I Will Not Be An Old, Bold Mushroom Hunter: On Questionably Edible Mushroom Species
Originally posted at my blog at https://rebeccalexa.com/old-bold-mushroom-hunter/
There’s a saying that “there are old mushrooms hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.” That’s a bit hyperbolic; there are elder foragers who have done enough foraging to feel comfortable take chances. But let’s make something clear: I myself am not a bold mushroom hunter. Experienced, yes. But I’m cautious, and I doubt I will eventually go into my twilight years as an old, bold mushroom hunter. I was recently reminded of why that is.
Last week I was out in my favorite chanterelle spot here on the Washington coast, helping myself to a beautiful flush of Pacific golden chanterelles (Cantharellus formosus). These bright yellow mushrooms are one of my favorites, and were one of the first I foraged when I moved out here several years ago. As I walked down the trail, I saw a couple of bolete-ish mushrooms popping out of the soil, and decided to take a closer look.
The rough, scaly texture on the stipes told me these were likely Leccinum spp. iNaturalist tried identifying them as brown birch boletes (L. scabrum), though I was skeptical given that we don’t have birch trees here, and I hadn’t heard of that species having alternate mycorrhizal partners like red alder (Alnus rubra). However, a couple of others were found in the area and were verified enough to become research grade. The ones I found were visually identical to L. scabrum, so it’s very possible that that this species may actually also partner with A. rubra, the closest analog to birch species here as they are all in the family Betulaceae. At the moment, my iNaturalist observation just has it as Leccinum spp., just to be safe. (This, incidentally, is why it’s a good idea to NOT use identification apps as your only identification tool, and always refer to other sources like books and websites, and other foragers if you have the chance.)
Going on the assumption that I had, in fact, found brown birch boletes, I decided to research edibility. Field guides have historically listed these as safe to eat, to include David Arora’s classic All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms. However, that book came out in 1991, over thirty years ago, and while a lot of the information is still solid, it’s important to look up more recent resources.
For example, this 2009 blog post discusses how Leccinum species, to include L. scabrum, have been implicated in several significant cases of gastrointestinal distress, with at least one person experiencing internal bleeding in the brain. The guest author of that post elaborated at much greater length in this 2011 article that describes multiple suspected Leccinum poisonings, and that “Recall that 3.5% of the poisonings reported to NAMA [North American Mycological Association] involve Leccinum.”
On the other hand, the Forager Chef blog states in this post that dehydrating Leccinum spp. before consumption can neutralize the toxins. The author’s one and only bad experience with Leccinum was due to undercooking the mushrooms (and, in fact, you need to cook your wild mushrooms thoroughly anyway as there are very few that are safe to consume raw.)
In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution and compost the two Leccinum I had found. It wasn’t worth the risk in my mind, and I had an entire pile of chanterelles to enjoy. And that’s basically my approach to questionable mushrooms in general, even if there are still a lot of people saying “Oh, they’re fine!”
See, Leccinum isn’t the only subject of debate. I’ve also heard some people say that some false morel (Gyromitra) species are okay to eat if you cook them thoroughly (the Forager Chef once again has a wealth of information for those adventurous enough to try.) There’s also sometimes confusion between Gyromitra species, and Verpa species, the latter of which are reportedly edible if cooked properly. The two genera do look similar to the casual observer, which could be part of the reason for the mistaken identity.
And then there’s fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Notoriously hallucinogenic (with a side helping of vomiting) this species is purportedly edible in a culinary sense after thorough parboiling in which the water is thrown out and refreshed with each stage of boiling. Drying doesn’t necessarily neutralize the toxins within, as this rather extreme case from 2021 shows. However, the bulk of sources, at least in the United States, place this mushroom firmly in the “poisonous” category, even if it isn’t as lethal as other Amanita species like A. phalloides or A. ocreata.
