterelles. It seems that a year following a drought year will produce bumper crops of chanterelles provided there is enough rain. If we have consecutive years of good rains then we will have average chanterelle harvests. I'm not sure if this is a last effort of the chanterelles to spread their spores or if this is caused by the chanterelles having extra time to store energy. The patches I know of have never died out, but have produced varying amounts from year to year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shotwade Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I have only found cinnabar or the red looking ones.That was late fall. I am aware of the golden but have never found any. Is their more that I am unaware of? Wade BTW,yesterday I found what we call field mushrooms or "pink under" This also is quite early for them as we don't usually see them until the drier months of summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 John, that's my take on the chanties, and other mycorrhizal types. Too much of a good thing --favorable weather conditions/moisture-- can cause a fungus to deplete it's own reproductive energy. Wade, "Pink-bottoms", Field Mushrooms, edible Agaricus species, are a popular edible. I collect some off my lawn every summer. Like you say, usually at a later date than now. Here in NE PA, we just experienced our warmest month of May on record. Yesterday I found some Bovista puffballs. Usually I don't find these until August. The other day I saw a Horse Mushroom on a lawn (a type of Agaricus, A. arvensis, larger than the Field Mushroom). Be aware that some Agaricus mushrooms are sickeners. These types usually have a medicinal or phenol odor that gets worse when you cook them. Also, Agaricus should not be collected for the table if it's growing very close to a busy road or any area where toxins may have been introduced into the soil. At least some Agaricus types are known to concentrate heavy metals found in the environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shotwade Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 I'm not sure I have ever seen the horse mushroom. It seems to time behind the field mushroom so both now are up and out of time by a couple months?I understand they are similar with the horse having rings on the stem. Is there any other things I should watch for,as in both forming the fairy ring or witches ring? Wade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Many different types of mushrooms form "fairy rings." A good rule to follow is this. Do not hope to learn about a specific type of mushroom based upon only a few traits.... examples, forms fairy rings, has a ring on the stalk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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