July 1st to September 10th

July 1st, 2005: hugh urban, oyster, platterful, amanita, russula - general location: central PA. Growing Conditions: mixed hardwoods and conifers by streams, Additional Comments: I'm in central PA, where it's unbelieavably dry right now; but I have seen a bunch of oysters, a few amanitas, many russulas and some platterfuls. Although we haven't seen many fungi, we have seen some interesting wildlife -- including a very large timber rattlesnake that I almost stepped right on. I don't think I've ever jumped quite that high or that far in my life. He was plenty mad, too, rattling away. One of the many hazards of mushroom hunting, I guess...

July 1st, 2005: Chris , I found this bolete in ormond beach fl. does not bruise much only a little darker brown. Tim Ward

If it does not bruise, it looks like it may be an edible, however, I have tried some this color and they were very bitter. I am not sure of the exact species of Bolete. -Chris M

Phylloporus do not normally occur on dead wood, and I cannot see the cap so am uncertain. (The bottom does look like Phylloporus)- -Chris M

July 2nd, 2005: My gosh, the nicest Chanterelles I have ever found, in Jones County, Georgia. Also found Boletus ornatipes. - Chris M

July 2nd, 2005: Chris, I found this lone Cantharellus cibarius under live oak in Daytona Beach on the upper banks of the Tomoka River. Tim Ward.

July 3rd, 2005: hugh urban - general location: clearfield county, PA. Growing Conditions: mixed hardwoods on mossy ground. Additional Comments: I found a few interesting things today in a part of PA that got some rain: powdery sulfer bolete (pulveroboletus ravenelii), small chanterelles (cantharellus minor), and best of all, salmon waxy caps (hygrophorus pratensis).

July 3rd, 2005: AlienSporeFinder, Get out in the woods, and stuff!!!! Location: Port Huron, MI, Right now I have a nice Indigo Milky being sauted on my stove. 3 to 5 pounds of fresh chanterelles in the fridge. A basketball sized chicken that needs to be plucked. A few red-cracked boletes. A handful of fairy ring mushrooms (just starting to appear). Also, wild strawberries are fruiting. Mulberries galore. Alot of different kinds of edible plants are fruiting. Day Lillies. Some other types of berries, bogberries, wintergreen is just starting. Have fun.

July 3rd, 2005: Roger R, chanterelle - general location: July 2nd I was checking out some new hunting ground in Butts co. GA and found several nice chanterelles and some odd looking mushrooms growing from a dead stick. All were found in pine-hardwood mix.

July 4th, 2005: Chris , I went to Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest, found this Bolete. Tim Ward

July 4th, 2005: Chris, Kylah and Elijah M., found the nicest Laetiporus cincinatus (Chicken Of The Woods) (W/ White Pores not yellow) I have ever seen. I cooked it up in a Fettuccini Alfredo recipe of mine, it was absolutely delicious. I will feature this recipe next month as the recipe of the month. We also found several pounds of fresh Chanterelles. Central Georgia- Twiggs County.

July 6th, 2005: hugh urban, wine-cap stropharia, agaricus bitorquis, painted suillus, chicken - general location: center co., PA. Growing Conditions: stropharia on wood chips; bitorquis on lawn by sidewalk; chicken on dead elm; suillus in rich hardwood forest. Additional Comments: We finally got some rain in central PA, and a number of interesting things popped up: stropharia rugosoannulata; agaricus bitorquis; suillus pictus; laetiporus sulphureus. Also amanita flavoconia and amanita fulva. Should be more in the next few days

July 6th, 2005: Sam in KCMO I found several chanterelles in Kansas City yesterday(7-5-05).This is only the second time I have hunted for the chanterelles and I found them in almost the excat same spot as i found 1 last year. is this normal can I expect to find them there yearly. Also 1 bolete that was very neat looking(my first Bolete) it stained blue when cut and had pores instead of gills. . Other than that I do not know what kind it was.

July 6th, 2005: pedro Location: Troy, Ohio. first lobsters of 05 , Was walking the dog through the woods and noticed some familar orange coloring in the leaves.

July 7th, 2005: Cott, Chris, here are photos of a young(N. WV) and mature(Central Ohio) meripilus giganteus or black-staining polypore. The younger grew on what I guess was an old Oak stump and it's identification was helped by hugh urban. It was extremely delicious at this age. Deep rich meaty flavor. The older one was part of a pair between two large Oaks on the forest floor, not on wood. They were past peak and had to push 20+ pounds.

July 8th, 2005: Mississippi Mushroom, Picked some kings and puffballs yesterday, I either eat or give away most of what I find, i share with a lot of people who like to eat mushrooms, But have no clue on where to go. or How to find them.

July 8th, 2005: ScottP Washington I found 2 prince mushrooms at work last week, and some sort of leceniumm the week before. we found them in our yard last year but I haven't seen them in the yard yet this year.

