Archives May 29th, 2006 Until July 19th, 2006

May 28th, 2006: Anthony Tassinello,  black morel, - general location = El Dorado NF, Northern CA. Growing Conditions = All the morels from this trip were found in disturbed earth/logging or in 2 year old burn. All were associated with pine trees. Additional Comments = We did a big circuit yesterday heading out through Georgetown by Stumpy Meadows Resevoir and picked a few stragglers in some logging at 4950' The Boletes have begun to show up and still don't have any bugs yet, could be that the brief rain we got last week helped. More blacks were found in logging at 5950' Pushed on to Ice House Rd. in the Crystal Basin Rec. area where we found more fresh porcini along the creeks at 5500'Swung east into the 2 year old 'Fred's Fire' above Hwy. 50 and the town of Kyburz. After getting sweated by loggers and rangers (every other car was a sheriff or game warden) we searched the slash piles at 6100' and just found lots of cups. Later, at 7000' among slash on the edge of the old burn we hit veins of black, blonde and red morels, as fresh as you like. Impossible to see, hiding and dusted with pine pollen. In about an hour of slow study we colleted 150 or so. It seems to be over from Northern CA...sadly.

May 28th, 2006: jeremy orton,  yellow morel - general location = Newark Valley New York state land. Growing Conditions = Right in the center of an old path. Surrounded by mostly maple tree. 2 says after rain and past 2 days of overcast humid weather. Thick fog on the morning i found them.
Additional Comments = This is the first WILD Morel I have ever seen i this area and i go mushroom hunting often... my girlfriend was with em at the time and needless to say i was exited. We left it there and i can send pics if you want them.. let me know.

May 29th, 2006: HI,I WAS WONDERING WHAT THESE ARE?FOUND ON ELM STUMP.TRUDY,HOULTON,ME

These are common Dryad's Saddle, edible when young and tender.- Chris M

May 29th, 2006: Chris, here is Scott and Michie's Mushroom report- We found 5lbs or so (morels) between the two of us.  My folks were with us as well, and they found roughly the same amount.  We found these in Kittitas County, WA.  The elevation was around 4000ft It has been wet around here, so the worms and bugs seem to be taking up residence in them fairly quick.  Also found six small warted puffballs (to small to bother with, but maybe worth while next week).

May 30th, 2006: I love your helpful and informative site. I have about twenty of these in my front yard (central Indiana), and am not sure what they are. I think maybe verpa bohemica, except that the stems are hollow. Also, the disection shows a free skirt or cap. All of them have sprouted from a universal veil/volva...any help you can lead me to in identifying these would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Max

You have : http://morelmushroomhunting.com/phallus_impudicus.htm, a stinkhorn! -Chris M

May 30th, 2006: i found a big stinky stinkhorn (mutinus elegans) in the mulch in our front yard. it only lasted one day, then shriveled up to nothing.
Also saw some very large ganoderma tsugae on dead conifer stumps.  -- hugh

May 31st, 2006: Great website, could somebody that may be able to identify this thing. It's about 6 years old. Thanks, Vincent J. Cauchi Jr.

 June 1st, 2006: hugh urban, wine cap stropharia - general location = columbus, OH. Growing Conditions = in mulch/ wood chips in a park. 
Additional Comments = I'm still finding lots of very nice wine-cap stropharias in the same spot -- pretty much a good batch every couple of days. The wine-cap is  very easy to transplant to your own garden or wood-chips. Toss a few caps in and chances are they'll get established. They're also good for your garden, releasing many nutrients into the soil

June 2nd, 2006: Hi Chris, Found these today in the foothills of Pierce county, washington at about 3800 feet.   We found 89 total, from 2 inches to 4 inches tall.  Seems as though things are kicking now.  These are much bigger than the ones we found in the same spot last year.  This is how we enjoy them.  Marinated in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and grilled until crispy. Daddy in Wa

