Here is a new edible for me, these Hawk wing mushroom are easy to ID to Sarcodon but a little tricky to nail down all the way. These in the above photo appear to be Sarcodon squamosus due to their large size with some caps in the surroundings being 20 to 25 cm across, also they were not bitter tasting and grew in Jack Pine, all factors to help with identification. These mushrooms tend to get mixed reviews as edibles so leave this one off your list unless you are very experienced with edible wild mushrooms. In the jack pine forest visually Hawk wing mushrooms are a very pleasant find.
Now these above Lyophyllum mushrooms are very interesting to me also and may actually be Lyophyllum shimeji which is a prized edible in Japan. Lyophyllum shimeji has been found in northern Europe and recently NFLD so this maybe more than just wishful thinking on my behalf as the sandy acid soil with plenty of lichen under jack pine trees fits the bill for Lyophyllum shimeji. It has been a very dry year for Moncton area mushrooms but even this type of year can produce some nice surprises.
How would you describe the taste of these mushrooms? Very interesting
Actually Kate I didn’t taste them raw at the site, often taking a small bit and chew and spit is a good way to test for off taste, but these ones went straight home and after some research were thin sliced and pan fried.The result was like potato chips, pleasant but I would slice them thicker next time and fry, stir fry or make a soup. The flesh texture for such a sturdy looking mushroom is surprisingly one of better ones I’ve noticed and the scent is A1 as well. I’ve dried some and they smell great. I’m searching and can’t find anything I don’t like about this mushroom so far. It may make my top 10 list. I should mention since this post I have found another type of Sarcodon under jack pine which is unpleasant tasting though it doesn’t have the intricate cap markings and has a darker stem. I should also mention not to eat the older Hawk wing mushrooms with caps that have turned from greyish to only brown.