Archives July 20th

July 19th, 2006: Marc Tremblay, I dont know? - general location = I'm living in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Growing Conditions = Under a Jasmine tree
Additional Comments = I'm very curiouse and I will love to know the spice of muchroom growing in my tropical garden?

This is a stinkhorn, fairly uncommon, and lacking very many good photos of this species. You have probably noticed the very foul odor coming from this mushroom. If you do not mind, I will add this photo on my website under the species name. http://morelmushroomhunting.com/clathrus_ruber.htm. Thanks, Chris M

July 20th, 2006: Hi Chris, Sage and Kurt again... Went on vacation to North Eastern MA- Around Newburyport July 16-17... Mushrooms EVERYWHERE! Found some gorgeous specimens.. Looks at the colors of the Rusellas (not to eat)like a boquet of flowers! Large Boletes (didn't pick, don't know enough about which are edible). The Parasol caps had whiteish spore print and long stems with movable ring, big ones 3" across or even bigger... Kurt's planning to eat, I'm still worried, look too much like the poison Chlorophyllum molybdites for my comfort zone... The Chanterelles hes also convinced, but they look so much like false Chanterelles to me! (I'm the novice) the gills are folds, not the deep grooves (?). The Black trumpets we chowed on! Oh, and the last photo..orange lactarious- bled milky, another non-eating one for us, can you tell exact species
from photo? Cheers, Sage

He promises me hes not going to eat the (potential) parasols… (better safe than sorry!)

July 20th, 2006: I went to central PA recently, where they'd had buckets of rain, and the mushrooms were simply everywhere. You could not walk 3 feet in the woods without tripping over fungi. Among the highlights: many lovely black trumpets, many chanterelles, millions of boletes (separans, yellow spotted, a couple edulis, painted suillus, etc), and some weird stuff I'd never seen before such as white elfin cap (helvella crispa) and something that looked like the ectoplasm slime from Ghostbusters.

Lots of stuff popping up in Ohio. Chris Ott joined us for a hike down in the Hocking Hills area, where we found loads of chanterelles (cibarius, lateritius, cinnabarinus, appalachiensis, and persicinus), hedgehogs, nice boletes (bi-color, spotted, etc), lactarius (corrugis, hygrophoroides, etc). Almost too much to carry home, really. Hugh

July 20th, 2006: Chris, here are sum more pix .... ash boletes, chants(common and minor), lobsters, and gem-studded puffs findin alot of shrooms i cant ID here in Indiana .... new to the "others" ..... take care and good luck ... by the way ya DVD has been very helpful .... Gary

July 22nd, 2006: Denise Brinkley, I am not sure - general location = Crossville,Tennessee USA. Growing Conditions = Under Oak trees.
Additional Comments = I have or had 2 of these brownish mushrooms in my back yard that looked edible, but I picked one and I threw it away next to another one and my dog at some of it. It's flared out and about 3 inches across with a white stem. THey look like some I've eaten from the store. So far my dog is not sick. I'ts been about an hour now. How can I send you a picture of it? Denise

Hi Chris, I'm working on sending some rain your way. I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile we've been finding numerous boletes, chanterelles, and great milkies here in Central Ohio. Lobsters were found in Charlotte, NC at the start of the month. Boletus bicolor, separans, and loads of chanterelles towards the end of the month. The photos don't do it justice. Hugh and I have been filling baskets at a time. Also scored some black trumpets the other day thanks to the ample rain.

hello my name is sarah . i live in south africa and found this mushroom growing with my green pepper plant in my bedroom.it is winter here and the soil is normal potting soil.the gills are a brownie orange colour. the stem is slender and also orange brown with dark brown lines running up the stem.the stem becomes black at the top where it is connected the gills. the ring is bumpy and is brown on top and white underneath.the cap is brown on top and brownie orange towards the edge. the cap margin is striated. the texture is fibrillose and wet and cold. it doesnt have a bad smell to it. its been in in the pot for about 6 days now. i have tried to identify it using books but cannot find it anywhere. its about 5cm long. i tried to take better photo's but this is the best i could do. i hope you can identify it and thank you. i hope to hear from you and thank you again

This "little brown mushroom" could belong to any of a number of different genera; identifying it would require microscopy. One very strong possibility is genus Galerina, spores of which are warted with a smooth area called a 'plage.' Many Galerina species are dangerously toxic (but only if eaten; you cannot become poisoned simply from handling toxic mushrooms).

August 3rd, 2006: Tomgirl, i found this mushroom along the side of the sidewalk. it was found 8/3/06 weighs 1.6lbs is 8.5 in wide along the top of the mushroom and it is 8 in. long. it is 18in. around the top of the mushroom and 23.5in. around the height of it. i live in cleveland ohio...and i am 15 years old. you can call me melanie. i would really like to know what kind of mushroom this is if you have any clue. thank you.

