Mushroom Walk [General]
2009 Sep 18
Here is the info on that seminar, it's in French I think:
......................
Hi Francis,
Salon du champignon 2009 - dimanche le 20 septembre
Pavillon du lac Beauchamp in Gatineau - 10h00 à 17h00
Entrance is free, a bit more info on the Outaouais mycologists website
www.mao-qc.ca/
......................
Hi Francis,
Salon du champignon 2009 - dimanche le 20 septembre
Pavillon du lac Beauchamp in Gatineau - 10h00 à 17h00
Entrance is free, a bit more info on the Outaouais mycologists website
www.mao-qc.ca/
2009 Sep 18
Chimichimi~ I could always go the photo ident way on the internet I guess, I just would love an in person tutorial. Along with all the information along the way on how and when to harvest to insure they continue flourishing.
Francis~ Unfortunately my French isn't strong enough to get enough out of a lecture like that. If only it was in English!
Francis~ Unfortunately my French isn't strong enough to get enough out of a lecture like that. If only it was in English!
2009 Sep 18
BakingBom - don't worry about your French, mine isn't great and I'm going. A lot of people are bilingual at these events. And my friend Olivier is going to be there and he's got a talent for languages and can translate. Actually we're going to go on a mushroom hunt in the woods behind my place early Sunday morning, and bring the mushrooms we find to the seminar to see what the experts say.
2009 Sep 19
I tend to stay away from the gilled cap mushrooms unless I have a professional mycologist in tow. The physical differences between an edible "garden variety" button mushroom and deadly look-alikes are just too subtle to risk it. For spontaneous walks in the woods, I keep my eye out for non-gilled types such as boletus, (aka porcini), which have honeycomb-like tubes instead of gills under big fleshy caps.
2009 Sep 20
We went for a walk in the woods and collected specimens this morning. We only found a few boletes, none tasty ones. But we did find a fallen log covered with twenty or so fist sized coral like fungi. We brought samples to the fungi seminar. There were experts there and lots of samples (they went on a foraging expedition yesterday) organized by group, and labeled, and indicated to be edible or not. They were bilingual. We showed them the mushrooms we foraged and the coral fungi we found pictured at right is an edible one. I was told to take them in the next couple of days before they dry out.
More on it:
tinyurl.com/kplkw9
Tastes like lobster after cooking in olive oil and butter. :-)
We also asked the experts which wild mushrooms could be eaten raw, and the answer was "none of them". Even if the mushrooms are edible, wild mushrooms may be colonized by bacteria or parasites that could make you sick, so every wild mushroom should be cooked before eating.
More on it:
tinyurl.com/kplkw9
Tastes like lobster after cooking in olive oil and butter. :-)
We also asked the experts which wild mushrooms could be eaten raw, and the answer was "none of them". Even if the mushrooms are edible, wild mushrooms may be colonized by bacteria or parasites that could make you sick, so every wild mushroom should be cooked before eating.
2009 Sep 20
Apparently this book is the best book for identifying mushrooms in North America.
www.amazon.ca
It has really good pictures on a standard background. The problem is, like all the books, it lacks a key, so where do you start?
The www.mao-qc.ca/ site has a CD that has a very good key and apparently this is the best way of all to identify mushrooms. The key is like a game of twenty questions, each narrowing the possibilities by asking a yes/no question about a single feature. Unfortunately the CD is only in French, but it's so simple that I was told an English person could also use it easily. I think it presents you with pictures showing each feature and you click on the picture that matches the feature in question, and then it asks you the next question, and so on until the identification is complete.
www.amazon.ca
It has really good pictures on a standard background. The problem is, like all the books, it lacks a key, so where do you start?
The www.mao-qc.ca/ site has a CD that has a very good key and apparently this is the best way of all to identify mushrooms. The key is like a game of twenty questions, each narrowing the possibilities by asking a yes/no question about a single feature. Unfortunately the CD is only in French, but it's so simple that I was told an English person could also use it easily. I think it presents you with pictures showing each feature and you click on the picture that matches the feature in question, and then it asks you the next question, and so on until the identification is complete.