July 8th, 2005: Just wanted to input that I have been finding some chanterelles in my area (Upper East Tenn) the last few weeks. I have not found a lot at any one time (5 or 6) but have found them in 4 different locations that were in very different habitats: Horse Creek Park in Greeneville, Rock Creek in Erwin, Red Fork in Unicoi, and at Devils Fork Gap on the Appalachian Trail on the TN / NC state line. I have been starting to find a good variety of other fungi as well. Other edibles I have found a lot of are Hygrocybe pretensis. Hope everyone else is having a good season as well. Tom Cox

July 8th, 2005: Stever and Robin did well today. We went back to a favorite area of ours from the last couple of years in Oakland county Michigan and found a lot of chanterelles. Mostly quarter size. Most bug free. Not sure of numbers, but the baskets were getting heavy. Our sweettooth spot was not producing. And again I tasted a bitter bolete hoping it was something else.

July 9th, 2005: Scott & Michie, Prince - general location: Redmond and Bothell WA. Growing Conditions: Michie found two in our backyard yesterday and I found two more at work today. All growing in the same area where we found them last year.

July 10th, 2005: Anthony Tassinello, burnsite morel - general location: Fred's Fire, El Dorado Natinal Forest above the town of Kyburz, CA 6800'. Growing Conditions: Upper reaches of last years burn, among the incense cedar and pine. Additional Comments: Chris, it has been a long morel season here in No. California but I think I'm finally done. A buddy and I scouted the highest points of this remote fire for about a pound and a half of morels yesterday. The whole fire faces the south and access was limited due to current logging operations but where they hadn't destroyed the habitat you could still pick. July 8th is the latest I've ever found morels in the Sierras, a great season has come to an end.

July 10th, 2005: hugh urban - general location: Hocking Hills, OH. Growing Conditions: mixed oak and conifer along streams. Additional Comments: Despite the dry weather we found 4 different kinds of chanterelles: c. cibarius, c. lateritius, c. cinnabarinus and a white one that looks a lot like the subalbidus they get out west [I'll send a picture of it later]. We also found some good boletes -- yellow-spotted, chestnut, red-cracked, etc -- and one nice lactarius hygrophoroides. The summer shrooms are a bit late this year but seems like it will be good for the next few weeks

July 10th, 2005: Koby, Location: leonard, mi., found a half dozen Agaricus Arvensis in the back yard...they appeared to be perfect and fresh with the veils still on or just barely broken...but of course, they were full of maggots. also found two huge Amanita Muscaria var Formosa that were about 10" tall with 8" caps...they popped up in only two days (and i have no further comment on them!!!) im in NE Oakland Co, and it rained monsoon style for an hour last night around 8pm with plenty of hail thrown in for good measure...shrooming should get better soon!!!

July 11th, 2005: hugh urban - general location: Mt. Gilead S.P., Ohio. Growing Conditions: on mossy hillside under hardwoods. Additional Comments: We found about 20 really nice large and firm bi-color boletes [boletus bicolor], and a number of smaller chestnut and other boletes. We also saw a number of small but nice chanterelles.

July 11th, 2005: Miker, and his kids, found a very large patch of Black Trumpets in Michigan today.

July 11th, 2005: steortz, found Three clusters of white pored chicken of the woods that weighed eight pounds total. Just got done cleaning and bagging them up, four gallon bags stuffed full. Southern Oh

July 11th, 2005: Roger R, chanterelle - general location: Friday, July 8th I was replacing some siding at a homeowners house in Newton Co. GA and noticed some nice Chanterelles growing in the hardwoods. I ended up picking about a pound or two. Most of them were around 3-4 in. and the biggest being about 6in.

July 13th, 2005: geogymn, chanterelle, chicken - general location: Mohawk Valley,NY. Growing Conditions: Found a bunch of chants, mostly under beech trees, also found a small clump of chicken(sulpher shelf), and some oysters.

July 13th, 2005: Dave Wasilewski, chanterelle, sulphur shelf - general location: Northeast PA. Growing Conditions: chanterelles: mixed deciduous woods nearby a stream. sulphur shelf: old stump; probably oak. Additional Comments: After two+ months of very dry conditions, we finally got some decent rain last week. One patch of gilled chanterelles fruited. We got enough for a meal. Checked several smooth chanterelle spots; nothing. No Boletes to speak of. Even the Russulas and Amanitas have barely started to appear. The sulphur shelf was the classic yellow-pored variety. It was just a bit dried out from the heat, but not old. That's actually the way I like them best. I find that when the sulphur shelf is moist, the texture and flavor are not as good. I like to prepare a Thai-style curry out of the marinated sulphur shelf... peppers, onions, garlic, Masamala curry paste, white rice and bean sprouts.

July 13th, 2005: hugh, chanterelle - general location: Columbus, OH. Growing Conditions: along a mossy old road in a ravine, lots of oaks around. Additional Comments: We found a decent batch of chanterelles -- not big but in good shape. On the way home we also saw 3 large horse mushrooms [agaricus arvensis], which are good grillers. Still dry here, though.

July 13th, 2005: Scott P, 3 more "Prince" mushrooms - general location: Found two more at work yesterday and 1 more in our yard today in Bothell and Redmond WA. Growing Conditions: Found under douglas fir trees. They seem more prevalent this year and we are finding them over a wider area. Just wish we liked to eat them.

July 13th, 2005: I found a very pretty and interesting species today here in Central Georgia. It is Lactarius salmoneus.-Chris M

July 14th, 2005: Jason, chanterelle - general location: Clifton, VA. Growing Conditions: Next to a high water creek under Beech and Oak.
Additional Comments: Lots of Cinnibar and Chanterels. First decent mushroom find in Fairfax County of any species.

