Morels are one of the most commonly foraged mushrooms in the United States, and likely one of the most popular around the world. They are broadly distributed globally, are very recognizable, and are relatively safe for a beginner to identify. The popularity of morels also results in a lot of misconceptions about them as well….
One of the key habitats for early-season mushroom finding in the Pacific Northwest is with cottonwood trees. Western Washinton has fewer deciduous trees than the east coast, so identification is easier. Our cottonwood species is Populus trichocarpa. To find black cottonwood, start by finding areas near rivers, streams, and lakes. The leaves of cottonwoods quite…
It comes as a surprise to many when I say that the edibility of mushrooms is on a spectrum. Poisonous mushrooms can often be eaten when prepared in sometimes quite elaborate ways. For instance, there is a method for preparing the classic Amanita muscaria in a way that can remove the toxins. This involves boiling…
Trent recently posted about the safety of eating morels that are foraged in burn zones due to the use of fire retardants in the area. You can find the original post here. Here my key takeaways from the article. Firefighters have a much greater exposure to these chemicals than a typical forager. So far there…
As we pass the winter solstice and look back on a fungi-filled autumn, here’s a fun reimagining of the 12 days of Christmas for all of you mycophiles.
As I learn more about mushrooms and spend more time observing them in the forest, it’s fun to find ways to incorporate them at home. In addition to annual cooking traditions, such as creamy chanterelle soup in the fall and spring king bolete tapenade, I’m starting to explore other ways to incorporate mushrooms at home…
*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 have been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since May 6. We are currently in Southern Oregon near Ashland and should be to Crater Lake early next week. I’m posting updates on our trek to my personal FB and IG pages as well as a trek-specific blog section here If you are interested…
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….
May 6 – started from Cal/Mx border at Campo, CA June 21 – left the PCT from Walker Pass near Tehachapi Jun 21-27 – spent 6 days in Sacramento Jun 27 – Back in trail at Donner Pass near Truckee/Reno (trail mile 1154 – our mile~650) Jun 27-Jul 6 Donner Pass to Quincy (115 miles)…