Monk

Will hens fruit and grow with temps in the high 40s but 30s overnight? North Ga has gotten a ton of rain the past two days, with more to come, but the cold has moved in fast. October was still hot, now I feel like the cool Fall weather is getting cut short. I'm just afraid a long cold spell is going to end the Fall mushroom season already.

Up until now I haven't had much luck with Fall mushroom hunting. Work had me out surveying a 130 acre boundary in the Chattoochee National Forest and I stumbled upon my very first hen and multiple lions mane mushrooms in the same tree within 20 minutes of each other. Both of them have been great eatin'. The hen tastes way better than the cultivated ones I have tried.

Recently grew some lions mane from one of those grow-in-a-bag kits, it was delicious, but it didnt have the same appearance as wild lions mane. It seems like all the cultivated lions mane i have seen in person and online look more like a sponge, with very short hairs instead of the long tendrils you see in on wild specimens. I was just kind of curious, are these cultivated lions mane a different variety entirely, or is it just an environmental factor in the growing stage that causes this?

Growing out of the leaf litter, mostly pine woods.

Yep, that's a hen of the woods, grifola frondosa! They can occasionally grow under maples as well.

Maybe l. vellereus? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_vellereus

Thanks, I figured this far south the season doesn't hit until late October maybe even early November. Hopefully they'll start popping up soon though!

Anybody know if these guys would be growing in Georgia yet? I know its fall but I dont think night temps here have dropped much below the high 60s, with a lot of nights still in the low 70s, i've heard cooler nights are kindof a key factor, correct?

Definitely old man of the woods. Strobilomyces floccopus. Thats a good one to, they don't taste as good when they get big.

Look into lion's mane mushrooms. They have been known for their role in aiding the nervous system and are also not extremely difficult to grow.

I have never seen these get very big at all. The one on the right is ready for sure. I usually pick them as long as the stipe has gotten firm, they have a nice peppery taste.

I think you've got lactarius vinaceorufescens. Would explain the yellow color when cut, the physical features match and the bitter taste. They tend to fruit in large numbers like that as well. Someone else here might know more about them, but i wouldn't eat any more, although they are a pretty mushroom! http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lactarius_vinaceorufescens.html

They look a lot like saffron milk caps to me, but I've never collected any myself so I'd wait for more educated responses. It might help to know of the gills bruise any when cut and do they seem to have any milky fluids coming from the gills after you cut them?

Looks like a reishi. Should be white on the bottom like you said, bruises brownish on the underside if you press it.

It looks like hericium coralloides, or a similar hericium species. Beautiful mushroom! Dont think hericium have any bad lookalikes, and with the size of that specimen you can be pretty sure that's what it is. I would just start with a small amount to make sure your body specifically doesn't have a problem with them. But they taste great!