July 14th, 2005: hugh - general location: columbus, OH, Growing Conditions: slopes of a wooded ravine beside a stream. Additional Comments: Well, the rain finally came, and the mushrooms are exploding all over the place. I was just driving through a wooded ravine in Columbus and noticed a huge variety of mushrooms along the slopes. In an area of about 30 yards there were a number of nice boletes, including edulis, scaber stalks, chrome-foot, and old men [unfortunately, most of the edulis were too old and buggy]. There were also some good chanterelles, many russulas, and scads of enormous amanitas. All this on one little slope along the road .

July 15th, 2005: hugh - general location: columbus, OH. Growing Conditions: rich oak and other hardwoods. Additional Comments: we found a nice patch of smooth chanterelles and a variety of boletes today. We also saw 5 large agaricus campestris caps and a number of marsmius oreades in lawns around the area.

July 16th, 2005: Chris, I found these Puffball mushrooms yesterday after a few light showers here in Monroe County, MS. They were growing on a grassy lawn. There were no trees in the area. Scott F.

July 16th, 2005: hugh - general location: Hocking Hills, OH. Growing Conditions: rich woods, mixed hardwood-conifer. Additional Comments: There's quite a variety of mushrooms up now in Ohio. Today we found a large number of very nice chanterelles [cantharellus lateritius, cibarius and appalachiensis], a few good lactarius and russulas [l. volemus, r. virescens],and numerous boletes [yellow-spotted, gilled, ash-loving, chestnut]. We also saw some interesting non-edibles, including big laughing gym, boletus sensibilis and too many amanitas to keep track of. Oh yeah, on my street I also saw a cool volvariella bombycina growing out of the knot of a maple tree.

July 16th, 2005: Roger R - general location: Newton Co. GA. I played a round of golf today and saw an unbelievable amount of Boletes, Russulas and several other varieties I'm not familiar with. There were huge white ones, Frosties and Old mans. Rain has them going crazy here.

July 17th, 2005: Brenda D. Vaught bright red with white stem? - general location: in a heavy leaf covered area near a railroad tie near my home. Growing Conditions: Under heavy tree shaded area, mostly oak. Additional Comments: Would like information on this mushroom. It is very unusual for this area. This sounds like maybe Russula emetic or something close.- Chris M , need photo.

July 17th, 2005: Dave Wasilewski - general location: Northeast PA. Growing Conditions: Lactarius Volemus: mixed deciduous trees; beech, birch, oak. Leccinum Arantiacum: mixed woods, mainly coniferous; hemlock, pine, Norway spruce, birch. Additional Comments: Got about 15 nice new Lactarius Volemus along an old grassy path thru deciduous woods. Although I have developed a sensitivity to most white-milked Lactarii, I decided to prepare these for the table. Tried just a bit along with supper and have suffered no ill effects. So I'm hoping that maybe my body has lost its tendency to react to these mushrooms. These are very good chopped and fried along with onion + garlic + chili powder and served along with Mexican style food. Got about 6 decent red-capped scaber-stalks. A few of them were old enough to have soft caps, but the stalks were still in good shape. I like to slice these thinly (stalks lengthwise) and fry in butter, with some salt, until brown and a little stiff. They are quite like bacon done in this way. We will have them tomorrow morning with pancakes and maple syrup.

July 17th, 2005: Hugh writes: Hi Chris, we've seen a number of interesting fungi recently, including lobster [hypomyces lactiflorum], rhodotus palmatus, volvariella bombycina and boletus sensibilis. Ohio

July 18th, 2005: hugh, lobster [hypomyces lactiflorum] - general location: Alum Creek Lake, Ohio. Growing Conditions: under oaks, beech, maples. Additional Comments: We found several very nice lobster mushrooms today, along with some nice chanterelles [cibarius, lateritius, and cinnabarinus]. We also saw about a thousand very large bitter boletes [tylopilus felleus] and various russulas and lactarius

July 18th, 2005: Dave Wasilewski, Umbrella Polypore - general location: Northeast PA. Growing Conditions: Mixed woods. There were two Umbrella Polypores; one each on opposite sides of a living maple tree. Additional Comments: This mushroom seems to be uncommon around here. The only other time I've run into it was about 10 years ago, in the same patch of woods... maybe nearby the same tree. That time it was found in June. A friend of mine reports that he found an Umbrella Polypore (old and rotten) in the Binghamton NY area about three weeks ago. I like to saute the "caps" and thin attachment stems in olive oil and serve like pasta. They have a high water content. The fresh mushroom filled a two-quart container but cooked down to only about a cup.

July 18th, 2005: Debbie, not sure - general location: GreenAcres Florida, Palm Beach County. Growing Conditions: in my back yard,it seems to grow after we mow the lawn.

July 19th, 2005: hugh - general location: columbus, OH. Growing Conditions: in a ravine under mixed hardwoods. Additional Comments: I found a nice patch of lactarius hygrophoroides, as well as a decent-size chicken mushroom, some good russulas [especially green quilted, r. crustosa], and many chanterelles. The chanterelles are like weeds this year, even popping up in my neighbors' lawns. I also found several large boletes that I have yet to identify. I'll send some pics

July 20th, 2005: David Filippini, Lemon-Yellow Lepiota - general location: Inside The House! Growing Conditions: In a Palm type Houseplant. Additional Comments: Funny thing is , when I was abou 9 years old we found one inside at my mothers house growing in a palm similar to mine. Alan Bassett (local mycologist said it was very rare) Now 15 years later, another.

