"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
Henry David Thoreau
During one of the field seminars on lichens at Eagle Hill I met Judy Jacob. She is a senior conservator for the National Park Service’s northeast region, and was attending the seminar to learn more about lichens and their interaction with the monuments that she was responsible for maintaining. She told me about a group that her mom, Marcia Jacobs, has been a part of for many years, the Boston Mycological Club (BMC). Her description of the Sunday morning forays in the Boston area sounded cool and as soon as I got home I googled the group. It turns out that the BMC is the oldest continuously running mushroom club in the United States. It’s an active group that hold meetings all year long at the Farlow Herbaria on Harvard University’s campus most Monday nights. But from early July until late October the focus is on Sunday morning forays and the excitement begins. Monday nights are reserved for positive identifications of the previous day's finds.
After joining the BMC a list of forays becomes available on their website. Directions are given and everyone meets at a given place on Sunday morning usually at 10am. From there, participants are given general instructions about the area and when to return to review the morning’s finds. About two hours later a picnic table or two is covered with fungi of every color, shape and size. As people crowd around at the table an expert from the club describes the finds to new comers. This is when the learning really begins. What amazed me was the amount of information some people had about mushrooms. I’d mark my field guides and take notes. I’d take some samples home to study in detail later. I’d look for other, similar mushrooms on my walks during the week. And slowly, very slowly, years in fact, some of the mushrooms became familiar to me.
Mushroom hunters are passionate about their forays and little gets in the way of a mushroom hunt. Cool mornings are fine as are hot, humid days. Rain? Absolutely no problem. But one thing will stop a foray in its track, that’s a drought. And here’s why. The body of a fungus is seen only if one looks closely. The fungus is made of thin thread-like structures called mycelia. You may have seen these if you’ve ever looked carefully at a rotting log. In the soft, decaying wood you can sometimes find white filamentous structures, the mycelia, of the fungus decomposing that log. The mushrooms we see are the reproductive structure of a fungus. A good analogy to understand the function of a mushroom is that a mushroom is to a fungus as an apple is to an apple tree. Both mushroom and apple are a part of the organism that serve a particular function, that of reproduction. Rather than seeds, mushrooms produce microscopic spores in or on the mushroom. In the typical toadstool shaped gilled mushroom as it lifts up away from the ground the cap lifts and opens exposing the gills that then release spores by the millions as they waft away on the slightest breeze, or are carried away by the avid mushroom hunter. Actually, that’s why you’ll often see mushroom hunters on a foray carry wicker baskets to place their finds. The holes in the wicker baskets allow the spores to fall through and be spread. If the environment is right the spores will produce hyphae that will eventually form mycelia. And the process continues.
Mushrooms form as little nodules or buttons on the mycelia. Each button is essentially a tiny fairly complete mushroom. When conditions are right they begin to grow. Mushrooms seem to pop up overnight, one day you see nothing and the next day you have a large, fully formed mushroom on the path. How does this happen? You may have learned how plants and animals grow in school. It’s a process called cell division, mitosis specifically. Fungi aren’t plants or animals, though they’re more closely related to animals than plants. That’s right. You have more DNA in common with that Amanita growing in your yard than you do with the white pine it’s growing under. And though the fungal mycelia grow through cell division, the mushrooms formed from them expand with water. The cells enlarge as they take up water. And that’s why mushrooms are seen in abundance a day or two after a rain. The water seeps into the ground and into the button’s cells and quickly they’ll expand pushing up through the soil to the ground above. And the lack of water is also why forays are often cancelled during a drought.
If everyone knew what important roles mushrooms play in the ecosystem perhaps fungi would command a little more respect. In a little while I’ll talk about mycophagy – eating mushrooms, a favorite pastime of mine. Mushrooms are a great source of nutrients and many animals take advantage of them including slugs and other invertebrates, squirrels, deer, and rabbits. In addition to being a food source, fungi are important decomposers. They break down dead organic matter so that nutrients become available to plants that then provide food to herbivores. As a part of this decomposition fungi can sequester carbon, thus reducing CO2in the atmosphere. If you think decomposition isn’t important, imagine what your world would be like if all waste and things that died just stayed there and never left! Not a pretty sight!