I’m still of the mind that if there’s any debate whatsoever over the edibility of a particular mushroom, I’m just going to skip it and patiently wait for safer options. After all, I find Boletus edulis in the same places I find Amanita muscaria, and if I don’t want to try the Verpas I can just wait for the Morchella morels to appear a few weeks later. Yes, I recognize that people in other parts of the world have been eating these mushrooms for centuries, reportedly with no ill effect (or none that’s been reported here.) Yes, I am well aware that there are foragers here who have prepared these controversial species and eaten them without a trip to the hospital or even a night spent at the porcelain throne.
But I don’t have to eat every potentially edible mushroom I find in order to be a competent mushroom hunter. I am experienced enough to be able to go out and identify mushrooms I find in the field, confirm the identifications at home, research their edibility, and then figure out whether I feel comfortable eating them or not. And I’m able to teach people the basic skills and tools they need to feel confident in starting their own foraging adventures. Part of why I wrote out the first section of this post about my Leccinum find was to give readers some idea of the process I went through when personally deciding whether it was worth the risk to try these new-to-me mushrooms.
All this does raise the usual warnings about mushroom hunting in general, whether you want to try for being an old, bold mushroom hunter or not: first and foremost, always be 100% sure you know what you have and that it is edible before you consume it. Always cook your wild mushrooms thoroughly; a little overcooked is better than a little undercooked. Finally, if you’re trying a given species of mushroom for the first time, always try a small amount (a few bites at most) and then wait a couple of days to make sure that you don’t have any adverse reactions. Keep at least one specimen of the mushroom raw and as you found it in nature in your fridge, so that if you do end up needing medical attention you can take it with you and the medical professionals can use it to more quickly ascertain just what it is that you ate.
Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!
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Harringrove seasons AU
***
August is running out. It is the time when nights have already started getting perceptibly colder, but days are still so heartbreakingly warm, you don't wanna let go.
Like Steve, who doesn't want to let go of Billy.
Or Billy, who wants to hold on to Steve.
Who desperately wishes to add just a couple of more days to August. Make it thirty-three. Or thirty-five.
At least.
***
One evening Steve sets off to look for Billy, because he hasn't seen him in the last three days. When he asks the magpies if they know where the summer is, they tell him he's wandering around the woods with a big basket searching for something and talking to himself like a madman.
"The summer's gone cuckoo!" - they burst out into chatter and laughter, but Steve isn't up for having fun.
Only close to midnight does he finally find Billy.
The warm simmering light and the sweet smell of burning pine wood have led him on the right path.
Steve sees Billy in the thick of the forest, on a small clearing, surrounded by tall mighty oak trees, so tall that their tops get lost in the dark starry sky above. Stars in August are witchy, it is common knowledge. They are so distant, so sparkly and cold, and they are watching you.
August stars are enchanted just like everything else around. The night is cool and damp, and there is dense fog laying heavy in milky swirls above and around the swamp nearby. Under every leaf there lives a mystery, a story, a creature. Behind one single cloud hides the silver moon, waiting to flood all with its crisp eerie shine.
The stars are twinkling bright, so magically bright, and the chilly, hocus scented air fills the head of a midnight wanderer with clarity and vigor, and anticipation of a miracle.
Steve is trying to be as quiet as possible, not to disturb.
Everything around is immersed in sleepy calm, and only the frogs' drowsy ribbit-ribbitting and distant hooting of a night bird fill the deep silence. The usual night orchestra.
As he is making his way towards Billy, there's a falling star, shooting right above the clearing, and Steve makes a wish - to always find summer.
Billy is busy.
Steve sees a big fire, sparks flying up towards the invisible tree crowns, and Billy's focused face lightened by the glow.
He is constantly stirring something gurgling and boiling in a huge cauldron, muttering under his breath
"Seven red fly agarics, nine orange ones .. three yellow .. thirteen russules, each a different colour .. eight orange chanterelle mushrooms of different sizes .."
With one hand he stirs whatever is brewing in the cauldron, and in the other he holds a thread with dry and semi-dry mushrooms strung on it. From time to time, he stops stirring and plucks the mushrooms from the thread, counting.