July 20th, 2005: Hello Chris. Here's those pics I promised. These were all found in Itawamba County, MS except for the big Boletes which were found in my back yard in Monroe County, MS. They are very large, but they are way too bitter to eat. All the other mushrooms were found in the woods on a shady creek bank (some even growing out of the side of the bank). Found Chanterelles, Old Man (Strobilomyces floccopus), blue and white Milky Caps, and a few I need help to identify. Scott F. Mississippi Mushroom

July 21st, 2005: Hello Chris. Can you believe the size of this patch in my parent's back yard. Found several Boletes and Chanterelles. Pictured is only one of the many Chanterelle patches on my Parent's property. Last year there were about 25% more than this year's yeild! There are many other mushroom types found in the area too. Scott F., Monroe County, Mississippi

July 23rd, 2005: We went down to Hocking Hills area today and found a number of interesting things. In addition to tons of chanterelles [cibarius, lateritius, appalachiensis and persicinus], we saw a number of boletes [bicolor, pallidus, ornatipes, affinis], as well as a nice little beefsteak polypore [fistulina hepatica], which is fairly rare around here. We also saw chalciporus rubinellus, one of the prettiest and smallest of the boletes

July 23rd, 2005: Chris Ott's latest pics. Amanita Ruebescens(spelling) is one for your species list. My GF(Jessica) and I went to Mohican S.P., near Mansfield, Ohio, and had 2 very successful hikes. I must have photos of 50 different species,30 different species on one 2 acre hillside. I'll check to see if there are any others I can help you with later tonight.

July 24th, 2005: Hello Chris, mushrooms found in Birmingham AL. by a Bee Keeper buddy. Could you please I.D. them please. The base of orange mushrooms have a definite tulip shaped vulva. I can return to site and photograph immature form, they were egg shaped. Scott H

Without seeing the stem and volva, my best guess would be Amanita Jacksonii - Chris M

July 26th, 2005: Dave Wasilewski - general location: Northeast PA. Growing Conditions: Boletus innixus (similar to Boletus auriporus, the "gold pored" bolete): Growing clustered on a grassy path in mixed woods (oak/beech/maple/hemplock). I have not found this one before yesterday. Cantharellus ignicolor: "Flame colored" chaterelle.Some really nice ones in moss nearby a small stream. Cantharellus lateritius: "Smooth" chanterelle. On a rocky/mossy path descending a hillside. Only enough to add to yesterday's supper. Additional Comments: It has been very dry for the past few months here in NE PA. Some areas, though, have recently received thunderstorms. After checking the weekly precipitation map, online, I decided yesterday to take a drive to the Loyalsock Trail, north of Williamsport. It was an excellent day for hiking, and there were a few mushrooms out. I also found a few each of: ornate-stalk bolete, Boletus seperans, pallid bolete and various Amanitas/ Russulas/ waxy-caps.

July 26th, 2005: Chris Ott's latest pics. Central Ohio. Edges of mixed woods on hillsides. Chantelles, oysters, boletes, russulas, and lactarius.

July 27th, 2005: Chris, Hi my name is Ryan Powers. i just got into mushroom hunting this past spring with the morel season here in NW Arkansas. i was out today 7-27-05 and found these under a mixed hardwood canopy. they were growing in scattered bunches in the dirt/leaf litter. I'm thinking they are chanterelles but want an experienced opinion since i'm looking to taste one. Is it normal for some to have pronounced gills and others to appear to have none, as in photo? thanks, Ryan P

I would not eat the upper two, the discoloration means they are not fresh and may be starting to spoil, and the shape of the one on the right is nearly round, which chanterelles could grow roundish sometimes, but I would have wanted to see the natural photo in the woods, to be sure you do not have a jack o lantern which is poisonous. The lower one is definitely the "smooth" chanterelle, a different species. - Chris M

July 28th, 2005: Hi Chris, There's quite a lot of fungal activity here in central Ohio right now. We found a huge batch of boletes today: boletus hortonii, boletus bicolor, xanthoconium [boletus] separans, strobilomyces floccopus, boletus pallidus, boletus frostii, and gyroporus castaneus, not to mention scads of bitter and red-mouth boletes. We also found quite a number of very nice lactarius volemus and lactarius hygrophoroides, russula crustosa and lots of chanterelles [cibarius, minor and lateritius]. We had to stop when our basket got too full. Here is boletus hortonii, boletus frostii and my dog posing with basket. Hugh Urban

July 29th, 2005: Steo, Had the afternoon off yesterday, nice day to be in the woods. Southern Ohio.

July 29th, 2005: hugh urban, chicken of the woods, - general location: columbus, oh. Growing Conditions: on dead log. Additional Comments: Our old faithful chicken log continues to produce -- going on five years now - though it seems to be slowing down this year. They're smaller and thinner than last year so far.

