by Katrina Hall
Member since:
January 19, 2006

A Rainbow of Mushrooms

August 17, 2008 01:23 PM EDT
views: 57 | rating: 10/10 (13 votes) | comments: 36

My French friend, Jacqueline, has been teaching me mushroom lore .  She insists that I stick with one safe kind of mushroom I know really well, and then go on to learn another, and so on.  I'm sticking to fresh puffballs, which I enjoy sauteed and salted - but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy the pleasure of a mushroom walk in the forest - just looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few I couldn't get good photos of - a strange deathly blue mushroom that I'm sure would cause instant death.  White "Indian pipes" rising from the leaf litter.  A shaggy fungi cluster that looked like a small version of the "Lion's Mane" mushroom I bought last summer at the farmer's market.  And please, if you do go mushrooming, don't pick and eat anything unless you have an experienced mushroomer with you.  Eyes only!
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Comments: 36

j - Frugal Mom - r. Aug 17, 2008, 1:25pm EDT
Wow, you got so many great photos Katrina.
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 1:30pm EDT
Thanks, j r! I'm thinking of you getting ready for that hurricane -
Richard Frisbie Aug 17, 2008, 1:41pm EDT
Good advice and GREAT photos! Thanks for erring on the side of caution - look, don't touch.
Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Aug 17, 2008, 1:43pm EDT
I've always LOVED pictures of mushrooms! They conjure images of elves and fairies in my mind... Some of yours we don't have around here and they are just gorgeous!
Sherrie H. Aug 17, 2008, 1:44pm EDT
This is great! Very colorful and such interesting shapes.
Sonia M. Aug 17, 2008, 2:45pm EDT
Beautiful, Katrina! Amazing how many different mushrooms you can find during a walk....
LaRue B. Aug 17, 2008, 3:01pm EDT
Cool pics!
Faith H. Aug 17, 2008, 3:07pm EDT
My neighbors and I have been experiencing a mushroom outbreak in our lawns the past two weeks, and if they were edible, I'd be a a happy girl. But I know nothing of wild (or at least yard wild) fungi and just pulled and tossed. Now if only my next door person would do the same so they won't propagate.
Katrinka H. Aug 17, 2008, 4:05pm EDT
Great photos-but not a single puffball among them! I only pick and eat one kind-The puffball. And right now, with the amazing amount of rain we have, they are growing in my yard!
Cristina S. Aug 17, 2008, 4:09pm EDT
Great photos!
I get my mushrooms at the store...
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:28pm EDT
Thanks, Richard! Every now and again, I read about someone dying from eating a toxic mushroom - so you can bet I'm cautious - and encourage everyone else to be.
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:30pm EDT
Ah, Jean - thanks for looking at these marvelous toadstools. Couldn't capture the elves and fairies, not even the gnomes, but obviously, your imagination is conjuring them up! I'm with you!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:30pm EDT
Thanks , Sherrie!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:31pm EDT
I just wondered this minute - do you have lots of fungi in Hawaii, Sonia? You have so many wonderful edibles - and probably non-edibles, too. Thanks!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:32pm EDT
Thanks, LaRue!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:34pm EDT
Hummm, Faith - I wonder how you do get rid of them - those spores must waft on the slightest breeze - actually, I'm not sure how that works! But I can empathize with wanting to get rid of them once they get old and slippery - ick!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:35pm EDT
Hey Katrinka - I know! The only mushroom I'll pick and not a single one! Boo-hoo! Lucky you with your bounty of puffballs!
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:37pm EDT
Cristina - privately, I'm with you. I love those white mushrooms sauteed and nutty with salt....ummmm, yum! I'm a forager at heart, though, so I like learning about what's edible out there.....
Great pictures! I don't like mushrooms, but I am going to start incorporating them into our diet, like in soups & stews because they are so good for us.
Katrina Hall Aug 17, 2008, 4:55pm EDT
Priscilla, interesting you mentioned that! I've heard of mushroom extracts that are supposed to be very good for your health. I have a mushroom soup recipe on Gather that's fast and delicious, if you're looking for one. Thanks for coming by!
Great shots! The only ones I know (besides the ones I buy in the grocery store) and the ones that grow in my yard when it gets too soggy.
Katrina Hall Aug 18, 2008, 1:26pm EDT
Actually, Ina, I'll stick to supermarket mushrooms - but as a forager at heart, I'm interested in tracking the wild foods!Thanks for coming by!
Deb J. Aug 18, 2008, 11:35pm EDT
Great mushroom shots! I like to eat the morals myself. I know they grow up North, for one here in MI and are a great delicacy! They sell for up to $30 some dollars a pound!
Katrina Hall Aug 19, 2008, 7:08am EDT
Wow, Deb! That's pricy! I found a morel only once and I couldn't tell you what I thought of it because I've forgotten. Thanks, and glad you enjoyed the walk in the woods!
jessie voigts Aug 19, 2008, 4:43pm EDT
lovely! you need to come to our yard. we have plenty. ha!
Katrina Hall Aug 19, 2008, 4:54pm EDT
I'm hearing this from a lot of people, jessie! Thanks for the swing-by - and oh, how I loved your summer photo essay!
Jan R. Aug 24, 2008, 4:40pm EDT
I thoroughly enjoyed this article. Thanks for posting.
Jan R. Aug 24, 2008, 5:20pm EDT
Sorry I forgot to rate your article.
Katrina Hall Aug 24, 2008, 6:25pm EDT
Jan, I'm delighted you enjoyed this! And I find rating to be so difficult these days ( the arrow won't stay on the 10) I often forget - which is a shame.
Mushrooms still coming up and going strong here in NH - I even found one INSIDE the house near an open window!
Andrea "slackermom" R. Aug 28, 2008, 12:07am EDT
So many types of mushrooms...

Were all these from a single walk?
Rose H. Aug 29, 2008, 10:36pm EDT
Wow - I had no idea there that many edible mushrooms. I have a good friend who goes int othe woods mushroom hunting (her father was an expert and taught her well)
I've had many a delicious mushroom goulash at ther house.
Rose H. Aug 29, 2008, 10:36pm EDT
I've come along collecting, but I haven't learned a thing:)
Angela <:3---}~~~~ M. Nov 3, 2008, 1:28am EST
great essay
Katrina Hall Nov 3, 2008, 6:56am EST
Andrea - sorry to respond so late - your comments got stuck in Gather cyber-space, I think. Yes, these were all from one small walk nearby - all that rain made this summer made for a mega-mushroom season!
Katrina Hall Nov 3, 2008, 6:58am EST
Rose - I doubt many of these are edible - and I wouldn't take a chance on a single one of them without a mushroom expert. But I love looking at them - so amazing to find so many different ones!
Katrina Hall Nov 3, 2008, 6:58am EST
Thanks, Angela!

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