The Milk Caps can be a fascinating and sometimes overwhelming genus to observe. Scientifically known as Lactarius, the name indicates one of the genus’s unique characteristics: a strongly-colored juice known as latex or ‘milk’. Dozens of Lactarius species grow in the Pacific Northwest and the characteristics of any one species can vary significantly from mushroom…
Candy Cap Mushrooms Candy caps are small, orange-brown mushrooms in the milk cap genus Lactarius that smell of maple syrup when dried. Several similar-looking species exist, and only some have that scent. Lactarius rubidus is the name usually used for the local candy cap. Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz) reports it from western Cascadia,…
*cover photo by Jason Hollinger CC-BY This started as a page that listed poisonous mushrooms in our region however ‘poisonous’ is loosely defined, and this could be an enormous list with scientific names and few useful photos. There are well over 1000 mushroom species in our region and identifying many of them correctly can be…
Kristi and I completed our first 1000 miles on trail heading into Castle Crags near Dunsmuir, CA. Here are most of the interesting mushrooms we found in this section from mid July. This video is a pretty accurate representation of what any dedicated mushroom-searcher would have found walking over this 80(?) mile stretch It’s dry….
All the mushrooms we have found during our first 40 days on the PCT Campo to Tehachapi, Ca Trail miles 1-566 May 6 – June 15 2023 Learn more about what mushrooms we found here
Matsutake mushrooms, highly valued for their unique aroma and culinary applications, can be identified by several key features: Together, these characteristics are essential for accurately identifying matsutake mushrooms in the wild. The Pacific matsutake’s current scientific name is Tricholoma murrillianum. Until 2017 it was known as Tricholoma magnivelare, a name that belongs to a separate…
I just finished the first version of a PNW Boletes illustration. It sorts our boletes into general groups by genus, which should help simplify things. Beginners interested in edible boletes should start with Boletus, the king boletes, which are common, tasty, and among the easier boletes to identify. The admirable bolete (Aureoboletus mirabilis) is another…
Toadstool is an informal, folk term for a mushroom, usually one with an umbrella-like cap on a central stem, and often one that is inedible or poisonous. It has no scientific meaning and does not refer to any specific mushroom or group of mushrooms. Since about 1800 the word has been “popularly restricted to poisonous…
Are Morels Toxic When Consumed with Alcohol? What the evidence says about morels, wine, and adverse reactions This is one of the most common questions we hear during morel season. You’ve got a bag of fresh morels and a bottle of wine — should you be worried? The short answer: most people can safely eat…
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