July 29th, 2005: Here's the photo of what I believe to be a chicken. It was a little dark when I returned to snap the photo. Gab, cannonsburg, mi

July 30th, 2005: Pedro, I made another quick trip north to Michigan and here are some photos which are not the best. The first one is of the Jack O'Lantern. A basket of chanterelles these have not been clean and will not be untill in the morning. A basket of lobsters. The season for lobsters and the common chanterelles is winding down where I hunted. Only about 1/3 of the Chanterelles were fresh and only about 25 % of the Lobsters. I collected 58 lobsters and left 150 in the woods.

July 30th, 2005: Just back from 3 weeks in Yellowstone and the Tetons. It was very hard to come back from such a wonderful spot. To satisfy my mushroom urges I went out this morning and searched the woods at work( slow day). I found an area where Cantharellus cinnabarinus were just coming up. Picked about 10 that were an inch and half tall. Beautiful little shrooms. Hope everyone has had a great summer so far. rond , Rochester Hills, MI

July 31st, 2005: hugh urban - general location: columbus, OH. Growing Conditions: mixed woods on steep slopes with lots of shale leading down to a creek. Additional Comments: This seems to be the year for boletes in central ohio. I hunted a small area today and saw well over a dozen different species. In addition to the usual suspects [red-mouth, red cracked, bicolor, bitter, lilac, old men, gilled, frostii, hortonii, etc.] there were at least three I couldn't identify. ALso many lactarius volemus, russula compacta and still more chanterelles. We're actually getting really sick of chanterelles at this point, something I never thought I'd hear myself say,

July 31st, 2005: Hey chris, we've been finding all kinds of cool fungi around central ohio as of late. Here's pics of lepiota americana, russula flavida, and a giant amanita, cokeri, maybe? Not to mention the normal basketfull of chanties and boletes that have become all too common 'round these parts.

August 1st, 2005: Chris, I found a number of these in northern Georgia. I think it is a Chanterelle. Can you verify from the photos. The cap measures about 6" across. Jim Finley

August 1st, 2005: Chris O. and Jess T.'s latest haul of Chanties from Central Ohio.

August 2nd, 2005: Charlie 4, chanterelle - general location: Central Costal Oregon. Additional Comments: B-Ray hit up my patch in the sandy forests of central oregon, and reports 6lb of golden chantrelles, and also another pound of giant Alaskan Sawtooth Hedgehogs, all of which were pristine!

August 2nd, 2005: Chris Ott and Hugh Urban went out to Mt. Gilead S.P.Ohio and saw at least 40 different species. The highlight for me was a large beefsteak polypore; but we also saw many, many boletes, a large flush of lactarius volemus, some good russulas, a cool patch of jack o'lanterns, and still more chanterelles, among other things. I'm attaching pics of the beefsteak and tylopilus violotinctus.

August 2nd, 2005: sermak , Midland, MI. I've enjoyed picking morels in Michigan for a number of years. I've often thought about trying to pick mushrooms in the summer and fall but have never tried it until this weekend. This morning I made a trip to one of my favorite morel spots and collected a good number of fresh chanterelles. I thought I'd post a pic here before I cook some up just to be sure of the I.D. But based upon everything I've read in field guides, I think I've got these right.

August 2nd, 2005: gab , cannonsburg, mi. Cinnabar? I didn't have my book so my IDing was limited but still had a good time looking and trying to figure out what they were. Didn't have anything to carry shrooms in but I did stick a few in my vest. Ended up with a lot of crumbly shrooms although a few made it back with me. Found some beatiful boletes in predominantly mature oak woods. Looked like kings but I didn't taste so I don't know for sure. They could have been bitters. Was walking along a path and found what I think are cinnabars. Probably saw 60 or 70 but just picked a few for pics. Not the best pics as the background is the hood of my old up north beater.

August 3rd, 2005: David Lewis, Tennessee, found bags of Chanterelles and Black Trumpets.

August 4th, 2005: We went up to Mohican S.P.Ohio today, which had seen quite a bit of rain, and was pretty much bursting with oysters and chanterelles. Practically every third tree and dead log had oysters on it, and there were far too many chanterelles [mostly c. lateritius] to carry home. The high point for me was a patch of very large cantharellus cinnabarinus -- the biggest I've ever seen around here. I'm attaching pics of some of the oysters and cinnabars. Hugh

August 5th, 2005: Here are a few of my latest photos found here in Central Georgia.-Chris M

August 6th, 2005: We weren't really looking for mushrooms today but stumbled upon a huge flush of white-pored chicken mushroom [laetiporus persicinus/ laetiporus sulphureus var. semialbinus] almost completely circling the base of a big old oak stump. I had never seen the white-pored variety around here before. Unfortunately, I only had one bag with me [for my dog...] and could only carry a fraction of it away. We also saw oysters pretty much all over the place, but I can't fit any more in my fridge. Hugh

August 6th, 2005: Jared from MN I have a question, i found some chanterelle looking mushrooms that were white, sometimes pinkish oragne with spike like formations on the underside. Can someone identify this mushroom?

Jared from MN. I went out this morning to do some chanterelle hunting. I found three groups of about 10 chanterelles in each and more little ones are coming. The mushroom i was describing is definetly the hydnum repandnum, and there were twice as much of these than the chanterelles. I got the dehydrater going 24/7 thanks for the info Chris.

