Shroomin' better late then never
Shroomin' better late then never
Over the summer we have not had any rain with any consequence for over 11 weeks. Last week the rain finally came so today it was time to do some foraging. We were rewarded with 16lbs of chanterelles (white and Pacific varieties), and one small cauliflower mushroom. Last year by this time we had picked buckets but it's good that the mushrooms are finally here!
- Butterbean
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Croc, I have no idea what the regulations are, if any in the U.S. Here in Canada the regulations vary from province to province. Where I live in British Columbia you can collect mushrooms on crown land and there are no limits or protected species as in many European countries. For example, the cauliflower mushroom in my pic above is protected in Poland and a number of other countries. Mushroom collecting is prohibited in all National Parks in Canada and in BC in all Provincial Parks, while allowed in some other provinces. If you are interested in mushrooms, find a local mycological club and they will be happy to introduce you to this fascinating area.
Last edited by redzed on Wed Oct 01, 2014 07:36, edited 1 time in total.
Wow. I have never seen anything like the cauliflower mushroom. How big does it grow?
While waiting for a batch of bacon to smoke I have time to sit down and chew some fat. I am not an expert. So take my musings with a pig pinch of garlic powder or fairy dust.
A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. By picking a mushroom you are not going to kill the fungus. However, you are going to reduce the potential size of the next generation of the fungus. This is because by picking the fruit you will limit the amount of spores released into the environment. Fungi use the strategy of producing thousands if not millions of spores in to the environment. The more spores that are released the greater the chance of survival of the next generation. So unless something is endangered picking a few mushrooms is not an issue.
I suppose that as long as fewer mushrooms are picked than are available the species will survive (not taking into account the loss of habitat). I do not know if there are any animals or plants or other life forms (excluding humans) that are dependent on a specific fungi for their survival or reproduction. If that is so the collection of that type of mushroom should be controlled; somehow I have a feeling that this is not very likely. By removing the fruit you may diminish the potential of people enjoyment of an environment by depriving them of the chance of seeing a mushroom. Linked to this would be the potential of collateral-damage caused to the innocent endangered orchid that the forager will maliciously trample on in their lust for the mushroom.
Oh yes. If you are not sure about your identification of mushrooms and you pick a death cap mushroom and die you will have inadvertently saved other mushrooms from the pain of a hot garlic, butter bathed, fried death. You will also have killed the chance of a meaningful relationship occurring between the mushroom and a lonely rasher of bacon or a slice of toast.
While waiting for a batch of bacon to smoke I have time to sit down and chew some fat. I am not an expert. So take my musings with a pig pinch of garlic powder or fairy dust.
A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. By picking a mushroom you are not going to kill the fungus. However, you are going to reduce the potential size of the next generation of the fungus. This is because by picking the fruit you will limit the amount of spores released into the environment. Fungi use the strategy of producing thousands if not millions of spores in to the environment. The more spores that are released the greater the chance of survival of the next generation. So unless something is endangered picking a few mushrooms is not an issue.
I suppose that as long as fewer mushrooms are picked than are available the species will survive (not taking into account the loss of habitat). I do not know if there are any animals or plants or other life forms (excluding humans) that are dependent on a specific fungi for their survival or reproduction. If that is so the collection of that type of mushroom should be controlled; somehow I have a feeling that this is not very likely. By removing the fruit you may diminish the potential of people enjoyment of an environment by depriving them of the chance of seeing a mushroom. Linked to this would be the potential of collateral-damage caused to the innocent endangered orchid that the forager will maliciously trample on in their lust for the mushroom.
Oh yes. If you are not sure about your identification of mushrooms and you pick a death cap mushroom and die you will have inadvertently saved other mushrooms from the pain of a hot garlic, butter bathed, fried death. You will also have killed the chance of a meaningful relationship occurring between the mushroom and a lonely rasher of bacon or a slice of toast.
Do no harm. Margerine is the biggest food crime
Last year the biggest cauliflower that I picked was six pounds. In total we harvested eight of these (sparassis crispa).markjass wrote:Wow. I have never seen anything like the cauliflower mushroom. How big does it grow?
That has only a small semblance of fact. Picking a mushroom is no different than picking an apple off a tree. And when we collect mushrooms we use buckets with hundreds of holes drilled in them. That way we spread the spores as we wander around in the forests.markjass wrote:A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. By picking a mushroom you are not going to kill the fungus. However, you are going to reduce the potential size of the next generation of the fungus. This is because by picking the fruit you will limit the amount of spores released into the environment. Fungi use the strategy of producing thousands if not millions of spores in to the environment. The more spores that are released the greater the chance of survival of the next generation. So unless something is endangered picking a few mushrooms is not an issue.
Yes, the biggest dangers to mushrooms here are logging operations and not mushroom hunters.markjass wrote:I suppose that as long as fewer mushrooms are picked than are available the species will survive (not taking into account the loss of habitat).
Mushrooms are an essential and very active part of the ecosystem. They play a key role in the decomposition and renewal of forests. There are numerous trees that would not survive without them. Chanterelles are one such mushroom having a mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of trees. The sparassis crispa on the other hand, is a parasite.markjass wrote: I do not know if there are any animals or plants or other life forms (excluding humans) that are dependent on a specific fungi for their survival or reproduction.
That is funny Mark. We don't go for mushrooms along paved paths in public parks. We go where no man goeth!markjass wrote:By removing the fruit you may diminish the potential of people enjoyment of an environment by depriving them of the chance of seeing a mushroom.
Chanterelles do not dry very well so we dry saute them vac pac and freeze.Bob K wrote:How do you preserve those Chris?
Thanks for the picture. The mushroom is absolutely stunning.
I wrote the whole thing tongue in cheek. We had a local case where someone got into trouble for picking mushrooms. I thought it was outrageous. It ended up going nowhere.
There are numerous tragic cases where people die after eating what they think are safe mushrooms.
I wrote the whole thing tongue in cheek. We had a local case where someone got into trouble for picking mushrooms. I thought it was outrageous. It ended up going nowhere.
There are numerous tragic cases where people die after eating what they think are safe mushrooms.
Do no harm. Margerine is the biggest food crime