2009 Sep 21
Hi Frank,
Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips (1991)
The said make sure you get the 1991 edition. It's also the cheapest to buy (used ~$20).
Apparently there was a reprint of this book, but the mushroom pictures were extracted from the standard blue background they were photographed against and put against white in outline; when printed the colors were off, making color identification unreliable; they also mixed up some of the photographs and descriptions!
The one they had at the seminar was the 1991 edition and they said it was the authoritative edition. It's also cheap if you buy it used.
They said 80% of the mushrooms you encounter in this area will be covered by the 1991 book. However, they cited the lack of a key as the main shortcoming of even this book. The best method of identification recommended was the CD-ROM and the key ("decision tree flowchart" software) therein. The book is good, but when you have a mushroom for id "where do you start?"
# Paperback: 320 pages
# Publisher: Little Brown & Co (P) (April 1991)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0316706132
# ISBN-13: 978-0316706131
p.s. Know what the coolest thing they said was? The mushroom makes spores and when the spores land they form hyphae. These hyphae are threadlike filaments that grow, and grow and grow, sometimes for kilometers. There are positive hyphae and negative hyphae. They just keep dividing and growing exponentially until a positive meets a negative. When they do they fuse and form a mycelium. This is the true, complete organism. When the mycelium is threatened it forms mushrooms - it's kind of an escape or survival mechanism for the mycelium to get away from somewhere. Some mycelium cover 30 sq km ! One single organism ! That's huge.
Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips (1991)
The said make sure you get the 1991 edition. It's also the cheapest to buy (used ~$20).
Apparently there was a reprint of this book, but the mushroom pictures were extracted from the standard blue background they were photographed against and put against white in outline; when printed the colors were off, making color identification unreliable; they also mixed up some of the photographs and descriptions!
The one they had at the seminar was the 1991 edition and they said it was the authoritative edition. It's also cheap if you buy it used.
They said 80% of the mushrooms you encounter in this area will be covered by the 1991 book. However, they cited the lack of a key as the main shortcoming of even this book. The best method of identification recommended was the CD-ROM and the key ("decision tree flowchart" software) therein. The book is good, but when you have a mushroom for id "where do you start?"
# Paperback: 320 pages
# Publisher: Little Brown & Co (P) (April 1991)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0316706132
# ISBN-13: 978-0316706131
p.s. Know what the coolest thing they said was? The mushroom makes spores and when the spores land they form hyphae. These hyphae are threadlike filaments that grow, and grow and grow, sometimes for kilometers. There are positive hyphae and negative hyphae. They just keep dividing and growing exponentially until a positive meets a negative. When they do they fuse and form a mycelium. This is the true, complete organism. When the mycelium is threatened it forms mushrooms - it's kind of an escape or survival mechanism for the mycelium to get away from somewhere. Some mycelium cover 30 sq km ! One single organism ! That's huge.
2009 Sep 24
I ordered the 2005 edition of Roger Phillips' book, called "Mushrooms and Other fungi of North America" before I went on the seminar. I just got it in the mail and it's fine. The pictures are on the standard blue backgrounds. It was $25.
I've also gone on a few more mushroom walks and found lots, especially after these last two days of rain. I've found more Comb Tooth, and Boletes, and Chicken of the woods. I want to find Horn of Plenty next. I'm sure I've seen it before in the woods nearby . . .
I've also gone on a few more mushroom walks and found lots, especially after these last two days of rain. I've found more Comb Tooth, and Boletes, and Chicken of the woods. I want to find Horn of Plenty next. I'm sure I've seen it before in the woods nearby . . .
BakingBombshell
Are there any mushroom walks? I keep searching and never seem to hear of any. I learn best with the in person, hands on approach. Help!