August 7th, 2005: Pedro and Justpickin A special thanks to Justapickin for sharing some of his black trumpets spots. Black trumpets, lobsters, cinnibars, chanterelles, sweet tooth a couple honies. We actually found a single Blewit. Michigan.

August 8th, 2005: Ann Ekstrom, Volvariella Bombycina - general location: Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Growing Conditions: Growing in a weeping fissure in a Hackberry tree.

August 8th, 2005: Chris Ott's latest pics from the desert wasteland that is Central Ohio. Seriously, I'd pay more for gallon of rain than gasoline these days. Well, maybe not.

August 9th, 2005: Some of my newest photos, including Hygrophorus, Gilled Bolete, Craterellus oderatus, and Gyroporus. Central Georgia, Chris M

August 10th, 2005: Hugh writes: Here's today's find of laetiporus sulphureus, from John Bryan S.P., Ohio. The woods were dry as a bone and mostly shroomless, but chicken doesn't seem to mind much.

August 11th, 2005: Chris, My wife and I discovered this mushroom today growing in a shaded hardwood mulch patch near our garden. We innoculated the area, using one of those Garden Giant Mushroom kits about a six weeks ago. We aren't expecting any of those fruits until next year. We would like to know if what we found is edible, and what it's called, but I haven't found anything exactly like it from any of the mushroom guides I've been looking at. Do you know what it is? Byron and Mylene Formwalt Huber Heights, Ohio

The closest thing I can come up with is Auricularia auricula-judae, but I am not convinced this is correct either. If anyone has any other ideas on this one, please send me an email! - Chris M

August 13th, 2005: hugh, chicken - general location: columbus OH. Growing Conditions: on very dead log. Additional Comments: we found another large flush of nice chicken at our usual spot in Columbus. Otherwise it's really, really dry here.

August 14th, 2005: Roger R, Oyster - general location: North Central Georgia. Last week I found some of the biggest oysters growing from a dead tree in my back yard about 10 feet of the ground. There were six of them and the two at the very top were about ten to twelve in. across the top. The others were "only" 6-8 in. For some reason I did not notice them until now. Bad news is that my wife deleted the pics. and now they are gone.

August 17th, 2005: I have attached three pics of a mushroom that I do not know or recognize. Can you identify it. Picture of mushroom was taken in Aug 17 2005. This mushroom is growing under a wild cherry tree in Pennsylvania. Overall diameter is about 8 inches Is it eatable?? For the sake of sharing funny botanic matters - look at this "horny tomato" Pictures taken by: Pen Thank you.

You have Laetiporus-cinncinatus. Enjoy is it is tender and young enough. Nice tomato picture! - Chris M

August 18th, 2005: Brady, Oyster - general location: A couple of days or rain followed by a sunny day with mild temps and low humidity. Couldn't sit in the office any longer. Took a bag lunch down to a local park in Fairfax, VA. Growing Conditions: Hoping to find enough Chanterelles for dinner however no luck. As a consolation prize, the oysters were more than willing to cooperate.

August 21st, 2005: Ohio Transplant, Aylmer, Ontario, Canada. The woods has come alive with fungus. Seriously, right now the "magic" woods would be a mycologists dream come true, I think. Literally mushrooms everywhere. I didn't have alot of time, but did bring home some beautiful cinnabars, smoothies, oysters, boletus and lactarius. If I could make a wish and have it come true, it would be for a mycologist like Volk or Wood or Arora or an amateur like Kuo to guide me in this woods. I could learn so much from someone like that. Even the simple stuff, like how they catalogue finds or what they carry when they foray. How long they investigate a find in the field before they bag it up for further study later. All that plus a primer on mushroom identification. Not just the macro-edibles I mostly search for, but the thousands of other fungi that are just as beautiful. Is beautiful the wrong word? I think not..........wish you were here.........

August 21st, 2005: miker, chickens today, nut was surprised to find 2 small hens, about a pound apiece, keep your eyes open folks, they are about to start, saw many small parasols, going back for them on tuesday, be back in a couple hours,mike in Michigan.

August 21st, 2005: TheMorelian, Holton, Mi. pink bottoms, fairy ringers and chickens, We just had a couple good solid rains in my area, and for the 1st time, out in my own yard, I found 4 nice pink bottoms. Also theres about a thousand or more fairy ring mushrooms in the grassy areas over at the school near me (minus the 200 or so that I harvested) plus the ones in my own yard. These will be going into a nice stuffed pepper with some hamburger. I also found about 20-25 pounds of chicken mushrooms on a single dead oak.
They are in the bright orange with nice bright yellow bottoms. They look good, smell good, etc but I just dont have a good recipe for them at this stage. They seem to be a bit bland. I only use the very outer edges or margins, and I tried them in home made soups, and yesterday I tried a "baked chicken" recipe I found on the web. That didnt agree with my tastebuds either. Found some of these today, maybe a quarter pound of the cinnabars and 10 good parasols. The amanitas were all the same, Fly Agaric.... man, these things are all over up here. Some were growing right along with the cinnabars. I also found alot of blueing boletes and one particular bolete was very large with some "bug damage" it had the tan colored top and white bottom just like a King, but I have read that they dont grow around here, mostly out west. Oh well, the bugs good it anyways...

