MycoRant » wild mushrooms

A Mid-September Colorado Foray

Philip — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:20:32 +0000

Figure 1. Location of Black Forest Regional Park (A)

I don’t get out on many mushroom hunts these days, but with the record one-day rainfall of last week, I figured that over the weekend it would be as good a time as any to get out. So, on Sunday, September 18 we took a short trip over to Black Forest County park in El Paso County just to the northeast of Colorado Springs.

It was a nice day and, although the ground had started to dry up already, it was still moist under the duff. The park is characterized by sandy soil and a mixture of tall pine trees and clumps of scrub oak (see Figure 1 for map location).

Figure 2. A small late summer collection of Colorado mushrooms

I thought we would come up with a lot more, but we did manage to bring home six collections. After spreading them out on a table and setting some up for spore prints, I tried my best to identify what I could (Figure 2).

One needed no research and was obviously what is known as the lobster mushroom, which is of course actually some (usually difficult to identify exactly Russula or Lactarius) mushroom species covered with a reddish-orange parasitic fungus called Hypomyces lactifluorum . Supposedly edible, but no thanks.

Spore prints were not very successful. Apparently the mushrooms were a little dry, but one did drop an ample amount of pinkish brown spores. Using Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified, it keyed out fairly reliably to Pleurotus cervinus, although the cap was a little paler than what is seen in most photographs . I really should join the local mycological society so I can get more familiar with the local species.

Figure 3. Lobster mushrooms

Lacking spore prints, compounded by my general lack of knowledge about Colorado fungi, I was unable to make much headway on the others, although the clustering species with decurrent gills could possibly be Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (but I wouldn’t bank on it). They were a nice yellow
color with inrolled cap margins and a slightly brownish center region on the cap, growing in attractive clumps (Figure 4).

I dampened some of the caps from specimens that I had not obtained spores from in the hope that they would rejuvinate and perhaps yield something. I’ll check again in a day to see if anything shows up. Without spores, there isn’t much chance of getting a good ID. I am sure someone who is more familiar with the local mycoflora could probably recognize them though.

I was pretty good at identifying Texas mushrooms, but I am admittedly out of practice. I need to work on my Colorado mycology chops!

Figure 4. Cluster of mushrooms with decurrent gills

Washington Mushroom Collecting Permits Available

Philip — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:40:17 +0000

If you plan on collecting more than “a gallon” of mushrooms in the State of Washington, you better get your permit. Details in Commercial mushroom permits available published by the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin:

Permits for commercial mushroom gathering in the three Blue Mountain forests are now available. The permits are required for anyone intending to sell, harvest, possess or transport more than one gallon of mushrooms in Oregon or five gallons in Washington state. An annual commercial permit costs $50. Consecutive-daily permits are $2 per day, with the minimum purchase of a 10-consecutive-day permit for $20.

If you are a commercial picker planning to camp out, you’ll need an industrial camping permit as well.

The Puget Sound Mycological Society offers some good information on the mushroom hunting rules in Washington.

Washington state is divided into numerous federal, state, local and Native American jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction has its own rules (or not) and its own way of publishing and enforcing these rules (or not.) Those rules also occasionally change. For example, Washington state law was changed in 2005 and the effects of that change have been slowly spreading through various districts in 2006. Some districts also regularly change details each year in response to conditions like previous year fire locations.

From the information found on this U.S. Forest Service website, the rules and costs that apply in the state might not apply on federal lands.

Heavy Metal Mushrooms

Philip — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:55:11 +0000

By now it is pretty well known that mushrooms can accumulate metals. Heavy metals accumulate more in some mushrooms than in others describes some recent research on accumulation of metals by mushroom producing fungi.

The researchers have analysed the presence of lead (Pb), neodymium (Nd), thorium (Th) and uranium (U) in a hundred samples of 12 different species of common mushroom, both edible and non-edible, collected from non-contaminated zones in the Ciudad Real province. They were collected from wooded areas comprising Holm oak, Kermes oak, Pyrenean oak, Pine and Cistus. The results of the study reveal that there are ‘considerable’ quantities of the four metals in all the species examined, as well as significant differences in the capacity for accumulation of these elements depending on the species.

The work Substrate role in the accumulation of heavy metals in sporocarps of wild fungi, appeared in the October issue of Biometals (Juan A. Campos, Noel A. Tejera y Carlos J. Sánchez. “Substrate role in the accumulation of heavy metals in sporocarps of wild fungi”. Biometals 22 (5): 835-841).

More on metal accumulation in mushrooms:

Contents of detrimental mercury, cadmium and lead in wild growing edible mushrooms: a review (PDF)

A short list of “metals in mushrooms” resources

Contents of metals in some wild mushrooms: its impact in human health

Heavy Metals in Edible Wild-Growing Mushrooms in Norway

Trace elements in wild edible mushrooms

Study of Heavy Metals in Wild Edible Mushrooms under Different Pollution Conditions by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Indian Wild Mushroom Prices an Economic Indicator?

Philip — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:48:13 +0000

An article in the Indian publication, the Nation, asks if the current high price of wild mushrooms is an indicator of true supply and demand. Could it be because of dwindling forest resources leading to a smaller mushroom supply? Who knows? See Wild mushrooms a symptom of economic imbalance by Wichit Chaitrong. It has an editorial tone.

Perhaps there just isn’t much of a demand for mushrooms in India and those who do like them are willing to pay the high price.

According to George Wong’s (University of Hawaii) lecture notes for his class Magical Mushrooms and Mystical Molds, “The Indian subcontinent appears to be mostly mycophobic or at least do not eat mushrooms to the extent of the Asian continent. Most consumption seems to be in mountainous area of Kasmir and the Himalayas. Mushroom consumption is also common in Bengal. However, it generally appears that India lacks a culinary interest in mushrooms. One reason for this lack of interest may be that India was once a former British Colony, but it appears that this lack of interest predates British presence in India. Despite the lack of gastronomic interest in mushrooms, in the district of Kerala, mushrooms are utilized in religious ceremonies. In this district, burial monuments, resembling mushrooms, built between 2000-1000 B.C., are worshiped by present day people who also consume some of the hallucinogenic mushrooms in this area. It is believed that these mushrooms enable the user to communicate with their gods and the dead.”

On the other hand, apparently some people in India do pick them, even though they don’t know what they are doing. According to one source (Nine hospitalized after eating wild mushrooms), picking mushrooms in Indian forests is even illegal.