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Few mushrooms from this weekend


BaconRaygun

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Went for a short hike yesterday morning (Long Island, NY) hoping to find some chanterelles and stumbled upon a few interesting finds. I didn't document every mushroom I encountered, but here are a few that I did stop and photograph.

I found these to be quite abundant, they seem to fit the bill for A. bisporigera or some other closely related Amanita.

#1

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I believe these are the mature form of the above, but I'm not sure. The caps were 10-13cm wide and stalks were over 15cm tall, club shaped. Others were more bulbous towards the base. Smell was somewhat foul. Gills were pinkish white, detached (I know colors dont always translate well in photos). Some of these were heavily infested with small flies.

#2

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Next, this was among the larger specimens above. Resembles a fly agaric but it is almost totally white... A. Cokeri? Or maybe Amanita muscaria var. formosa?

#3

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I encountered quite a few of these, caps are about 5cm, stalks around 1.5cm thick/3cm tall. No smell that I could distinguish.

#4

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The next two were interesting and I have never encountered either before.

Slime mold?

#5

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These are very small (.5cm) growing on mulch.

#6

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Lastly, what I believe is some sort of chanterelle. I have never seen them quite like this, which is why I am not 100% sure. Looking down on these mushrooms they looked like the jack o lantern mushroom (which i have only encountered once), but upon further inspection I was surprised. These were growing in my girlfriends yard, under some sort of fir. Spore print was white to cream.

#7

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Cool man. Cantharellus phasmatis. They say it only grows in the midwest, but I disagree. It's RARE as can be up here, but I have found a small handful of these up here in the Northeast (NH) over the last several years.

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Interesting! Now I know I'm not crazy haha, I have never even heard of C. Phasmatis before.

I'm gonna head back to that area after work and do some more exploring. It is a new spot to me, and to my advantage it is a mere 1/4 mile from my girlfriends place, so very convenient, but being a new spot yesterday I simply walked some of the trails just to scout the area, I didn't really go off trail.

Hopefully I find some more of these and some of their cousins too. This is the time of year chantrelles usually start appearing in better quantity here on the island.

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There really is a lot of cousin's to find. They seem to keep identifying new ones. I occasionally see these flesh colored, fairly small, delicate, black trumpet shaped ones that I have yet to encounter anywhere else. Any ideas? and it is a chanterelle. i assume they're peach chanterelle, but they're tiny.

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Brian, check out Craterellus ignicolor as a possibility for the trumpet-shaped chanterelles.

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/craterellus_ignicolor.html

Also, Craterellus tubaeformis... but this one generally occurs in the fall..

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/craterellus_tubaeformis.html

BaconR, the first Aamanita looks like a species from section Lepidella. The scaly cap/stem point in this direction. I think #2 may be a different species, possibly a Destrying Angel. But the stem base looks wrong for this type. Amanita is a large genus... incredible species diversity.

#3 is an Amanita. Need to see the entire stalk (base is buried). Possibly A. multisquamosa?

#4 is a Russula. Good luck arriving at a species ID :-) Very difficult in genus Russula.

#5 is a slime mold, as you proposed. Fugilo septica, I think.

#6, Bird's Nest Fungus. There are a few different genera. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/birdsnests.html

#7... some really nice chanterelles. The NA species are currently being re-classified. Some new names are in use, but I don't know them yet. Cantharellus phasmatis is a new name for me. Anyone have any info on this name?

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Hey Dave,

I thought Craterellus too......it's just.....you know how the gills on the Craterellus have that sort of wide spacing? These look exactly like black trumpet, but are pale pale pale orange/flesh colored.

I'm going to go to the conservation area where I have seen them tomorrow and turn that place upside down and find some to photograph. I'll do so both onsite and back at home. I want to go pick the remaining Cinnabars and the four or five Golden's I think are ready anyways.