August 22nd, 2005: AlienSporeFinder, Port Huron, MI. (St. Clair County) Lobsters are winding down (a couple found today). Black trumpets are still nill but I hope they will produce in short time (due to the rains). Chicken of the Woods are good (sauted up a growth last week, yummy!!!!). Not much else. Small browns, various polypores. Looking for Beefsteak Poypores. Eatable raw. Boring!!!!!!!!! Deer season on the way. My 1st ever for hunting. Hens may be on the way. Honeys also I hope!!!!!! Good luck.

August 24th, 2005: shawn, chanterelle, giant puffballs - general location: appleton,wisconsin... Growing Conditions: mixed hardwoods on hillsides, the puffballs were found on plain black dirt along a creek bank. Additional Comments: the chanterelles were smaller size with alot just poking through the surface.

August 25th, 2005: Anthony Tassinello, King Bolete - general location: San Francisco and the Lake Tahoe basin. Growing Conditions: Among the lodgepole pines above 7000' and near the Pacific coast where there is heavy fog drip. Additional Comments: Hey Chris, the season doesn't want to end in Northern California so we search the moist areas of fog drip among the coastal pines to pick large amounts of Porcini ranging from thumb sized to grapefruits. Normally there are late summer boletes in the high Sierra after thunderstorms and this August has been no different, yesterday we picked about 5 pounds to go with the 5 pounds from SF. Never have I seen porcini in August in the Bay area in such profusion, these are perfumey, solid and wormless. We're only two months out from the start of the real season! When do we rest?!

August 25th, 2005: Dave Wasilewski, bolete - general location: Northeast PA. Growing Conditions: Suillus Pictus: white pine trees nearby a stream.
Cinnibar Chanterelles: oak woods. Additional Comments: We have had drought-like conditions here in NE PA for most of the summer. However, a few thunderstorms have popped up. By checking weekly precip maps I can determine which areas have received repeated storms. Went to a State Park only about 25 miles from our house last Sunday. Got enough Suillus Pictus for a meal. I like to saute these shrooms with onion, pepper, garlic and serve, with juliened rehydrated sun-dried tomatoe over pasta. Also found some rather large Cinnibar Chanterelles. Not much in the way of yellow chanterelles around here this summer.

August 26th, 2005: Tim Ward, Laetiporus-cinncinatus, on live oak Daytona Beach area .

August 26th, 2005: HEY WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHAT THESE WERE ? DO YOU LIVE IN ARKANSAS, CAUSE I SEEM TO BE IN MUSHROOM CITY. I LIVE IN RUSSELLVILLE,BUT THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF SHROOMS IN THE WOODS AROUND HERE. I DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM BUT ID LOVE TO MEET YA & GO LOOKING FOR SOME SOMETIME.,IF YOUR CLOSE. HOLLER AT ME . WOODY

I found your mushroom hunting website while searching for info on my find. I hope you might be able to ID this mushroom. I know zilch about mushrooms. This specimen is apprx 18" in diameter and is 10-12" in height. I found it in a wooded area in Barrow Co., GA while canoeing a small lake. It was close to the base of a large pine about 20 yards from the edge of lake. There are 2 other smaller specimens within 5-6 feet of this one. This photo was made from directly above. It looks like a cross between a cabbage plant, a seashell and a rose bloom. I placed a soft drink can to give some idea of the size of this monster. I have several other pics if you can't ID from this one. You are welcome to post this photo and info to your site but prefer that you show only my initials H.T. Thanks for your time and interest.

It is definitely a Polypore, maybe Meripilus giganteus if it bruises black underneath. Very interesting mushroom!- Chris M

August 27th, 2005: Here is a pic of our last haul and a cool, up-close pic of some very tiny boletes. Thanks again,Chris O and Jessica T. Ohio.

August 29th, 2005: Chris, I live and hunt in Massachusetts . This year I ran into young mushrooms growing by oak that were identified for me as possible Bondarzewia berkeleyi. You appear to be familiar with this species and might be able to confirm the ID. Vladimir G

The first photo is not convincing at all, but looking at the second photo, it does appear that it could be Berkekey's. This is a Polypore that can come in a variety of shapes and even colors. The photo that I took on this page: http://morelmushroomhunting.com/bondarzewia_berkeleyi.htm was young and even secreted a milk when cut.- Chris M

August 29th, 2005: Chris, Well, I've become increasingly interested in trying to identify mushrooms in my back yard of the house I rent (on 55 acres North Atlanta). After reading and researching I think I may have two edible ones, but would not dare try them without some help. The Yellow cap was found in semi open area alone and it certainly has a sent of apricot to it. I picked the other one thinking it may be a different version of a Chanterelle, but now have no clue. It has a deep earthy sent and was found alone like the yellow cap. I also came across a group of what I'm thinking are oyster mushrooms growing on an old pine stump. Seemed delicate to the touch and did not seem to have much of a sent. I don't know how much if is needed, but was hoping to confirm what these are. I hope the yellow one is a chanterelle and have also seen what appears to be a
reddish species after rains. Thanks in advance for your time / help, Ted Smits