And one very cool thing that many fungi, called mycorrhizal fungi, do is to form a symbiosis with plant root systems. This mutually beneficial close association allows the fungi to obtain sugars from the process of photosynthesis in plants. And the plants can obtain nutrients, like nitrogen, that fungi have taken up from the surrounding soil. The mycorhhizal fungi extend fine hyphae out from the roots extending the root system and allowing plants to take up more nutrients and water. A study by Simard et.al. (1997) showed that when Douglas fir was shaded it received carbon from nearby birch, a resource distribution made possible by mycorrhizal fungi. Rather than competition, this sharing of resources benefitted the tree most in need at the time. In soil that is devoid of fungi, plants have a hard time thriving. The fossil record shows evidence of mycorrhizal fungi in early plants. It is hypothesized that without fungi plants would not have made the successful transition to land that occurred. Our world would be a very different place indeed without fungi.
When on forays I often meet people of European, Eastern European, Asian, and Russian origin. In those parts of the world mushroom hunting and eating is very much a part of the culture. Not so much in the USA. Americans are, in general, mycophobes - afraid of mushrooms. I’ve come across many people who won’t even touch a mushroom let alone collect one or eat one they’ve collected. Can eating the wrong mushroom make you sick or even kill you? Yup. But the percentage of those mushrooms that are lethal is pretty small. About 20% of mushroom species are toxic and perhaps 1% lethal. That doesn’t mean the rest are edible though, many are not. And some that most consider edible can make certain people sick, just as any other food can. If you decide to forage for and eat wild mushrooms begin slowly. Only eat a small amount to make sure that species agrees with you and that you have identified it correctly. Another word of caution – some mushrooms produce violent reactions when mixed with alcohol – nausea, vomiting, mental confusion – you’ll want to avoid either the mushrooms or the alcohol. Tough choice, I know.
Above is a mushroom from the Genus Amanita. Though beautiful, many in this genus are poison.
Above is my granddaughter Lilia with Jack O'Lantern, Omphalotus olearius, mushrooms. These mushrooms are sometimes mistaken for Chanterelles that are very edible. Chanterelles never grow in bunches like these mushrooms do.
That being said there are many delicious mushrooms for the picking. Mushrooms are high in many minerals and vitamins, especially the B vitamins, while being low in calories. I don’t suggest that you run right out and start sampling anything you find. You should find an expert or a mushroom club and take the time to learn about mushroom identification. You need good field guides, more than one or two to double and triple check identification. NEVER eat a mushroom you are not 100% sure about. When in doubt throw it out! Even if you are sure you know what you’re eating, leave a sample in the refrigerator in case you need to make an emergency trip to the hospital. Being able to make a positive id will aid your physician tremendously when making treatment decisions. If you do decide to partake, always cook mushrooms well, some raw mushrooms contain substances you don’t want to ingest. Only eat one type at a time so that if it doesn’t agree with you you’ll know exactly where the problem lies. And only forage in pristine areas. A roadside or your neighbors perfect weed free lawn is not the place to pick mushrooms because there are likely many chemicals that the mushroom incorporates that you don’t want in your body. After all those disclaimers, there are some very delicious mushrooms that are fairly easy to identify. Most can be found in late summer and early fall all around New England.
The mushrooms I enjoy eating the most are called Black Trumpets, Craterellus fallax. They are somewhat distinct looking dark brown or black little horns of plenty. Their abundance waxes and wanes depending on the weather in a given summer but even when plentiful they can be difficult to find. Once I spot one, and I have a good visual, I usually find scores more right in the same patch of forest understory. Their flavor is unique and kind of smoky and are absolutely my favorite.
