Chiodini (Honey)-Poisonous look alikes

[Luigi Daniele]

My dad really got into a huge bunch. They are definitely a tree mushroom (very long stems).

We call them Chiodini. I believe that the English words for them are Honey Mushrooms.

My requests, please:

1. Could you all please post up several pics of the good ones?

2. Ditto for the poisonous look-alikes?

Thanks!

[Guest Vlad]

Luigi,

Here is a link to Google’s pictures of Honey Mushrooms aka Armillaria mellea:

http://www.google.com/images?hl=&q=Armillaria+mellea&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS394US394&ie=UTF-8&biw=1067&bih=638

Here is a Wikipedia in Italian

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillaria_mellea

Italians supposedly call it “chidini famigliola buona”

Here are pictures on Flicker

I do not know what is meant by bad Honey Mushroom except that if you pick the Galerina mushroom instead, which is poisonous

http://www.google.com/images?hl=&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS394US394&q=Galerina+mushroom&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=i5kUTdOmKcWAlAf1o-T7Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQsAQwAA&biw=1067&bih=638

The other thing is that some people are allergic to Honey Mushrooms. I always parboil them first so I had no stomach upset yet.

[Dave W]

Luigi,

Here is a link to Google’s pictures of Honey Mushrooms aka Armillaria mellea:

http://www.google.com/images?hl=&q=Armillaria+mellea&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS394US394&ie=UTF-8&biw=1067&bih=638

Here is a Wikipedia in Italian

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillaria_mellea

Italians supposedly call it “chidini famigliola buona”

Here are pictures on Flicker

I do not know what is meant by bad Honey Mushroom except that if you pick the Galerina mushroom instead, which is poisonous

http://www.google.com/images?hl=&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS394US394&q=Galerina+mushroom&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=i5kUTdOmKcWAlAf1o-T7Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQsAQwAA&biw=1067&bih=638

The other thing is that some people are allergic to Honey Mushrooms. I always parboil them first so I had no stomach upset yet.

Like Vlad says, it is a good idea to par-boil Honeys before preparing in a meal. I usually par-boil, and then saute before either adding to a stew type dish (Chicken Cacciatore, Beef Stroganoff). I also like them slow-sauteed (after boiling) until the slime cooks off, and then serve with grilled steak. I like the smallest buttons in Asian-style Chicken and Broccoli in Garlic Sauce.

There are some wood-inhabiting types that can be confused with Armillaria mellea types... Pictured below is a species of Pholiota. Pholiotas can be tricky to ID to species, and at least one is a sickener. Like Vlad says, Galerians are the biggest worries. If you are collecting Honeys which appear to be growing from the ground (actually from buried wood) then watch out for brownish Amanitas. Probably the biggest worry with Honeys is that they occur in clusters of large numbers. One tends to harvest quickly, thus increasing the chance of inadvertently picking something else that's growing along with the Honeys. Here in NE PA we get occasional mushroom-poisonings associated with harvesting popinkees (Polish origin), and I believe that most of these incidents involve careless harvesting.

Pholiota species.

[Feral Boy]

Many of the possible look-alikes (large mushrooms with brownish caps growing on trees or tree roots)

have some type of brown spore print -- Pholiota, Galerina, and Gymnopilus to name a few.

The varieties of Armillaria have a white spore print, most of them have rings (except

for A. tabescens), and they grow around, not on the trees.

As with anything else you plan to eat, make sure everything matches the descriptions

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

[Luigi Daniele]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

Does anyone have Arora's pocket guide? The ones we found are on the right hand page under Honey (don't have the book with me), with the very long stems (the picture is of a man holding a large bunch of mushrooms; below is a pic of the stems).

That is what we found looked like.

Poisonous look-alikes of those?

These were growing at the base of the tree.

[Guest Vlad]

Luigi,

That is where I usually find them, at a base of a dead or dying oak. They grow in great bunches, sometimes.

I just remembered that you live in CA. The Honey Mushroom might look a bit different there. We have Cape Cod where unique mushrooms grow just like in CA. The Honey Mushroom on the Cape are of a paler variety. I suggest that you look on this page of Mushroom Observer

http://mushroomobserver.org/image/image_search?pattern=Armillaria+mellea

and find Honey Mushrooms photographed in CA. That will give you a better idea what to look for. Better still find someone who can show them to you. I found that the description in Gary Lincoff’s guide was misleading since this mushroom has many variables.

[Luigi Daniele]

Luigi,

That is where I usually find them, at a base of a dead or dying oak. They grow in great bunches, sometimes.

I just remembered that you live in CA. The Honey Mushroom might look a bit different there. We have Cape Cod where unique mushrooms grow just like in CA. The Honey Mushroom on the Cape are of a paler variety. I suggest that you look on this page of Mushroom Observer

http://mushroomobserver.org/image/image_search?pattern=Armillaria+mellea

and find Honey Mushrooms photographed in CA. That will give you a better idea what to look for. Better still find someone who can show them to you. I found that the description in Gary Lincoff’s guide was misleading since this mushroom has many variables.

Thanks Vlad, amico mio. I will check out your link