August 30th, 2005: Good morning, I've been enjoying your website for a while now and have a question about the golden chanterelle cantharellus lutescens, which I believe I have found a whole bunch of. Are there any pictures you can direct me to so I can confirm? According to my guidebook (by Thomas Laessoe and Gary Lincoff) I have what I think I do, but being this is my first summer of looking, I would like a second opinion. I did sauté about a dozen and ate them yesterday; they tasted wonderful and I'm still alive. But before I share these with friends and family, I would like to make sure I'm not giving them something poisonous. Thanks much. Stacey

August 30th, 2005: hugh urban, comb tooth, lobster, scaber stalk, blackening polypore, etc. - general location: Vermont, also Mass. and Conn.
Growing Conditions: rich mixed woods.Additional Comments: We just got back from a trip to Vermont, where we saw quite a number of interesting fungi. Highlights indlude: comb tooth [herecium ramosum], about 50 nice lobster mushrooms [hypomyces lactifluourum], many aspen scaber stalks [leccinum insigne], blackening polypore [meripilus giganteus], a few salmon waxy caps [hygrocybe pratensis], some big sweet tooths [hydnum repandum], many cantharellus cibarius, also some chrome foot boletes, vase-shaped chanterelles, and various lactarius. It was not as a diverse as the last few years but still quite an array of interesting things.

September 1st, 2005: I thought you might like to see these pictures. They were taken in my house after a rainstorm caused a window to leak and wet the drywall. A few days later this 12cm oozing mushroom was growing out of the wall beneath the window. I noticed it in the morning and a
few hours later it had wilted to what you see in the pictures. When I removed it and peeled back the bubbled up paint I saw it had sprouted from a black, feathery patterned mold between the drywall and the paint. Let me know what you think. .Dr. Jonah A. Wassermann. Boca Raton, FL

This is interesting! Probably a Leucocoprinus species, too bad you didn't get a pic when it was fresh.- Chris M

September 2nd, 2005: Chris M found Black Trumpets, Russulas, and Boletes in Central Georgia.

September 2nd, 2005: hugh urban - general location: columbus, Ohio...Growing Conditions: parks, lawns, mulch, Additional Comments: The big rains have brought out a lot of things around here. We have some nice reddening lepiotas [lepiota americana] growing in mulch in our backyard. We also saw a small blackening polypore -- which is very good when young -- some chicken, russula compacta, lactarius volemus and agaricus campestris

September 2nd, 2005: Steo, from Southern Ohio, Agaricus campestris: The Meadow Mushroom. Yesterday these were just little white blobs about the size of a pencil eraser. Today they are standing proud. Way to many to gather on my half hour lunch break.

September 3rd, 2005: Roger R, chanterelle - general location: While scouting for deer today I found several chanterellus cinnabarinus and about 1/2 pound of smooth chanterelles in Rockdale Co. GA. They were all growing in a pine-hardwood mix. Also found a medium sized bolete. Not sure what kind,but it was chocolate brown on top and perfectely round and untouched by critters.

September 4th, 2005: Hugh, Columbus, Ohio. Various things are popping up on lawns here now that some rain has been through: here's lepiota naucina [smooth lepiota] and xerula megalospora/ collybia radicata. We've also been finding many of these enormous beautiful boletes, which I have not precisely identified. I am guessing maybe boletus badius, but there is notable reddening on the stalk. The pores and outside of the stalk bruise sort of bluish-gray, but not the flesh. The flesh is very thick and firm -- almost completely bug-free -- and they are an awesome edible. One of best I've ever had.

The past few weeks in MN has been tremendous for chicken of the woods. We have been encountering 1 or 2 laetiporus cinncinatus per week in addition to a number of laetiporus sulphurius. I have observed the chickens on live and dead wood some low on logs and several up high on trees(see pic for crazy MN picker.....me. The chanties are just starting to finish up around here and the Lobsters are down a bit, but they are still all over. Hen of the woods is just getting started as well as boletes. Last week I found the first of the giant puffballs that were about the size of a softball. One final pic of 3 baby raccoons topped off a successful foray last week. Happy Hunting to all!

September 6th, 2005: hugh urban, agaricus, lepiotas, others - general location: columbus, OH. Growing Conditions: on lawns and in parks. Additional Comments: Various fall mushrooms are up now: many nice agaricus campestris, smooth lepiotas, some large puffballs, as well as poisonous green-gill lepiotas and millions of agaricus placomyces. We also saw a few large rooting polypores [polyporus radicatus]

September 8th, 2005: Finally made it into the Central Ohio woods today, and I'm glad I did. Gem-studded puffballs were abound, a 1st for me. They were great sauteed in shallot butter, then added to a french onion soup. Also found some good boletes and some others I can't pin a species on just yet. Thanks, Chris Ott

September 9th, 2005: Hello! I have 2 very large (softball size) mushroom-like “things” growing in my backyard and I’m hoping you can help me determine what exactly they are! I live in southeast Michigan ( Troy ) and took these pics about an hour ago. I returned home from a long weekend trip and when I first noticed them I thought my son had left some of his balls outside. I believe they may be mushrooms because they have that firm, spongy consistency and color, although they don’t appear to have stems. I am interested because I’ve never seen mushrooms of this size and I live in a very urban area. Thanks for your help, and feel free to respond with any questions you may have! Richelle Haba

This appears to be Calvatia booniana. A good edible as long as the flesh is white and has not turned greenish. -Chris M