This is an edible puffball, as long as the flesh is nice and white, and has not turned a greenish color. -Chris M

First time i've visited your website and found it wonderful. I found these mushrooms on my walk with my dog today and would like to know if they are edible. I think from your website, they are Oyster Mushrooms but wanted an expert like you to confirm. If so, how would you suggest preparing? For background info, we are located in Northern VA, in the McLean area. Been having a very wet season.

August 10th, 2006: Spirit That Walks, can you tell me if you can reconise if any of these are eatable or not... prob not they grow in the panhandle of florida in aug. they are all wild.

These are some type of Bolete, probably a bitter variety, and not edible. -Chris M

You have found the toxic Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom here, avoid! Pretty but toxic! -Chris M

August 14th, 2006: Hi Chris,

My name is Lowell Schaefer and I am new to your website. I am also new to mushrooms and fungi. I have lived in Colorado for 55 years and have marvelled at the beauty of mushrooms this time of year in the Rocky Mountains. I have also been intrigued with the possiblity of collecting and cooking the better varieties here. Is there a way to connect with collectors here in my region to learn more first hand? I am sending two pictures of a speciman I foung growing next to a downed pine tree above 10,000 feet. It had a very firm base, but I couldn't find anything like it on your website. Could you point me to the answer, and would it be safe and tasty to cook? Thanks and I am looking forward to knowing more about enjoying the wonders of mushrooms. Lowell

This is a very young sample of probably an Amanita, maybe muscaria, and should be avoided as may be toxic. -Chris M

August 15th, 2006: Chris I found this bolete under an old Oak Tree today in Charlotte. I just cut it in half and it has really nice looking white flesh/meat.Can I chow down on it ? Or feed to it my boss ? After these rains we are having I need to start carrying the camera again with
me.There were some other mushrooms growing close to it. Look like they were hatching from eggs with orange`ish / red`ish caps. I`am seeing a lot of different types popping up. Will send you pic`s when I find more...Thanks Craig

This is a Bolete, and appears to be a variety of the bitter kind, and not edible. -Chris M

August 19th, 2006: Hi Chris, My daughters and I found a couple of pound of Chants just south of Bellingham, Washington day before yesterday. It is still fairly dry here so they were really dense and tasty. I grilled them with pine nuts and garlic and make a tasty tapenade. As soon as we get some rain they should be all over. It sure is nice to be back in Bellingham. Daddy in Wa

August 22nd, 2006: Hello, I found these mushrooms in the grass under beech trees (Lake Lansing park, Lansing MI). They grew in the same habitat as Boletus erythropus. Taste was very bitter, tubes and flesh - white. They look just like Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus in my mushroom book, but the mushrooms in the images on the internet have very purple stems. The specimens I found had smooth brown stem. They tend to grow in large groups, sometimes joined together in a clump. Can you help me with their identification? Thanks, Eva

This is a member of a difficult group of species within genus Tylopilus... it's most likely T. williamsii, but I can't say that with 100% confidence.

David W. Fischer
Binghamton NY
Coauthor, Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America (1992, Univ. of Texas Press) and
Mushrooms of Northeastern North America (1997, Syracuse Univ. Press)
AmericanMushrooms.com

August 26th, 2006: Are these mushrooms? They started growing in a flower pot. brianmef,

August 26th, 2006: Hello Chris, this mushroom was found in early Aug. growing out of a crack in a foundation wall. Please I.D Mushroom. Scott

Chris is correct, this is a Cauliflower mushroom (genus Sparassis). It's a good edible under normal circumstances; growing in such an odd location, one would have to be able to rule out any contamination from such sources as old paint (see http://americanmushrooms.com/ten.htm).

The following mushrooms grow in the spring and also are growing right now in late summer. They spring up in the grass next to our oak trees. I think they are sulphur polypore (Laetiporus sulphureus) chicken of the woods, but everything I find on the net says that Laetiporus sulphureus grows directly on the trees and I cannot find any pictures that look like mine. We get so many of them growing that it is a shame not to eat them, but I'm not going to eat them until I know exactly what they are. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated! Have a great day! Eric

Chris, Due to severe draught here in Cumming, GA, mushrooms are pretty scarce. I was in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains 8/25/06 and found these giant mushrooms. I thought they were cauliflower mushrooms, but they were about 24 to 28" in diameter and according to the reference books they are too large for cauliflowers. Can you identify from the pictures? Are they edible? Jim Finley

August 30th, 2006: HI,I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHAT THESE ARE/THEY WERE IN ARE FIR AND SPRUCE STAND.