Another favorite of mine are chanterelles, Cantharellus cibarius. Distantly related to Black Trumpets, they are easy to spot. Their bright yellow-orange color, often in green moss, and vase shape helps in your search. They are widespread and somewhat abundant depending again on the year. These are another wonderful addition to a meal.
These are Chanterelles frying in my pan with some onions and olive oil.
One other very easy to id mushroom is the ‘Chicken of the Woods’, Laetiporous sulphureus or L. cinncinatus. You can find these shelf-like pored yellow mushrooms on deciduous tree trunks (L sulphureus) or just below them at the base of a tree (L. cincinnatus). The common name gives you an idea of the flavor. I usually take just a shelf or two and leave the rest for others. At home, after a careful cleaning with a stiff brush to remove dirt and other organisms of the animal kingdom, I pull apart shreds of the tender parts and stir-fry them. And yes, they do taste like chicken, a great alternative for your vegetarian. The delicate flavor of many mushrooms means overpowering them with something like a tomato sauce is not the best way to savor your bounty. I like to keep it simple and stir-fry them in olive oil or butter with maybe garlic or onions.
Chicken of the Woods growing on a hard wood tree, so Laetiporous sulphureous. Notice the yellow underside of this pored mushroom.
There are many more mushrooms that I could describe but finding a good book about edible mushrooms is a great way to start. Three that I have and recommend are Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America by Fischer and Bessette, The Mushroom Hunter by Gary Lincoff, or Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada: A Photographic Guide to Finding and Using Key Species by David Spahr.
Unlike many people, my interest in mushrooms didn’t come from my desire to eat them but rather I loved the diversity of shapes and colors. And I love being outside observing all parts of nature. It was a good reason to get outside. And joining forays was a nice way to meet like-minded people. As I learned more about mushrooms and heard enthusiastic accounts of how delicious many were I branched out and began to eat some. I will confess to hunting mushrooms and putting them in my refrigerator with the intention of eating them only to decide against it until I was sure that what I was cooking was a choice edible mushroom.
One of the first mushrooms that became a favorite of mine during my early forays with the BMC was the purple or spotted cort, Cortinarius iodes. This mushroom is often found associated with oaks, yes it’s mycorrhizal, and is usually in moist areas. Appearing in late summer and early fall, you can usually find them in scattered groups. They’re not too big but are such a pretty purple with pale spots on the cap that many people love them. They have gills that are also purple when young. As they age the cap fades and the gills turn a pretty rust color that is also the color of the spores. I smile every time I see one. They're not edible.
A very pretty, Cortinarius iodes, or Purple Cort.
A less common mushroom that I come across just once in a while is called the ‘puffball in apsic’ Calostoma cinnabarium. In general, a puffball is a type of mushroom with the spores inside and is roundish in shape. There is a hole through which spores are released when the puffball is mature. They can be tiny to rather large. Giant puffballs can grow to reach a diameter of 50 inches and 44 pounds, though that is rare. My favorite puffball is on the small side, less than an inch in diameter. This bright red puffball grows on a stalk and is surrounded by a yellowish jelly when fresh. As it dries if a raindrop hits it or a person pokes it the spores will puff out. You can find them in temperature deciduous forests like our own in MA and it prefers moisture. The one dependable place I find them is on a stream bank in the forest behind Wheaton College where I teach.
Calostoma cinnabarium
My list can go on and on. There are so many beautiful species of mushrooms to find right in your own neighborhood. Try a foray with a local mushroom club or get a field guide or two and start to identify and learn more about the natural world around you. The more I understand, the more amazing this world is. As Thoreau advised don’t just look at the world around you, really see it!
Reciprocal transfer of carbon isotopes between ectommycorrhizal Betula papyrifera and Pseudotsuga menziesii , Suzanne W Simard, Melanie D Jones, Daniel Durall, David Perry, David Myrold and Randy Molina, New Phytol. (1997), 137, 529 - 542