Hedgehog Mushroom advisory

These large young Hedgehog mushrooms are presently appearing in the last week of summer in some of our Maritime mixed forest.

You best go out and gather a few soon before the frost foils them. ciao

A moving day under the trees

Hoping to gather some King Bolete mushrooms today under Norway Spruce, but this one was the only one I found in good shape so it was time to move on and go with the flow which was to gather a few different edibles and marvel at the shapes and colors of some of the other mushrooms which go unmentioned usually in my post.

First stop was in an eastern white cedar forest which is a place I can’t recall visiting at this time of year so I don’t know what to expect,  the orange of Lactarius thyinos is the first mushroom which catches my eye.

Eastern white cedar again and I have no idea what mushroom this is though its stem is interesting, a wild guess would be something from the Hebeloma family. I’ll dry these and send them away for identification.

 

Last photo from under eastern white cedar and again I’m stumped as this is again a mushroom I’m unfamiliar with though it probably is a Sarcodon member judging by the teeth under the cap. I think I’ll leave here now as I’m starting to notice how little I know.

Here I am again in a forest I often visit and the mushroom of the day in large numbers was the Gypsy mushroom in this mixed woods of beech, birch and hemlock.

Favouring the beech and birch were these Hedgehog mushrooms.

A Lobster mushroom along the path surrounded by young birch.

Oh this is actually something I was expecting to run into one day and here it is Laccaria ochropurpurea, lovely colors just a few footsteps from the Lobster mushroom above so we are still under young birch on a overgrown pathway.

Last photo of the day before reaching the car, growing around an old beech stump with its yellow spots on cap is Xanthoconium affine var maculosus aka the spotted bolete. ciao

Enough Hedgehogery

Yah, I’ve been bombarding you with these Hydnum repandum lately though this will be the last post this year on this choice edible mushroom.

A good look at the teeth on the underside of the cap.

Some more large half pounders.

These mushrooms are great fresh and also make a nice powdered mushroom once dried. ciao

Hydnum repandum

Found some glowing good Hedgehog mushrooms today. Here is a look at a half pounder.

View of the spiny teeth on the underside of the cap.

The cap has lots of splitting which gives it a certain character.

Here is what I mean by glowing good as they really stand out from a far away distance.

Some Hedgehog mushrooms in the basket.

There are actually a few different looking hedgehogs out in these woods today. The large red-brown capped (Hydnum repandnum) at the back, the most common in this area (Hydnum repandum var alba) with the light tan cap in the middle and last and what seems least, up front all alone, one tiny (Hydnum umbilicatum). All 3 of these Hedgehogs though are choice edibles. ciao

A Sweet tooth for Hedgehog mushrooms

This is a choice edible mushroom I’ve enjoyed eating for a number of years now though I never seen them as plentiful as I did here today.

Hydnum repandum is known as the Sweet tooth mushroom in North America and the Hedgehog mushroom in english speaking areas of Europe.

Some of these young mushrooms were weighing around 6 ozs so the basket was filling quickly, the cap color is very lively looking and really stands out from a good distance.

This mushroom is very good cooked in butter low and slow in a covered pan for 30 to 40 minutes. I usually remove the soft spike teeth before cooking as they scrape away very easy. The mushrooms will give of their liquids in around the 15 minute mark and then they will absorb them again in the last few minutes.

By far my best collection of Hydnum repandum ever, as you can see a few Lobster mushrooms and Russulas along with at the back between the baskets a nice 5 lb Chaga mushroom horn which I’ll do a post on later. ciao

Craterellus ignicolor and neighbours

These fresh Hydnum repandum are a welcome sight right here in the heart of the Craterellus ignicolor community.

This is a choice edible mushroom often called the Hedgehog and also Sweet tooth mushroom. Not very noticeable in the photo are the small spines on the underside of the cap on these young mushrooms which become easier to see as the mushroom matures.(click on for close up)

Here is another pleasant neighbour Xanthoconium affine var. maculosus, known as the spotted Bolete.

Now to focus on the Craterellus ignicolor family itself, here we see many bright orange young mushrooms with a few of the elders with their faded caps to the right.

Here we have a close look of what is comparable to a group of secondary school children in the craterellus community here in New Brunswick.

A middle aged Craterellus parent.

Here we see a few members of the national basketball team and then some as these mushroom are much larger than the usual as the stems were around 6 inches high and the caps over 3 inches with these weighing around an oz.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know some of the little ones of Craterellusville. ciao for now