June 3rd, 2006: It was a crazy week.  We got there and it was 32 degrees and snowing.  We found 4 in 2 days and then 16 then next and 30 the following.  It was a challenge where we normally hunt (4500' alt.) but did our best at a campsite in a state camp ground.  LOL After hunting for 2 days we woke up and found a morel growing under our picnic table 3 feet from our RV.  Go figure.  We found 3 more at that CG and had a blast looking for days.  Brings me back to childhood memories. My mom went shrooming up in Oregon today and only got a handful.  Sad part of the story...I may have developed an allergy to morels.  I ate them fried as I used to and each time got sick an hour or so later and threw up.  :(  No one else was sick and I know for sure we only picked morels.  Are many people sensitive to them?   If you consumed Morels and alcohol at the same time, this may be the reason. But it is also possible, just very uncommon, to actually be allergic to Morels. -Chris M  Hope all is well in your part of the country. Candy

June 4th, 2006: I found this Lilac-Brown Bolete today along with two King Boletes, a whole sackful of Cinnebar-Red Chanterelles, a sackful of Black Trumpets and a few Yellow Chanterelles in West Kentucky.  Happy Hunting!!  Cortney Sweet

6-6-06: Scott & Michie, morel- - general location = We spent the weekend hunting morels and whatever else we could find.  We hunted from the lake Wenatchee area to the Snoqualmie Pass area (Chelan and Kitittas Counties) in WA. Additional Comments = We spent the weekend hunting mushrooms with an enjoyable group of realitives, old friends and new friends, and came out of it with a nice haul.  We found a good amount of morels between us all.  At the urging of some of our fellow shroomers, both my parents and us decided to try some coral mushroom(we'll give it a try on Monday).  Also went back to check out the giant warted puffballs from last week.  I picked four (i wouldn't call the giant) good sized puffballs.  There were five more small ones that we will hope grow over the next week.  There were also a lot of Resulla (don't know if I spelled that right) around.  We may give it another try next week....We'll let you know.

June 8th, 2006: Hello Chris. Today I saw the first signs of Chanterelles here in Monroe County, MS. I have attached a picture of one of them. The largest ones are only about 1/4" tall and the ground is peppered with tiny yellow spots where others are beginning to grow. My Chanterelle patch should be ready to begin harvest in about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks if we get a little more rain. Scott

June 9th, 2006: hugh urban,  russula, platterful, stropharia, others - general location = hocking co., Ohio, Franklin co., ohio. .Growing Conditions = mixed woods/ Additional Comments = We went down to Hocking county, OH, Sunday and found a range of early summer mushrooms: russula variata, psathyrella rugocephala, tricholomopsis platyphylla, etc. Also still more wine-cap stropharias in a local park -- we must have picked 20 lbs from the same 20 sq feet of wood chips

June 9th, 2006: my 1st batch of mushrooms in mohawkvally n.y . mike, half-free morel - general location = mohawkvally n.y , Growing Conditions =  under apple trees, Additional Comments = found about 18 to 20 lb, in the mouth of may ,, found 4lb on 6/3/06, still looking,

It is hard to say for certain, but these appear to possibly  be Verpa Bohemica, not Half Free Morels.. -Chris M

June 10th, 2006: Hello! Our family has recently become interested in learning about the flora and fauna in our yard, and have found these two mushrooms. We are complete beginners, but have been searching the internet, trying to learn to identify these, and came upon your site, and your generous offer to help with recognizing what types they are. We'd like to learn a bit for the future, so we can start to figure things out on our own, too, so any tips for getting started would be great. Regarding our find: These were both in our yard, on the ground, one in mulch (as shown), and one in the grass. We live in the Piney Woods to the north of Houston Texas, and these were found in May. Thanks in advance for any help- and thanks for your site. It's been a pleasure to look through. the Long Family

June 11th, 2006: Chris im pretty sure the ones are fawn ... but they look darker than the others i have found ..... the other i believe are coral .... they are edible arent they ??? as far as the reddish color ... i have no clue ... but found a cluster of 3 growing on a log .... the other white shrooms i found growing scattered on a hillside .... any help would be appreciated  ..... ty .... Gary

These do appear to be pluteus, and are commonly darker when young.- Chris M

These are Ramiria, some do eat, I do not recommend.- Chris M

These are: http://morelmushroomhunting.com/rhodotus_palmatus.htm -Chris M

Helvella? -Chris M

Top Photo I cannot determine.  Pluteus would have a pink spore print and gills that are distinctly free from the stalk, and would be growing on dead wood.  The dark cap color would not rule out P. cervinus, as the cap color is quite variable.  Nonetheless, this does not look much like a Pluteus to me---but the immaturity of the specimens makes it hard to determine.

