K_gaj Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I live in Humboldt County California and I have been mushroom hunting in the forest behind me house for years but have never seen anything like this. At first glance I thought it was some kind of puffball but after breaking part of the cap I saw gills. I knew it couldn’t be a puffball. I’ve think I narrowed it down to either Matsutake or Amanita Smithiana. Supposedly Matsutake smells like cinnamon but the smell doesn’t stand out to me. It smells earthy. The outer layer of flesh is cotton like which supposedly is a characteristic of the Matsutake. If anyone could help me identify this mushroom from the pictures that would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentatmaniac Posted November 30, 2020 Report Share Posted November 30, 2020 I believe it’s a Catathelasma ventricosum. I have found them in Humboldt before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mushroom Whisperer Posted November 30, 2020 Report Share Posted November 30, 2020 Not matsutake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted December 10, 2020 Report Share Posted December 10, 2020 One key Identifying factor of Matsutake is no matter how hard you squeeze the stalk in your hands, it will not break. I didn’t believe how tough they were until I found them for the first time, and I performed this test. I squeezed the stalks with both hands until my hands hurt, and there was no damage to the mushrooms. Obviously don’t just rely on this to identify one, but it is a key feature of White Matsutakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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