Little bit of info on C.Phasmatis here: http://mushroomobserver.org/name/show_name/39332?_js=on&_new=true With the limited information available, it seems generally excepted. I found my first one like this a good ways back in 2008. Each year I come across 3, 4, 5. Just like that. Like a waxy looking Golden on top with the white pore side. The taste is weak and woody. It makes me wish I documented what kind of tree I found it under. Perhaps it was some mutation that occured because of the tree it grew under....

Baconraygun, could you try to identify the tree species or at least photograph it and post it here? Maybe this is what happens when the chanterelle manages to grow under spruce.....or some of the man manipulated conifers like arborvitae/thuja.

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Thanks for the link, brian. I have probably picked C. phasmatis in the past, when all the classic NA yellows were lumped under the heading cibarius. I have a spot in NY where I sometimes collect chanterelles that seem close to fitting the description. Here's an example from 2011.

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I found some of these meaty white stemmed Chanterelle along a gravelly stream on Friday. Moist and tasty though I couldn't notice an aroma though I only had 7 or 8 of them. It was the first time I noticed them here in NB Canada. Next time I'll dry some for ID'ing.

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@Dave W

Thanks for the help!

@brianf

I took a photo of the tree this morning, not a spruce or anything arborvitae/thuja related. Pretty sure it is some type of Fir.

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Yesterday after work I went back into that area to explore some more, once again saw many various Amanitas and a tone of Russulas, as well as a log completely covered in chicken mushrooms (have never seen so many on one log).

These were everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.

#1

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#2

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This one was alone, didn't see anything else like it.

#3

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One lone bolete that I found growing among the only pine-covered hillside I was able to find. Need to further explore the area. I'm taking a spore print and apparantly forgot to take a photo of the top. if memory serves me right, the cap was a light brown color.

#4

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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone know if the oils from poison ivy can get onto the mushroom and persist after cooking?

Fortunately, I am one of the very lucky ones who is barely susceptable to poison ivy, but I'm not sure if it should be ingested.

Either way, beautiful sight right there.

Nice post!

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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone know if the oils from poison ivy can get onto the mushroom and persist after cooking?

Fortunately, I am one of the very lucky ones who is barely susceptable to poison ivy, but I'm not sure if it should be ingested.

Either way, beautiful sight right there.

Nice post!

Yes, if the oils get onto the mushroom cooking will do nothing, the if is the important part. Merely growing near or above a mushroom will not cause the urushiol to actually get onto the flesh of the mushroom, just as merely grazing a poison ivy leaf will not leave you with a rash. The oil only leaves the plant when it (the plant) is damaged, so use your best judgment.

In my case the poison ivy is not actually in contact with the mushrooms, it is merely growing beside the fallen tree on which the mushroom is growing, so in this case the gathered mushrooms will be enjoyed without hesitation. However, had the mushroom grown around the ivy (as is commonly observed with some mushrooms, especially chickens and hens), then I would just let it be.

Since there was so much on this particular log (the picture really does not do it justice), I only gathered the youngest specimens which were also the furthest away from the ivy. There was much more there than I would have been able to use (or even haul out by myself) so I left the majority untouched. I took maybe two to three pounds home, enough for one meal for two.

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Good to know. It really doesn't bother me so I tend to barrel through it.

Chicken of the Wood freezes REALLY well, especially when carefully vacuum sealed. I have about 9 pounds in mine that would be in agreement.

No matter how you slice it.....that's a sexy log.

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HAHA, you know, I only tried chickens for the first time last summer, so I don't have too much experience with them, I'm still at the experimentation stage. I'm Russian and growing up learning about mushrooms from my family (as you know, us Russians are myco mad) I had never learned about laetiporus, so it was not until I decided to get into foraging on my own accord (which was last summer) that I had learned about them.

I was basically brought up learning a small handful of edible mushrooms, mostly boletes and chantrelles, and not necessarily the same species as are found here in the states, so as you can imagine I am more or less learning all over again.

When you freeze them, do you parcook them first or freeze them fresh?

I dropped a pin where the log is, I'm sure there will be enough chickens there for the remainder of the season until I'm sick of them. There was (is) easily 50 pounds if not more.

