Rosy Red Russula and Fresh Orange Lobster Mushrooms

I walked for almost 3 hours today, checking on some mushrooms I saw last week and exploring new areas. Viewed today:

• Rosy Russula
• Short Stemmed Russula
• Cascade Russula
• Lobster
• Fircone Cap
• Glistening Inkcap
• Some kind of Stropharia
• Sulphur Tuft
• Western Painted Suillus
• Golden Chanterelle
• Tootled Jelly Fungus
• Pear-shaped Puffball

Here is a video of some of the Rosy Russulas.

Often I see these plentiful (and inedible) mushrooms with a flat brown/burgundy colour on top, but the rains have produced these cherry red effects and lots of shinny slime on top. Like candied applies strewn across the ground.

I checked on a mushroom I saw last week which I think is Sulphur Tuft. Here is a side by side comparison with last weeks photo and todays:

These are growing at the base of an old alder tree which sported Oyster Mushrooms two summers ago and fell down over the winter. Growing as it is on this deciduous log, rules out a lot of similar mushrooms, including Hypholoma capnoides, which also has grey gills, which these do not have.

There were lots of LBMs and several patches of what I think is Coprinellus micaceus or Glistening Inkcap.

Further down the trail I checked in an area where I found Cauliflower Mushrooms in previous years, after seeing Mike Orr's spectacular recent find: http://youtu.be/o972nq9ebDw I didn't find any Cauliflowers but found a whole bunch of  Pear-shaped Puffballs. I have not actually found any of these on my own before, only with Jessica Wolf who pointed them out in a forest in Cedar. They were really tiny so I didn't pick any, but will check back in a few days and see how they are coming along.

 Then, towards the end of the day I moved to another nearby forest and found two lovely specimens of Lobster Mushroom which I brought home and cleaned. These were alongside a flush of Cascade Russulas -- their probable victims.

Young Fresh Lobster Mushrooms

Golden Chanterelles Love Rock, Who Knew?

On Sunday, September 22nd, I walked through a piece of forest very near Nanaimo just off a major trail. I found a bag that someone left behind, full of White Chanterelles about 2 weeks old by the looks of them and by my estimate of when the Whites were at their best.

Made this video after walking for about 1/2 an hours:

Was surprised to find the mushrooms just below a scree of rocks, covered over with moss and Oregon grape. The trees were small and tightly packed together in this steep rocky zone with some moss covered logs here and there. I usually associate Chanterelles with pockets of woody debris or in light salal. Further down the hill I found more, just emerging and still in the button form, again, right out of rock falls with a covering of moss.

I suspect that this habitat was noticeable because the salal and other bushes were absent, thus affording a good view of the emerging mushrooms, rather than any preference for rocky soil, but I would be interested to hear if others have found this to be the case.

Revisiting a White Chanterelle Patch

Today I walked up to the White Chanterelle patch I reported on two weeks ago, and had a look around. The little one by the log that I left was gone, but there were lots of new ones. The new ones are softer and bigger, the rains of the last two weeks have accelerated the flush. Here is a video of what I found.

I could have taken how about a dozen nice big Chanterelles, but I still have a fridge full, so have left them for YOU!

Also saw the following mushrooms today:

Short Stemmed Russula
Rosy Russala
Lots of BUMS (boring ubiquitous mushrooms)
Some chorals

And these that I have not yet identified:

A nice large firm fruiting body which I left to check up on when it has opened more.

Maybe Sulfur Cap, I have a spore print on the go.

Another shot of the same mushroom

The Mushrooms I will Taste, or have Tasted, on Vancouver Island

I spent some time this evening writing down all the mushrooms on Vancouver Island I would consider eating or at least tasting. There are 48 of them. Of the ones I have tasted I give a 1 to 5 star rating. In reality I think it is likely I will find and taste about 30 or these. Of those I taste, I expect I will choose to seek out around 20. I'll highlight the 20 that are top on my list. Some on that list are probably pretty rare in the areas I go hunting, so when all is said and done I will probably end up collecting a dozen or so regularly. So far my favorites are the Hedghogs, the Morel, and the Giant Puffball. I also rather like the Lobster when it is not too old. I eat a lot of Chanterelles, but they are not my favorites, though I do like them. I'm keen to find and taste Matsutake, Delicious Milk Cap, Club, and the Pear Shaped Puffball. I also plan to brave the Fluted Black Elfin Saddle this year if I they come out in good numbers. Some reports say they are as good as or better than Morels if cooked properly, so we shall see. I have seen lots of them in the past, as well as lots of the Clubs, but hadn't known they were edible until researching them last year. If anyone is keen to show me a good Matsutake patch, I would appreciate it very much. I'm told there are areas near Ladysmith that are known to produce the much sought after Pine, so if I don't hear from anyone I guess I will just start exploring! Here is my edibles list:

