Mushroom foragers

[Huntress78]

Quote: Thanks, I think I will do that. It's a nice area along the river, quiet in the spring except for a few turkey hunters.
I haven't seen an elm in this part of the state since the big die off in the 60's. They cut all the red oak now due to 'oak wilt' so maybe I can find some there.
Not this weekend tho...we're in line for a foot of snow. Hopefully it won't hang around too long.



Nice that the season is off to an early start. Hope the warmth travels north soon!

 

[R2elk]

This mushroom comes up every year in the same spot. It has been doing this for at least 12 years.


Any ideas what it is?

 

[duluthralphie]

This mushroom comes up every year in the same spot. It has been doing this for at least 12 years.


Any ideas what it is?

My guess is it is a fungus of some kind!


Does it have a stem/stalk? Gills or not?

 

[R2elk]

My guess is it is a fungus of some kind!


Does it have a stem/stalk? Gills or not?

Yes it is a fungus.

I am going to have to wait until it comes back up later this year but my poor memory recalls a short stem but I can't remember about the gills. I am pretty sure it is not a puffball since it always stays solid and never turns into a dry shell of spores.

Here is another variety that I have no knowledge of.





The brown stuff on the cap is sand.

 

[katsdar]

I went to a friends house last weekend and we inoculated logs with shiitake mushroom spores, so is that considered cheating?

 

[Zoomie]

Yes it is a fungus.

I am going to have to wait until it comes back up later this year but my poor memory recalls a short stem but I can't remember about the gills. I am pretty sure it is not a puffball since it always stays solid and never turns into a dry shell of spores.

Here is another variety that I have no knowledge of.





The brown stuff on the cap is sand.

This is what you would do to try and identify: First, get an old spoon or something, and very carefully dig down until you have the whole thing. Take a look at the structure where it's coming up. Some species have a little cup or sometimes it looks like a little bag where ti comes up out of the ground and it's very important to know that. Note what the stalk looks like, is it even, is it bigger where it joins the cap etc. Note how the spore bearing surface under the cap meets the stem - is there a small notch? Does it just smoothly go into the stalk? Does it sort of follow the stalk down a ways? Then take a look at the underside of the cap and note what type of spore bearing surface it has - gills? Pores? Like a bunch of little icicles pointing down? etc. If you can, note spore color. All of that information really helps a lot but can't really be seen in a photograph, alas.

Might sound like a lot of details, but think of it this way: You are sending someone into a crowd of a thousand people, to find your family member. Telling them, "It's a person with blue eyes and they are short" is probably not very helpful. They would need more details: age, hair color, height etc. etc. Now, YOU can recognize your family member from across a crowded room at dusk and that's how it gets to be when you get to know the fungi. But if you don't know the person real well, you might need to look very carefully before you recognize who it is. Your pics don't look like any of my really close friends, so I would need more details.

 

[R2elk]

This is what you would do to try and identify: First, get an old spoon or something, and very carefully dig down until you have the whole thing. Take a look at the structure where it's coming up. Some species have a little cup or sometimes it looks like a little bag where ti comes up out of the ground and it's very important to know that. Note what the stalk looks like, is it even, is it bigger where it joins the cap etc. Note how the spore bearing surface under the cap meets the stem - is there a small notch? Does it just smoothly go into the stalk? Does it sort of follow the stalk down a ways? Then take a look at the underside of the cap and note what type of spore bearing surface it has - gills? Pores? Like a bunch of little icicles pointing down? etc. If you can, note spore color. All of that information really helps a lot but can't really be seen in a photograph, alas.

Your pics don't look like any of my really close friends, so I would need more details.

I am not surprised that it does not look familiar to you. I doubt that you would ever see an image of this one in a book about edible mushrooms. These photos were taken in 2005 and I have not yet found images of a similar mushroom. I did recently find an image of the underside of a mushroom that resembles it. It does have gills.

As to your other suggestions, I will have to wait for summer and see if any come up this year. I don't recall seeing any since my horse passed on. He distributed numerous varieties of mushroom spores.

From viewing numerous online images, I did find one somewhat similar this morning. I believe it may be some form of Ink Cap mushroom.

 

[Zoomie]

i think i ate a bad shroom, help me

Hang up, and dial 911.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I went to a friends house last weekend and we inoculated logs with shiitake mushroom spores, so is that considered cheating?

I'm not sure about Shiitake being readily available now...So I would say no. And Go for it. And I should try innoculating logs....

 

[R2elk]

I'm not sure about Shiitake being readily available now...So I would say no. And Go for it. And I should try innoculating logs....

You should.

http://www.gmushrooms.com/Plugs/index.htm