Never eat any new to you foraged wild mushroom without an expert verifying the mushroom’s Identity. I still after 35 years of gathering wild mushrooms have any new mushrooms I try for the first time verified by a fellow forager with much experience with the mushroom in question or I send dried samples to a mycologist for verification and making a spore print is also a good habit to get into when exploring new wild mushrooms.
Click on the photos to enlarge
Here is one that is easily mis-identified and a number of poisoning occur every year in Europe, it is rarely eaten in North America and I have saved it and a few others at the bottom of my edible list of mushrooms I would like to try. A trusted mycologist identified dried samples of this mushroom for me as the Sweetbread mushroom, Miller, (Clitopilus prunulus). There is good internet info from Italy, Spain and France on this mushroom but it is a tricky one with a doctor from NY in 2010 admitting himself into the hospital after eating a few Clitocybe mushroom by mistake. So unless you are a very advanced collector breeze by Clitopilus prunulus like I did for the last 3 decades.
Clitopilus prunulus
Clitopilus prunulus
Hydnum umbilicatum – the Little Hedgehog
Hydnum umbilicatum
Polyporus umbellatus
Umbrella polypore
Polyozellus multiplex
Grayling -Cantharellula umbonata
Grayling
Lactarius deterrimus
Lactarius deterrimus
Gypsy mushroom ——Cortinarius caperatus
Gypsy mushroom
Gypsy mushrooms with the white bloom noticeable on the young caps
Gypsy mushroom patch
Gypsy mushrooms amongst the fallen leaves, click on photo to notice the over 20 mushrooms.
Gypsy mushrooms (Cortinarius caperatus) discard stems and only eat the young caps well cooked
Yellow foot Chanterelle –Craterellus ignicolor
Craterellus ignicolor (forked gills)
Yellow foot Chanterelle ready for drying.
Yellowfoot patch
Agaricus abruptibulbus, stems deep in soil under Norway spruce tree.
Agaricus abruptibulbus, with the bulb-like base of the stem visible
Agaricus abruptibulbus, in the fridge for 2 days, now the open caps show mature brown coloured gills.
Xanthoconium affine, notice the spots
Xanthoconium affine
Xanthoconium affine
Hen of the woods—-Grifola frondosa
Hen of the woods at the base of an Oak tree
Hen of the woods in a basket
Lactarius thyinos
Sheep Polypore (Albatrellus ovinus)
Sheep Polypore
Some well cooked Sheep Polypore.
Laccaria ochropurpurea
Laccaria ochropurpurea
Laccaria ochropurpurea
Albatrellus confluens
Albatrellus confluens
Auricularia Americana – Tree ears
Chanterelle
Large Chanterelle patch in moss.
Chanterelle patch
Chanterelle patch (click on photo to take notice of) the neighbouring patch of (not recommended as edible) large Scaly vase chanterelle up near the basket.
Winter Chanterelle — Craterellus tubaeformis
Winter Chanterelle
Charcoal burner———–Russula cyanoxantha
Russula mustelina
Russula mustelina
Hymenopellis furfuracea, only the caps are edible and they are quite good
Oudemansiella radicata which is now called Hymenopellis furfuracea with long underground root growth visible, both large and small caps sizes shown.
Velvet foot——Flammulina Velutipes on Elm tree
Flammulina Velutipes
Dryad’s saddle AKA Pheasant back mushroom on Elm tree (Polyporus squamosus)
View of pore surface under the cap of a young Dryad’s saddle
Another view of the young caps. (Dryad’s saddle)
Dryad’s saddle gathering with tent pole
Bear’s head tooth
Hericium americanum in the center of the photo on the tree with the bland but edible Panellus serotinus right beside it.
Bear’s Head Tooth —————-Hericium americanum
White matsutake———–Tricholoma magnivelare
Basket of White matsutake
Closer look at some White Matsutakes with the veils opening on some
Lactarius lignyotus, Chocolate Milkcap
Swollen-stalk cat, Mori take, Abalone in plant————–Catathelasma ventricosum
Catathelasma ventricosum
Catathelasma ventricosum, mature, button and young mushrooms together.
Chrome-footed bolete———–Harrya chromapes
Chrome-footed bolete patch
Boletus subglabripes
new name same Bolete, now called Hemileccinum subglabripes
Hemileccinum subglabripes
Handful of Hemileccinum subglabripes
Drier full of Hemileccinum subglabripes
Gem-studded puffball cluster from Nova Scotia Mycological Society foray 2011
Lobster mushroom
Lobster mushrooms often look like this before they are uncovered.
Lobster mushrooms in grass quite a distance from pine trees.
King bolete
King bolete
King bolete
Basket of boletes
Spring oyster mushroom——–Pleurotus populinus
Oyster mushroom on sugar maple in fall——-Pleurotus ostreatus
Pleurotus ostreatus, Oct 2013
Pleurotus ostreatus
Pleurotus dryinus
Tricholoma portentosum
Blewit mushroom
Blewit (Lepista nuda)
Tricholoma dulciolens – Matsutake-like
Tricholoma dulciolens
Tricholoma dulciolens
Long slim Matsutake – T dulciolens
Hollow-stem Suillus
Hollow-stem Suillus—–Suillus cavipes
Sweet tooth ——–Hydnum repandum
A few young Sweet tooth mushrooms also known as the hedgehog mushroom
Large Sweet tooth or hedgehog mushroom
under the cap of the hedgehog
Cap view of large hedgehog mushroom
Basket of Hydnum repandum var alba.
Ramaria rubipermanens branch tips fade from red quickly
Ramaria rubipermanens is a choice edible.
Painted Suillus————Suillus pictus.
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That’s great. You look like a fun guy!
I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.
Yes that is a joke I here spore-adically though there may be some truth to it. Opher thanks for stopping in and come back often as I’ll always have shroom for you here.
can I send you a pix of what we found? I dont see em in your list
Yes Tom, send your photo to 1left@hotmail.ca and I’ll check it out.
Do you regularly find Amethyst deceiver , or is it a once in a while thing,, i feel like ive seen it before but i could be wrong,, thanks
Do they grow in same habitat as winter chantrelles?
Yes as where I find them under young birch a few hundred feet away there are winter chanterelle under some conifers both types of trees are in the same wet mossy area. Since this mushroom is known to bioaccumulate arsenic it is best to eat only in small amounts as it is not easy to know if there is any arsenic available in the forest soil you are foraging in which could possibly be drawn into your mushrooms.
Haven’t seen any this year yet, they are much less common in my area than the deceiver. Only know of a couple spots where they grow in large numbers, wet mossy mixed woods and also mossy young birch can be good, rarely under pine.
Thank you very much ,, I went out again today and pretty much confirmed that the deceiver was what I had seen next to winter chanterelles , both in wet mix wood bog, and I was going to ask you where to find sweet tooth but found my first patch today,, thanks for posting all those photos and information, so it’s the deceiver that may contain arcenic? Il keep that in mind
Oh ,, and since I’ve got you on the line,,,,, when is matsutake season and where should I look. Thanks again
In my neck of the woods the first half of Oct is the best time usually. Like many of us Matsutake mushroom love being around mature trees especially hemlock, jackpine and spruce, unfortunately these trees are disappearing at an alarming rate so often where these types of mature trees are troublesome to harvest for one reason or another is where you’ll find the Matsutake.