"Eleven brown hay mushrooms, one birch chaga, the size of a palm .. where the hell is this chaga .. ??" - he stops stirring and pokes around in the basket standing nearby. - "Alright. Found it. Come here, don't fight it .. seventeen honey fungi .. three aspen mushrooms .. ugh, you are such beauties .. All of you."
Billy looks like a witch. Too bad he's not wearing a spiked black hat and a black cloak
Stirring, mixing that magic
"Wait a second, did I put twelve ink mushrooms .. ? Yes, yes, I did. Ten violet webcaps .. and one whole circle of fairy-ring mushrooms."
"Oh, I forgot you buddy .. one grey spotted amantia, here you go .."
"Okay now for the more serious stuff."
Billy grunts and goes digging in the basket again.
"One satan's bolete .. A set of devil's fingers .. spooky .. And, finally, one pale grebe."
Steve steps out into the clearing
"Oh, do you mean a death angel?"
Billy stops mixing whatever there is in the cauldron and looks up.
"You startled me, pretty boy. And yes, it's the same one, different names."
Steve is still watching Billy in bewilderment
"What on earth are you doing?"
"I'm making a potion. Can't you see?" He answers seriously.
"A potion?" Steve is amused.
"An old owl told me. Who lives in the hollow of a hundred-year-old elm tree, down by the river."
"What is the potion for?"
"For .. making it last a little longer. Stalling the time. See, I don't want to go yet. I want to stay, just a bit more .. It's going to give me the power to do that."
"Oh. But .. Billy, this old owl is so old, she has dementia. I wouldn't trust her on anything she says."
"Well, I've got no other choice."
Steve is amused but he also knows that he has to soothe Billy's unnecessary wilful wanting, once again.
"When will it be ready?"
"In the morning. I should drink it when the first sun ray breaks the sky."
Steve sits near the fire and Billy joins him after some time. The fire is getting duller, the potion stops gurgling and is beginning to settle.
Billy is the first to slide into sleep near the dying flames, and Steve is gazing at the bright live coals, listening to night sounds and Billy's even breath, until his own eyelids become heavy and eventually fall.
In the morning, Steve is woken up by Billy's upset voice:
"No, no! I'm two hours late! .. The sun is already high in the sky."
He is pacing around the grey ashes, looking at the sky and fiddling with his necklace
"No, oh no ..! That's all your fault, autumn. I always sleep longer when I'm with you. I can't drink it now. Do you know how long I've searched for these?? How many woods I have wandered through?"
In a swift fit of anger Billy kicks the cauldron. It falls and tips over. Steve's still on the ground, watching the thick substance pour out of it on a patch of green moss.
"I am sorry, Billy, truly. But .. I am of the opinion that you shouldn't have drunk it anyways."
Billy's looking at the spilled potion.
"Baby. You are such a baby sometimes, Billy."
"I'm just sad. So much work for nothing." - Billy sighs and pouts a little.
"It is only .. really, it is only less than half a year. We will meet so soon, in the northern hemisphere. Aren't you excited?"
Billy is shaking his head, slowly and gloomily.
"I don't wanna leave."
Steve gets up, comes close and gently traces his fingers down Billy's arm.
"You are not leaving just yet. We still have time. We have all the time in the world. But when you do go, think of the moment we will meet again. Because it will happen, it is the way the world works."
They are standing amidst the ever-living nature.
"I need to bring back the pot and the basket. I borrowed them from a barn in the village."
"I will help you."
***
A couple of days later, on the very last August day, Steve takes Billy to the same clearing and shows him the prettiest gemstone of the most amazing colour, sparkling under the rays of soft morning sunshine, crystallized in the shape of a heart. There's moss and some beautiful exotic flowers growing around it.
"It is so pretty, but I am glad you didn't drink the potion."
"I wonder if it's going to stay here till next season."
"Let's hide it."
Steve takes the gemstone, it's rather big and heavy, and carries it to a hollowed out log near the swamp.
"We can come back next year and see if it is still here. It will be our secret."
August and September are my absolute favourite months, and I'm also stuck on the idea of summer and autumn not wanting to part. Billy especially is having a hard time.
Thank you @akioukun ✨💖 for the 💫 magical au
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