In the summer this whole area was so dry, I was skeptical that any mushroom would be able to thrive here.
However, after a few heavy rainfalls, and with the success we've had finding chanterelles, I realized how naive I really was. Mushrooms are everywhere.
What are these?
Honey mushrooms? We're not sure and we didn't bring one home for further identification (spore print). The "white stringy pith inside" (as it's described in my field guide) led me to believe it was a honey mushroom. And no we didn't take a bite out of one as the picture might suggest, but someone else did. Some little critter might have had a nibble.I wonder if we would have found more if we checked the area more thoroughly?
I am really starting to love fall.
3 comments:
To see the size of the majestic trees in the picture of db searching for mushrooms is awe inspiring. md
Were those mushrooms growing on wood? If so they could be honey mushrooms. Do a spore print. All the Armillaria species have white spore prints. None have a volva, but they do have rings (there are also ringless honey mushrooms but they really look different). Often on the top of the cap, there are some tiny hairs...but not always. The lookalikes are deadly gallerinas, which are typically smaller and more delicate...hard to mix them up but be sure. All the honeys are edible as far as I know, but some people are sensitive to them. I've read that if you boil them for a minute before frying, whatever it is that some people are sensitive to disappears. I can't vouch for that though. If there are entolomas in the same woods, look for the aborted entolomas among the honeys. These are actually honey mushrooms that have been attacked by entolomas. They're very tasty. If you find them (in the aborted form), fry them until they reduce to half the size and start to brown.
md: next time you're here, we'll walk to that area because it's a very unique part of that forest. I think you'd like it.
mister anchovy: They were growing on wood, albeit rotting wood. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any home with me to do a sport print. Lesson learned.
The cap did have tiny hairs, but not all over more speckled. I know the spore print would have really helped. Maybe this weekend we'll find some more in that area.
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