June 12th, 2006: We went to Mt. Gilead s.p. today and found some interesting things: some early chicken, two small boletes (xanthoconium
separans/ boletus separans), dead man's fingers (xylaria polymorpha),  laccaria laccata, a few russulas and a platterful (tricholomopsis platyphylla). Hugh

June 13th, 2006: I have attached two different photos taken today.   Both of these were growing on logs that were in a moist shady area.  Do you have any idea what type of mushrooms they are...and if they are edible. Curious in ohio, cjvarga

These are a Coprinus species, (Inky) -Chris M

June 13th, 2006: Jeff Rupert,  black morel - general location = Cle Elum, Washington. Growing Conditions = various locations near cottonwoods, deer trails, campgrounds

June 17th, 2006: I found about 15 enormous meadow mushrooms on OSU campus in a half-ring around an oak-tree on grass; the opened ones were about 4-8" across; some of the buttons were as big as baseballs, Hugh. agaricus campestris

June 18th, 2006:  here's the gigantic agaricus arvensis I found today, along with some smaller buttons.  All were under a pine tree in a park where
we found many last summer. We grilled them with herb-butter for dinner. It was excellent. I also saw one very large russula, probably r. brunneola, but there are so many reddish-brown russulas I can't tell them apart. Hugh. 

June 19th, 2006: Chris, I don't know for sure?? - general location = I Found them on June 18th in the fron yard, growing in a shaddy grass area.
I live in Kentucky. .Growing Conditions = In the shaded grass, damp and humid. Additional Comments = The mushrooms are on a big cluster about the size of a large apple and there are about 30 small mushrooms in the cluster. They are brown with darkened edges and lighter towards the middle. Under the caps is a tan color and the stems are 2-3 inches long. Some caps are flat and some are rounded. Just wondering what type of mushroom these might be?

June 23rd, 2006: Hi Chris, I live in rural Black RIver Falls, WI.  This popped up in our yard a week or two ago.  I haved searched on the internet trying to find out what it is with no luck.  Got any ideas? Sincerely Mary

June 24th, 2006: Dear Mushroom friend, I found this wonderful mushroom in upstate NY. I wonder if you can help me identify it. I've never seen such a broad stem but I'm no expert. The stem also looks a little like a Banyan tree's trunk. Is it edible and good? Thanks in advance. Thea

June 26th, 2006: We found a nice fresh black-staining polypore in our neighbor's yard, same spot as last year, but earlier. Also another nice batch of
wine-cap stropharias, which have produced every 2-3 days for three weeks now. Hugh, Columbus, OH

June 27th, 2006: cortney sweet, chanterelle - general location = Western Kentucky. Growing Conditions = I picked a half gallons worth on the kept grounds of a state park on a mossy hillside among a mix of oak and pine.  Additional Comments = Also found were more Lilac-Brown Boletes. Last Tuesday I also found a FIVE POUND Chicken Mushroom!  Happy Hunting!

June 27th, 2006: hugh urban,  chanterelle - general location = columbus, OH. Growing Conditions = under oak on lawn. Additional Comments = we found our first chanterelles (chantharellus cibarius) of the season just up the street on a neighbor's front lawn under an oak tree

June 28th, 2006: hugh urban, sweet tooth, chanterelle, graceful bolete, angel wing, lactarius, russula - general location = hocking co., OH
Growing Conditions = mixed woods: oak, maple, conifer Additional Comments = Chris Ott and I went to down to Hocking co. today and found some nice sweet tooth (hydnum repandum), very teeny-tiny baby chanterelles, some mature cantharellus appalachiensis, 2 good patches of graceful boletes, and some assorted lactarius and russulas. On the way home we picked up a few wine-cap stropharias and a number of chanterelles (cibarius) growing in my neighbor's yard

