Saturday, October 27, 2012

White Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius)

Today I walked for an hour in the place I found the Clavariadelphus truncatus (Flat-Topped Coral Mushrooms) last year without seeing anything except a gazillion Strobilurus trullisatus (Douglas Fir ConeMushrooms).

It was raining steadily and I was just about to head home, feeling very dejected, when I tried one more stand on the other side of the road.


There it was, gleaming in the growing dusk. The rain was coming down so hard I didn't take any more pictures -- till I got home.

White Chanterelles Washed and Wonderful
So yeah, while it meant walking back to the car in the dark, It turned out to be a great patch.

Interestingly it seemed to be the only area that had them and other mushroom pickers had been there earlier (saw several places where severed stipe ends were showing), probably this week, and most of the Chanterelles were just emerging, so lots of fir needles coating them. A handful were firm and on the dry side, and I think they had been out longer, but all the others were new and tender.

So I would say that the season if finally underway! Yahoo!

I tried brushing the needles off with my mushroom brush, but gave up on that and washed them. The smell of the mushrooms after being enlivened by the water -- well -- sweet and Chanterelley. 

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