August 30th, 2006: Hello! I was trying to find out what kind of mushroom we have and found your site. You do a fantastic job! I took these pictures a day ago. It is getting bigger. However, it fills the lense in a close up photo. My name is Mykel Anderson. I live in Ham Lake, MN, about one hour north of Minneapolis. Let me know if you need more information from me. I've never seen something like this before. Please let me know what you think it is. Thank you! Myk

Could you please help me I live in the Midwest of Minnesota and this mushroom has been growing in the same garden every year. Is this and eatable Mushroom and what kind is it? The size is about a foot in diameter and is a bright orange. Thanks any info would be helpful. Back in 1997 My mother gave me an article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press on what I thought was this mushroom and that the upper scale resturants buy them now I can't find the article. Please Help! Cathy

September 2nd, 2006: Hello, I bought an acre in augusta Georgia and have been living here for 4 months now, I found all of these mushrooms growing on my acre, I don't know if any are poison or edible, would like to !! Any help will be greatly appreciated! Pappy

These are "Gilled Boletes", and are edible. Other photos included some toxic Amanitas, the tan and white ones. Avoid. -Chris M

September 2nd, 2006: Scott and Mitchie, after our first rain in months, I found a lone Prince mushroom popping up in our back yard (in Bothell WA). Hope this is a sign the fall mushrooms will start popping up.

September 3rd, 2006: I saw this this morning in my backyard, growing in a bed of white pines. What is it? Thank you. Jeff Shein, Millwood, NY
(Westchester County)

September 4th, 2006: beastybird, chicken in the woods, hen or the woods and giant puffballs - general location = WI is starting to alive with fungas I was finding chanterelles but now I picked 2 decent size hens about 4lbs each and 6 giant Puffballs and found a tree loaded with chicken of the woods there must be at least another 50 lbs left but going to go get more today if they are still there Growing Conditions = they woods I hunt has alot of Oaks and hickery and other hardwoods

August 30th, 2006: Ted Gustin, Oysters, Chanterelles, Old Man of the Woods - general location = Jonesboro, Georgia... Clayton County
Growing Conditions = Mainly under Beech and Whiteoak along the bottom areas. Additional Comments = I have found about 20 lbs of Chanterelles over the past three weeks. Been freezing and drying and cooking them...

September 5th, 2006: I apologize for being behind with these reports, things have been hectic to say the least.- Chris M

September 5th, 2006: Osmanlinneus, from Ontario writes: Please Identify this mushroom.

photos 001, 002, 003 and the left panel of photo 006 are for the same mushroom type. 001 is a mature cap of about 5 in in diameter. 003 shows an immature specimen. The base of these mushrooms is club-like or bottle-like. It seems as if this base shrinks as the fungus become older. A longitudinal cut shown in the left panel of photo 006 reveals a very smooth and filled, not hollow, stalk. These specimens (and about 15 similar) were found in Columbus, OH growing on decomposing leaves under a black walnut tree. These are pure white mushrooms from the outside and the inside.004 seems like a baby mushroom, but it has no stalk at all as seen in the right panel of photo 006 longitudinal cut. The cut also shows white (unlike the beige outer surface) spongy pulp with fine pores at the tip that gradually increases in size towards the base of the mushroom. At the base, the texture is more spongy and elastic than the crispy top. 007 and 008 is an interesting mushroom because it smells nutty and very mushroomy (I did not dare to try taste it though). It was (with two other younger ones) growing on a decaying tree stump. Its color is more yellowish brown than orange. Definetly not orange. 009 is very interesting because the stalk is similar to morel head, but the head (cap) of this mushroom is small and smooth. It is light honey-colored with yellow edge. 010 are small, less than the size of a quarter found growing on a decomposing tree in a very humid spot next to a river in Columbus, OH. 011 has a range of colors from pure red to yellow. The cap is about 2 inches in diameter. All these mushrooms were found on 9/4/2006. I would be interested in your comments. LKH, from Columbus, OH. Thanks.

September 5th, 2006: Hugh, We just got back from Vermont, where the woods were wet and the hunting was pretty darn good overall. Highlights include: about 12 hericium (both ramosum and coralloides), which we saw almost every time we went out; about 25 lobsters, some huge; many huge
scaber stalks; 1 good boletus edulis, plus about 10 that were too old; loads of chanterelles (cibarius and tubaeformis); many nice large hedgehogs; hundreds of gypsies (rozites caperata), plus assorted lactarius, russula, agaricus, etc.

