I had never even considered finding mushrooms on my property. I have been incredibly pleased to discover that this land provides an abundance of species, a few of which are heavily represented.
Now I know quite a bit about certain aspects of the natural world. Although, I have been fascinated by mushrooms for decades and have tried several times to delve into the subject, other things have always interrupted my studies.
The happy accident of finding these fall mushrooms has changed all of that. I certainly have always loved edible mushrooms and the opportunity to obtain them without having to go to the store excites me. I love to cook and most of these are a fortunate find in that regard.
In the many pictures below I will attempt to tell as much as I can about what I have learned. I fully admit that I could be wrong in some aspects and I would never ingest anything I am not sure about. Yet, I have tried to be very cautious and explain when I don't have a clue. I would greatly welcome any identification information from those who are well-versed in mycology.
The first species to stick out was this white specimen. It inspired me to roam the property and find any other patches...
The drop showing on the outside tastes very sweet.
It is these hardwood stumps that provide the best place for "Shrimp of the Woods" to grow.
I had been calling these "sugar clouds," because of the sweet taste of the drop they seemed to produce and before I learned the actual name. It was nice today to determine that they are edible.
The story behind their life cycle is very interesting. The species is parasitic to another kind of mushroom--the "Honey Mushroom"
(Armillaria mellea) causing the white irregularly shaped non-fruiting body of
abortivum to form. Until recently it was thought that the
A. mellea was the cause of the aborted
Entoloma. But
studies have determined that it is the other way around.
Here are a coupl shots of Honeys being infected with Entoloma...
Entoloma on the right and Honeys with white Entoloma mycelium creeping in.
It turns out that the sugary tasting liquid is actually the "honey" which the Honey Mushroom produces, exuded through the Shrimp of the Woods' flesh.
A great example of the aborted (on the left) and the unaborted forms of Entoloma.
Some other notes about Armillaria mellea...
The Honey Fungus is very common and has several very (at least to me) different looking forms. I am not at all sure, nor qualified, to discriminate between the varieties. I believe that most of what we will see below are forms of the Honey Fungus (though there are some other species mixed in I believe)...
In the above shot there seems to be two distinct mushrooms species,
and I'm not sure that either is a Honey.
The smooth-capped larger mushrooms on the left look different from the dotted-capped Honeys.
More specifically though, these small, tan, wrinkled-cap mushrooms do not look like Honeys.
This shows what I believe to be Honey's on the left and center.
I'm not sure the smoother-capped mushrooms and small wrinkled-capped ones
are on the left are Honeys.
In the photo above, we can see that all of these are growing around the base of a fallen ash tree. Apparently, Honeys are considered a
plant pathogen. They infect and kill trees. To see them sprouting from the base of this ash tell me that this fungus was the reason for the tree's demise. Further down we will see what fungi mycelium looks like in a rotten log. Interestingly, some varieties of Honeys are actually
bioluminescent. Here are some more Honeys (I think?)...
Notice that these have released their spores--the grayish-white dust seen all over the caps.
I decides to take a closer look at a typical Honey. This was before I knew what they were and wanted a bunch of different views in order to determine the species (which I am still somewhat unsure about)...
A great view of the "gills" under the caq (the straight, fragile structures under the cap).
Honeys are said to be edible. Some people, however, cannot tolerate them well and can experience gastrointestinal symptoms from ingesting them. Though the name implies a sweet taste, they can actually be quite bitter.
I found the next mushroom by accident. I just kind of turned around after photographing the Shrimps and Honeys, and there it was...
Notice that instead of gills like the Honey has, the Bolete has "pores" in which spores are dropped.
For a good explanation of the three forms spore producing surfaces, read this.
The third form is called "teeth" (a species I have not seen on my property).
The gray slimy thing near the middle of the photo is a baby slug.
The Boletes smell typical of mushrooms, but not overly fragrant. They are edible and apparently quite nice (albeit, a bit slimy) if cooked when younger (the pores become tougher with age).
I honestly can't remember if I carefully examined the mushrooms shown in the next three shots, and whether they were Boletes or something else. Each one clung onto a small piece of birch bark, besides growing out of the roots of a tree stump...
When I'm cutting trees and clearing away dead logs, I always examine everything I see in them very carefully. While at first looking like spider webs, the white threads in rotten logs are actually mycelium strands...
As mentioned earlier Honey Fungus mycelium can infect and destroy trees. I know that there is also beneficial mycelium. I have no idea whether the images above are showing helpful or hurtful fungus. I can tell you though, that the smell of rotten logs with this mycelium in them is very pleasant, fresh, fragrant and appealing.
In recent years huge amounts of research have been done in mycology. Most prominently in mind is the work of
Paul Stamets. His contributions to the field have been enormously useful. From improving inoculation and growing techniques, to experiments with using fungi to clean up toxic waste (literally eat it up and leave edible mushrooms in its place), his contribution to mycological science and environmental progress cannot be understated.
I recently heard a great presentation by Paul in which he describes the amazing things he has discovered and is currently working on. I think you would enjoy it, and his classic TED talk about the "Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World" (both linked to below...)
...and Paul Stamets' TED talk...
Now that my interest is sufficiently piqued about the potential for a personal mushroom harvest each autumn, I will be more careful about which stumps I remove or leave. I also plan to mark the spots to see if they reoccur each year. I look forward to this new dimension of forest living and feel genuinely blessed to discover this beautiful bounty within my reach.
