shroom picking

[bodywhomper]

My interest is generally mild and sporadic based on other obligations and life priorities. I had coworkers that were really into it, including one who now is a mycologists researcher. There’s a pretty strong/active community in my area who have an annual foray and a FB group that is very active. There’s a good ID/keying book for NorCal that we use at home. Many SME’s and the authors of that book participate regularly in the local FB group.

Last winter, I found a mushroom on my property where one of the guidebook authors point out to the others trying to figure out what I found that it was a known spp, but poorly documented and not included in the book.

My daughter and I have fun trying to key out samples that we find and checking with the FB group. We often can banter with the experts a bit to learn if we mis-keyed the specimens.

[garyfromterrace]

This year has been insane for me. I've generally got a few mushrooms in the past. But this year between staying closer to home, retirement, and dog requiring daily 5km+ rides and hikes, I've been fucking slaying it. Also getting some great beta from long time shroomers on proper picking etiquette to ensure I'm harvesting sustainably.

Part of the haul from 3 days ago (again just taking the dog for a bike ride). One dehydrator already almost full

2 days ago:

Yesterday (pines and cauliflowers) and today (chantrelles, from my yard):


I feel insanely fortunate and blown away. I also don't think I'll have to buy store bought mushrooms all winter.

edit, sorry about the fucking sideways photos.

[Norseman]

wow Gary, nice haul

[garyfromterrace]

wow Gary, nice haul

Thanks buddy! I feel insanely lucky, it has to be luck since I have no real skills in this field haha. Miss ya, looking forward to another visit my friend (hopefully with family in tow).

[waveshello]

Can I get some help identifying these? All growing in my lawn in Central WA, under birch, spruce, and hazelnut trees. In peak season, I've filled the wheel barrow to the brim... I guess I'm mainly concerned that some of them might be poisonous and that kids will eat them.

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[sklar]

Nice bike ride here in WA

[skaredshtles]

Nice bike ride here in WA

[jackstraw]

Does anyone know what these are? I've been seeing a ton around and am not a mushroom person.

Around here we have lions mane that kinda looks like that. Quick google tells me this -

The easiest way to tell a Lion's Mane from a coral fungi is the direction of the teeth. Lion's Mane mushroom and other hericiums have downward facing teeth while Coral fungi teeth point upwards.

[Aldo]

[Bobcat Sig]

I'm not a picker, but I'll share a story from a motorcycle ride this weekend...

I was out in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, riding some technical singletrack. For those outside the area, this expansive national forest covers a great deal of land between Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens in SW Washington. In particular, we were in the southern portion, near Dark Meadow and Dark Mountain when two riders emerge and ask us if we've seen a hiker recently.

Apparently, they ran into a mushroom hunter in nothing but a hoodie and backpack who had been out in the Gifford (as we call it) for four days and nights. No camp gear, no provisions, and only subsisting on what he could forage and drinking from creeks. This was on Sunday, and it rained much of the week leading up to it. Four fucking nights with no gear with lows likely in the 30s or low 40s, at best. Fucking gnarly. The picker started out in Randle, which is well north of where he was contacted by the riders.

The other riders were able to get a text out to a USFS Ranger stationed nearby and directed him to the nearest major road in hopes of extraction.

[neckdeep]

Around here we have lions mane that kinda looks like that. Quick google tells me this -

The easiest way to tell a Lion's Mane from a coral fungi is the direction of the teeth. Lion's Mane mushroom and other hericiums have downward facing teeth while Coral fungi teeth point upwards.

No.

The easiest way to distinguish between the two is that the hericium only grow on decaying wood and corals grow out of the soil.

[jackstraw]

No.

The easiest way to distinguish between the two is that the hericium only grow on decaying wood and corals grow out of the soil.

NO!

Whoa dude. Go easy there necky. If you were observant, you would have noticed it was a cut and paste in italics from googles. And we have decaying blowdowns, mostly buried, that have Lions Mane growing from what looks like soil.

[neckdeep]

Can I get some help identifying these? All growing in my lawn in Central WA, under birch, spruce, and hazelnut trees. In peak season, I've filled the wheel barrow to the brim... I guess I'm mainly concerned that some of them might be poisonous and that kids will eat them.

#1




#2




#3



#4



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The offcolor white with brown gills ones appear to be agaricus, the same genus that contains the common commercial mushroom agaricus bisporus. This is a complex genus to pick as it is large and has a lot of overlapping physical characteristics. It contains a mix of choice edible species, mediocre but edibles, bad tasting ones and some toxics. Agaricus toxins are not fatal, just gastroenteritis. But, the real danger lies in picking the young buttons. If you can't inspect the gills, you can't safely distinguish between the agaricus and amanitas, which can grow intermingled in lawn/meadow habitat. As a result, mistakes with agaricus species can be fatal and its probably the most common fatal mistake made by inexperienced pickers. Example: i cant tell what #3 is but stay away from white body/white gilled field mushrooms.