September 6th, 2006: Patricia Martin, no idea - general location = my neighbor bought a tropical plant from our local grocery store, it had grown in its soil...florecent yello mushrooms....they look like pencils, they have no cap on them they are just rounded on the top...but they sure smell like mushrooms...can you tell me anything about them please? Since she has children, she wants to make sure that they are ok....we live in Goderich ,Ontario. Without a photo, it is hard to say, but I will guess: http://morelmushroomhunting.com/lepiota_lutea.htm

Hi Chris! Here is the first of, what should be, many maitake/hens to be found in Central Ohio. It seems they are early. Possibly the first to be reported. Also, are pics of a massive bug-free oyster flush from Hugh and I, and a cool pic of coral mushroom, maybe Clavicorona pyxidata. And a awesome collection of Agaricus campestris and Lepiota americana. Thanks Chris O.

My name is Elizabeth (Betty) Gruhler and I live in northeast Tennessee, just south of the tri-cities area. I mow my grass every Monday. When I mowed the grass this past Monday (labor day) I found these two mushrooms. They were not there the Monday before, when I mowed the grass. At first, I thought they were what we used to call puff balls when we were kids. So, I broke the big one open, expecting to find dark grey dust. I have lots of other mushrooms that grow in my yard, but I don't know what they are, either. Would love to know what this one is and if I can eat it! It smells great!

September 7th, 2006: hi there! i found these mushrooms in North East Georgia, USA... i found them growing near the base of a pine coming up through the fallen pine needles... i was wondering what type of mushrooms these were because i have found them difficult to identify as i am new to the mushroom scene... any help that you could give me would be greatly appreciate... i have attached 2 pictures i took... thanks!!!
~ brandon ~

I cannot identify these on the basis of the photos, as I can't see sufficient detail without close-up photos showing the gills etc.

David W. Fischer - Binghamton, NY
AmericanMushrooms.com
Coauthor of Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America and
Mushrooms of Northeastern North America

September 8th, 2006: Scott and Michie, I spotted another mushroom in our yard in Bothell, WA. I was thinking it is some sort of Lepiota. What do you think. It is growing among our New Zeland spinach.

September 8th, 2006: A LOT of stuff is coming up now in central Ohio -- I've found 2 chickens (plus 3-4 old ones), a bunch of reddening lepiotas, and many huge agaricus campestris just in the last 2 days. I've also been finding large quantities of these beautiful boletes in a neighbor's yard near an oak tree every summer (Jul-Sept) for the last 3 years. I think I've narrowed it down to boletus speciosus var. brunneus, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on identification. Hugh

September 11th, 2006: I found two nice fresh scaber stalks (leccinum insigne) yesterday under beech, along with some purple laccarias and one lobster. I also saw a huge batch of jack o'lanterns. Still more agaricus arvensis and chicken coming up in the park. Also, my friend a few
blocks away found 2 enormous puffballs in his back yard, each about twice as big as a basketball. I found 3 smaller purple-spored puffballs in my front yard. Hugh

September 11th, 2006: Michele, Puffball or earthball (unsure) - general location = Stroud's Run State Park, Athens county, Ohio. Growing Conditions = Grassy areas of campground -not under trees. Additional Comments = Uncertain whetehr this is edible or not. I have only connected morels before. My 3 year old found 2 others of this species which he threw at trees - thus I know they are very solid and pure white inside. Thanks!!

It appears to be a small specimen of the Purple-spored Puffball (Calvatia cyathiformis), which is an excellent edible while the interior is still pure white. Double-check to make sure that the inside of the mushroom is solid, white undifferentiated tissue to rule out the possibility that this is a "button" stage gilled mushroom of some unknown species.

The mushroom on the left appears to be a Tylopilus species, probably very bitter to taste. The one in the center appears to be Russell's Bolete (Boletellus russellii). The one on the right is the Ash-tree Bolete (Gyrodon merulioides).

David W. Fischer - Binghamton, NY
AmericanMushrooms.com
Coauthor of Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America and
Mushrooms of Northeastern North America

September 15th, 2006: Susan McLeod, I have no idea - general location = Minneapolis Minnesota USA. Growing Conditions = In oak woods on a pile of leaf compost. Additional Comments = these mushrooms are pure white, round and slightly larger than soccer balls (approx. 24 in in diameter and about 12 inches high). They are growing very close together. What the heck are they?

These are interesting. I am not sure. I have emailed these to Dave, l ets see what he has to say.- Chris M

Alas, I cannot see enough detail in these photos to identify the mushroom. Knowing the spore print color would be of great help:

If you cut the stalk off a mushroom and place the cap right-side-up on a sheet of clear plastic (white paper can be used, but clear plastic is better for viewing a pale spore print) and cover it with a bowl and leave it overnight, it will usually deposit millions of spores, and you can see their color en masse.
--http://AmericanMushrooms.com/basics.htm