PHOTO OF THE WEEK, Hen of the Woods

 The "Hen" is one of our favorite edible mushrooms of the fall. It fits
our modus operandi regarding eating wild mushrooms. The only thing it
is likely to be mistaken for is a pile of dead leaves.

js

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jack@schmidling.com wrote:

Nice photo.  I have a huge collection of photos of fungi I took when I
was in CA.  I would love to identify all of them and start learning how
to ID edible mushrooms but I'm a bit afraid to eat any. :)

-L.

 -L. wrote:


With only photos you will only be able to identify a few obvious ones
but its a place to start.  Get a field guide to mushrooms with lots of
pictures and start comparing them.  If you think you have a match,
Google the name and get more info.

You will find that the next time you find a mushroom, you will need lots
more details to help identify it.

There are lots of mushroom books out there but I think the best place to
start in the Audubon one.

js


--
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.com/pow.htm
Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Fiber,Gems, Sausage,Silver http://schmidling.com

 
Jack Schmidling wrote:

Thanks for the info.  My undergrad degree is in environmental biology
so I am used to field identification of  different species.  I'm just a
tad afraid to eat anything without an expert around to confirm my IDs,
LOL...

-L.

 
-L. wrote:

Around here the local arboretum offers classes in edible wild plants,
including mushrooms. Surely there is something like that in CA.
When I have a new mushroom popping up in my property I pocket it and go
to B&N where, sipping coffee, I identify it from at least two field
guides. In the process I have figured which two field guides I want to
buy (they are all good, but some fit your thought process better). I
eat only the mushrooms that I planted on my property, either in compost
piles, wood chip piles, or buried logs. I also eat the coprinus comatus
that comes out in numbers in my lawn in the Fall. No mistaking that one
either, even though this year I had a nice bloom of angel destroyer (a
deadly one) right next to the coprinus.