E = Edible C = Choice	Have Eaten?	Visual Feature	Common Name	Have Found?	Latin	Rating out of 5 Stars
E	N	Gilled	Delicious Milk Cap	U	Lactarius deliciousus
E	N	Gilled	Cascade Russula	N	Russula cascadensis
C	Y	Gilled	Oyster Mushroom	Y	Pleurotus Ostreatus	****
E w Caution	N	Gilled	Angle Wings	U	Pleurotus porrigens
E	Y	Gilled	Late Oyster Mushroom	Y	panellus serotinus	***
C	N	Gilled	Blewit	N	Lepista nuda
E	N	Gilled	Western Amethyst Laccaria	Y	Laccaria ametysteo-occidentalis
E	N	Gilled	Fried Chicken Mushroom	N	Lyophyllum decastes
C	N	Gilled	White Matsutake	Y	Tricholoma magnivelare
E	N	Gilled	Honey Mushroom	N	Amillaria mellea complex
C	N	Gilled	Fairy Ring Mushroom	U	Marasmius oreades
E	N	Gilled	Shaggy Parasol	N	Lepiota rachodes
C	N	Gilled	Meadow Mushroom	U	Agaricus campestris
C	N	Gilled	Prince	N	Agaricus augustus
E with caution	N	Gilled	Alcohol Inky	U	Coprinus atramentarius
C	N	Gilled	Shaggy Mane	Y	Coprinus comatus
E	N	Gilled	Glistening Inkcap	U	Coprinus micaceus
E	N	Gilled	Smokey-gilled Woodlover	N	Hypholoma capnoides
E	N	Gilled	Gypsy Mushroom	N	Rozites caperata
E	N	Gilled	Violet Cortinarius	N	Cortinarius violaceus
E	N	Gilled	Slimy Gomphidius	Y	Gomphidius glutinosus
E	N	Gilled	Rosy Gomphidius	Y	Gomphidius subroseus
E	N	Gilled	Wooly Pine Spike	U	Chroogomphus tomentosus
E	N	Pored	Short Stemmed Slippery Jack	Y	Suillus brevipes
C	N	Pored	Admirable Bolete	Y	Boetus mirabilis
C	N	Pored	King Bolete	N	Boletus edulis
E	N	Pored	Aspen Bolete	N	Leccinum insigne
E with Caution	N	Pored	Orange Birch Bolete	N	Leccinum testaceoscabrum
C	Y	Pored	Conifer Coral Hericium	Y	Hericium abietis
E	N	Pored	Beard Tooth	N	Hericium erinaceus
C	Y	Pored	Hedgehog	Y	Hydnum repandum and Hydnum umbilicatum	*****
C	N	Club	Club	Y	Clavariadelphus truncatus
C	Y	Coral	Cauliflower	Y	Sparassis crispa	**
C	N	Ridges	Pigs Ear Gomphus	N	Gomphus clavatus
C	Y	Ridges	White Chanterelle	Y	Catharellus subalbidus	****
C	Y	Ridges	Pacific Golden Chanterelle	Y	Cantharellus formosus	****
E	Y	Ridges	Winter Chanerelle	Y	Catharellus infundibuliformis	***
E	N	Ridges	Blue Chanterelle	N	Polyozellus multiplex
E	N	Toothed	Toothed Jelly	Y	Pseudohydnum gelatinosum	**
C	Y	Puffball	Western Giant Puffball	Y	Calvatia booniana	****
C	N	Puffball	Pear Shaped Puffball	N	Lycoperdon pyriforme
E	N	Puffball	Dusky Puffball	N	Lycoperdon nigrescens
C	Y	Puffball	Gem-studded Puffball	Y	ycoperdon perlatum	*
E	N	Puffball	Meadow Puffball	N	ascellum pretense
C	N	Morel	Black Morel	Y	Morchella elata	*****
E with Caution	N	Morel	Early Morel	N	Verpa bohemica
E with Caution	N	Elfin Saddle	Fluted Black Elfin Saddle	Y	elvella lacunosa
C	Y	Other	Lobster	Y	Hypomyces lactifluorum	****

White Chanterelles are Out!

Walked through a forest near Nanaimo and after about 40 minutes found some White Chanterelles, and then found a very large patch a little further along. Ended up with several pounds of them.

There had been pickers out before me, as evidenced by cut stipes, and I met a man and his son who also had a bag of Chanterelles. We chatted about the best places to find them in the area and it seems that both he and I have been finding them beside logs and in the lower slopes of hillsides.

Here are some photos from the field:

And a couple of videos. This first one shows a typical forest habitat favoured by Chanterelles, and the second one is a few questions for other enthusiasts.

Questions:

Close up:

White Chanterelles