Mushroom page post

Going to add these photos to my (wild edible mushroom) page eventually, so I thought some folks may like to see what is currently appearing in one of our Maritime forest. Above we see a few Boletus subglabripes which is our most common summer Boletus, it is not very large though it makes up for this in its great numbers in our typical mixed woods of poplar, red maple, birch and conifers.

Here is drier load of B subglabripes from yesterday

 

Gypsy mushrooms are also starting to show, as you can see in moss only the cap is usually visible.

Here is a look at some young Gypsy mushroom (Cortinarius caperatus) lifted from the moss and these are at a good edible stage.

Looking at these 2 orange colored Lactarius mushrooms it appears their orange latex on their gills is not going to stain green or burgundy so they must be Lactarius thyinos which is a good edible mushroom. This is a mushroom I do not find many of though I may receive a surprise some day.

Surprises are very common in our forest as it is rare a day when I am not , example – I wasn’t expecting to find any Boletus caerulescens an other choice edible in a mossy conifer woods of pine and balsam fir yesterday when I usually only notice this mushroom under Norway Spruce, but here they are. ciao

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Gypsy mushrooms

I forgot my camera tonight though I will show you a few Gypsy mushroom I’ve gathered and have now selected for the table as these mushrooms are at their best when the caps are round and young, the stems need to be discarded as they are hard to digest. The caps should also be well cooked.

Some of the slightly older mushrooms I will dry to use for tea especially during the flu season. Here is some interesting info concerning this mushroom now known as Cortinarius caperatus. botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov99.html

Closer look at the caps with their white cap frosting and lovely wrinkles, click on to really notice these  characteristics, the stem ring and upper stem pattern with a rounded stem bottom are also important to know. There are some reasonably good photos of these in my edible mushroom page. ciao

Hen of the foray

Gypsy mushrooms (Cortinarius caperatus), click on any of the photos for a closer look.

This next photo of gypsy mushrooms is foggy though the white powdery bloom is very noticeable on the young caps.

I returned home Sunday evening from the Nova Scotia Mycological Society’s 2012 weekend foray held in Ship Harbour NS at the Deanery Project. This down to earth or more accurately into earth event was very enjoyable and although my usual outings are silent,  timeless experiences, I was deeply moved to be on the trails with a variety of folks enjoying nature, the truth of what we are one might say.

Since this rugged part of Nova Scotia with lots of conifer forest, rocky areas and many lakes and small rivers along the Atlantic coast was new to me I chose a variety of routes back and forth to the foray and noticed Red Oak trees in a few isolated areas I decided to make a stop at one of these spots since Oak trees are rare in my home area and Oaks are well known for hosting many choice edible mushrooms.

I’ve been foraging wild mushrooms for many decades and this is my first gathering of Maitake or Hen of the Woods, (Grifola frondosa). No wonder this wild edible is so popular in the New England states as it is very tender and tasty and fills the basket in no time.

This mushroom is excellent pan fried in butter, but 3/4 of the collection will be dried and used as a nice addition to my other medicinal tea mushrooms (white matsutake, chaga, and the gypsy mushroom)  Maitake will add a new pleasant flavour to the contents of the tea cup this winter and throughout the year.

There were a few other wild mushrooms amongst the oaks which were quiet striking, including some large colorful Russulas and this purple stemmed bolete which looks like Tylopilus eximius  but the nearest conifer was 75 feet away?

I’ll stop now, you’ve been dazzled enough by the glorious fungus fruits of Nova Scotia. ciao for now