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Fresh freeze. It is literally the best mushroom in the world. I love the whole love affair surrounding golden chanterelle. But the reality is, this mushroom could help you survive.

Also, when you fry them as I was advised early on, put them in the pan frozen. Cut them to cooking size before freezing. I do a variety of sizes. I do little chunks, shreaded chunks/peices, and larger, more substantial course sizes. I find a shitload of these things up here, though. Great for my freezer, horrible for our hardwood trees. In another 10 years I probably won't be able to find an oak tree let alone Laetiporus. Let it ride.

I'm not sure if you can make the comparison, but frozen fresh they almost freeze in the same fashion as baked goods baked with yogurt in the mix......like muffins.

Texutre is maintained as well as color, and in general, overall visual appeal as well. If I was running a commercial kitchen, I would use this as often as possible, not only is it absolutely delicious, it's the easiest mushroom to keep. and it comes out the other end smelling like roses. (of the freezing process, not human digestion, i did not mean to comment on that)

Man, that's a sweet find. If I had a GPS location I'd consider driving down there and stealing that log.......and I don't steal. That thing is awesome. It would look perfect out on my deck.

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Interesting, well I sure as will give freezing them a try in that case.

...and you wouldn't be able to steal that log (not that it would be stealing, as nature owns it) without a bulldozer, its a good two feet wide and about 15 feet long, widening to around three and a half feet at the far end.

What is your preferred method of cooking these? I've only had them a few times and I simply sauted them with some garlic, butter and beer.

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I will get a couple of sturdy new hampshire native ox and head on down. I'll bring a 30 foot closed trailer. We'll carefully and quietly extract the log dragging it directly into the trailer. I will then safely secure my new hampshire native ox. Drive off into the night, one log richer.

As far as preferred method for cooking I couldn't tell you. It can act as an excellent substitute for the more traditional protein if you're the type who likes to take the occasional break every few meals. You can bread and fry it, grill it and put it on a sandwich. I have cut it up and sautee'd it in a so many ways I couldn't count. Stir Fry ingredient, makes an excellent soup stock. I collect the old, clean woody ones for stocks. You can make a large quantity of some extremely rich tasting mushroom stock. Freeze that, and you have access to homemade stock for soup, gravy, or whatever.

I'll put it on pizza by itself or as a "medley". I have done buffalo chicken of the wood nuggets and buffalo chicken of the wood pizza. Chicken of the wood and broccoli alfredo. It will come out of a long braze edible. Older peices quite edible. It goes on and on.

I find myself cooking it a new way every time it seems. Next time I'm just going to boil it for half an hour and eat it straight. Maybe on one slice of plain white bread.

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Chicken of the woods is not one of my favorites however, that said, I do prefer the white Laetiporus cincinnatus to the yellow pored sulphureus. I made some chicken of the woods pot pies last fall and they were to be swooned over!

http://www.wildmushroomhunting.org/index.php/topic/1016-chicken-of-the-woods-pot-pies/

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I sauteed those chicken mushrooms yesterday and loved them, but it does take a bit of craft to get them perfect. I started off with butter, one chopped piece of thick bacon and avocado oil and after they mushrooms started to brown a little I added crushed/minced garlic, some sake and some rice wine, de-glazed the pan, covered and reduced heat to simmer. After a good 10 minutes I added fresh tyme and a pinch of dried sweet thai chilis... finally, after most of the liquid was boiled off I added about 3 ounces of Jim beam and a dash of dark soy sauce and soon as the alcohol evaporated they were done.

Not my first time eating these, but I think this recipe was a real hit. This is similar to a method I use to make shitakis, though I was low on ingredients so I improvised a little bit.

My girlfriends twin tried some and I had to give her the disclaimer before she ate all of them! As I've read, some people have a negative reaction to these, so I told her to only eat a small amount and if she had no discomfort then tomorrow (today) she can have as many as she wants.

I'm definitely gonna go back to that spot and pick some more for the freezer and to make some stock for soup. I love soup, and oh do I love mushroom soup!

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