[tgapp]

The offcolor white with brown gills ones appear to be agarics, the same genus that contains the common commercial mushroom agaricus bisporus. This is a complex genus to pick as it is large and has a lot of overlapping physical characteristics. It contains a mix of choice edible species, mediocre but edibles, bad tasting ones and some toxics. Agaricus toxins are not fatal, just gastroenteritis. But, the real danger lies in picking the young buttons. If you can't inspect the gills, you can't safely distinguish between the agaricus and amanitas, which can grow intermingled in lawn/meadow habitat. As a result, mistakes with agaricus species can be fatal and its probably the most common fatal mistake made by inexperienced pickers. Example; i cant tell what #3 is but stay away from white body/white gilled field mushrooms.

This is the right answer here. Another common mistake is puffballs vs amanitas - be careful when harvesting those. Amanitas has a number of clear distinguishing features when mature, the most notable of which being the cup or vulva that forms at the base of the mushroom.

With Agaricus, the most common gastrointestinal irritating species (that I know of, anyway) is A. xanthodermus, which has a strong phenolic smell that only concentrates when boiled or cooked. If the mushroom smells sweet/almondy, you likely have A. arvensis or A. campestri, both choice edibles. A. xanthodermus smells disgusting when boiled


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[waveshello]

The offcolor white with brown gills ones appear to be agarics, the same genus that contains the common commercial mushroom agaricus bisporus. This is a complex genus to pick as it is large and has a lot of overlapping physical characteristics. It contains a mix of choice edible species, mediocre but edibles, bad tasting ones and some toxics. Agaricus toxins are not fatal, just gastroenteritis. But, the real danger lies in picking the young buttons. If you can't inspect the gills, you can't safely distinguish between the agaricus and amanitas, which can grow intermingled in lawn/meadow habitat. As a result, mistakes with agaricus species can be fatal and its probably the most common fatal mistake made by inexperienced pickers. Example; i cant tell what #3 is but stay away from white body/white gilled field mushrooms.

Thank you. I did some of my own research between when I posted this and now, and indeed, 1-3 are very difficult to identify. I'll get some more pictures of #3 if I can--if I get some more coming up and can find a more mature sample.

I'm thinking #4 maybe a false chanterelle?

I'm not planning on eating any of these (I would if any were clearly edible), I mostly just wanted to know how careful I need to be about keeping these out of the yard for children's sake.

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[tgapp]

Also another common way of distinguishing between Amanitas and other choice edibles is that both puffballs and Agaricus will grow in clusters or clumps. Amanitas always grow as single mushrooms, though there could be multiple growing in close proximity.

With puffballs, slice the mushie in half vertically to check and see if there is a proto-gill structure. If there is throw it out. If it looks uniform inside or with a slightly yellow paste, it's good.

Not a foolproof method but one that has served me well. Amanitas absolutely exploded this year in Utah, I probably saw 50 Amanitas caps for every Agaricus or puffball.

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[SumJongGuy]

Anybody ever have a problem with their dog eating bad shrooms? We get some in the yard from time to time and I have no idea if they are safe or not..

[tgapp]

Anybody ever have a problem with their dog eating bad shrooms? We get some in the yard from time to time and I have no idea if they are safe or not..

No but there are tons of species that are poisonous to dogs. The ones I would be worried about (in Utah anyway) are Amanitas and Coprinus/Coprinellus (ink caps). There are a few Facebook groups set up around emergency veterinarian plant/mushroom ID, I would bookmark those just in case.

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[neckdeep]

Shroom toxins are scary but, for perspective, there are common wildflowers that are much, much worse. The worst shroom toxins take days to kill. There's a common flower around here thats so neurotoxic you probably wont make it to the hospital.

[neckdeep]

I'm thinking #4 maybe a false chanterelle?

Looks like something in the paxillus genus. If it is a pax, its potentially toxic but fatal pax poisoning requires eating large amounts

[John_B]

Shroom toxins are scary but, for perspective, there are common wildflowers that are much, much worse. The worst shroom toxins take days to kill. There's a common flower around here thats so neurotoxic you probably wont make it to the hospital.

Wuzzat? Foxglove?

[neckdeep]

Wuzzat? Foxglove?

aconitums

[krp8128]

Anybody ever have a problem with their dog eating bad shrooms? We get some in the yard from time to time and I have no idea if they are safe or not..

Yes.

Mine is an idiot and loves them. First time he did it all I had was a stem, pretty sure it was a death cap. He got a syringe of peroxide and was fine. Ate some again a few weeks later, same results.

I now keep him on a lead and patrol his range, pitching them all deep in the woods. Shrooms exploded the other day, I haven't had a chance to clear the area so I walk him and keep him away.

[Phall]

Out walking the dog, sugarhouse UT in someone’s front yard. Heavy rain last night


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[Harry]

This thing is on my island. What is it ?




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