June 28th, 2006: chris is there anyway ya can help me with the ID's of these ... i know the ones are chants from your video and site ..... the others im not too sure of .... the shaggy lookin ones and the ones on the lower left corner were found on rottin wood .... the other 2 were found growin on the ground and look to me to be boletes (pores instead of gills)..... any help would be appreciated

June 28th, 2006: Here are a few pics of our mushroom finds on June25th.  We found 4 morels, 3 warted puffballs(only 2 were edible), and 20+ pounds of Boletus Edulis and coarl.  We found all of these in about 3.5 hours in Kittitas County, WA at about 4000ft. Scott and Mitchie

June 29th, 2006: 

June 30th, 2006: 

left is Chanterelles, right is probably a lactarius.- Chris M

July 1st, 2006: Chris ..... been findin chants the past few days ... along with many diff boletes .... which im not sure of ID ..... but did find sum old man of the woods !!! here are sum shots for ya site .... take care and have a good one .... Gary

July 4th, 2006: hugh urban,  chanterelle - general location = columbus, Oh. Growing Conditions = mixed woods on steep slopes by a stream.
Additional Comments = I found some very nice big chantarelles (cibarius and appalachiensus) today, as well as a few boletes (longacurvipes and red-cracked), all on slopes by a stream just north of Columbus.  I saw a patch of large volvariella speciosa in some mulch in an alley by my house

July 8th, 2006: I was hoping you could help me with this identity. This grows in the horse manure I have been using as a border around my garden. It seems to be similar to AGARICUS AUGUSTUS slide 202 in Simon and Shuster's guide to mushrooms. My friend thinks it closer resembles Macropeliopa Puellaris slide 22.  However the scale is quite different than this one. The traveling Arab, on the run. GLACO 

This is most definitly a Lepiota.Lets see what Dave has to say...- Chris M. 

July 8th, 2006: Hi there, I am hoping you might be able to help me. I have two dogs who developed diarrhea and abdominal cramping within two days of each other, but otherwise appear fine. I've been trying to figure out what is causing it, and the only thing different I have found is that with all the rain that we had this week, I have an over abundance of these mushrooms growing in my backyard. I was hoping that you may be able to ID them and then I can see if that is what is causing the problems. I have attached a photo to this email. I am in College Station, TX. We have had six inches of rain in a week and the ground is very wet. These are found growing by themselves or in small groups of two to four in the grass. Thanks for any assistance you can provide! Ladona Wyatt

You have: http://morelmushroomhunting.com/chlorophyllum_molybdites.htm, and will give you very bad flu-like symptoms.- Chris M

Follow up:

That's what I figured after I saw the spore print. I attached some photos of the print and gills after they sat overnight. Thank you so much for
identifying them for me. I reported it on the website that you gave me, and listed you as the identifier. I'm going to send out a warning to my
neigherbors about this, so hopefully no one else's dog or child gets sick. Thanks again! Ladona Wyatt

Follow up #2:

I just wanted to thank you again for identifing these for me. I had the local paper do a story on them, so others can watch out for it.

Link:  http://www.theeagle.com/stories/071006/local_20060710006.php

You may have helped save someone else's pets and children from a nasty GI upset or worse! Thanks again for all your help. It was greatly
appreciated! Ladona Wyatt

July 12th, 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?

I would need to see a photo.- Chris M

July 15th, 2006: 

July 18th, 2006: It has been the worst drought and heat wave here in central GA that I have seen since living here, absolutely no mushroom in the past several months now. -Chris M

July 19th, 2006: is this a chanterelle?Jonny

Yes, you do have an edible Cantharellus species there! enjoy!- Chris M

Follow up:

thanks for the reply,here are some more pics. I live in south central Kentucky on a small farm about 1100 feet above sea level,facing south east. I have watched these mushrooms for three years and never knew they are chanterelles .thanks again. Jonny