Chicken Mushroom Cacciatore (recipe on p. 82)
IF YOU ARE NOT 100% SURE OF THE IDENTIFICATION OF MUSHROOMS, DON’T EAT THEM. REMEMBER THE MUSHROOMER’S SAYING:
“WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW THEM OUT.”
BASIC MUSHROOM ANATOMY
COMMON MUSHROOM TERMS
Bruise – Some mushrooms change colors when they are bruised or scratched, as seen on some species of Boletes and other mushrooms. When the pores get scratched they may change colors (for instance, from yellow to blue). The color changes can vary.
Fertile surface – This refers to the part of the mushroom that is spore-bearing. It could be gills, pores, teeth or veins, and is often on the underside of the mushroom.
Flush – When a quantity of mushrooms quickly appears it is called a flush – for example, if 50 mushrooms appeared under a tree in a yard overnight.
KOH (potassium Hydroxide) test – A drop of 3–5% KOH mixed with water can be applied to parts of the mushroom, such as the cap, and produce a color reaction. For example, a mushroom with a pink cap can change to green where the KOH was applied. Color reactions vary from non-distinctive to distinctive color changes.
Latex – Some mushrooms, especially the Genus Lactarius, produce a substance called latex; when the gills are scratched or the mushroom is broken, this milklike juice may appear.
Mycelium – This is the collective name for the threadlike structure at the bottom of the mushroom, usually found underground or covered.
Spore Print – A spore print is a deposit of mushroom spores. The color of the spore print can be useful to help determine the type of mushroom and it may also let you know if you may have made a mistake in the mushroom’s identification. (See next page for more information.)
Veil – A thin covering over the gills, etc., occurs on some young, immature mushrooms, covering the fertile areas between the cap’s outer edge and the top of the stalk. When it breaks apart it can form a ring (a partial veil) on the stalk. Other mushrooms such as Amanitas have a universal veil covering the immature mushrooms; as the mushroom develops and breaks free, a sac-like cup remains at the base of its stalk.
Zones – Many mushrooms can have zoned caps; the zones are often multi-colored in concentric bands on the top of the cap, like rings.
HOW TO MAKE A SPORE PRINT
Why make a spore print? Spore print instructions are not something that authors put into books just to take up space. They can save your life. Different types of mushrooms have many different colors of prints: white, yellow, pink, brown, black and more. The color of a spore print will not tell you what the mushroom is, but it may tell you if you made a mistake in the mushroom’s identification. If the mushroom you’re ID’ing is supposed to have a white spore print but the print turns out brown, you know you’re on the wrong track and there was a mistake in the ID.
To make the print, place a fresh mushroom cap on a sheet of paper with the gills or pores facing down. The stalk may need to be removed or a hole made in the paper to allow for the stalk. It can then be covered with a cup or bowl to stop any harsh air movement from blowing the spores away. The mushroom is left there anywhere from a few hours to overnight. When the mushroom is removed, the print will be left on the paper. It is often preferable to place white colored paper under one side of the cap and black under the other; that way, if it has a white print it would show up on the black paper or if the print is black it would show up on the white paper.
Spore printing an Agaricus
A brown colored Agaricus spore print
INEDIBLE OR POISONOUS MUSHROOMS
BERKELEY’S POLYPORE
(Bondarzewia berkeleyi / Bondarzewia montana)
DESCRIPTION
When immature before the caps develop, it resembles a Gomphus, or a bunch of whitish stalagmites growing up from the ground. When it gets around 6" tall, it should start to look like its mature form. Can get over 3 feet wide but typically about 2 feet wide at maturity, looking like a rosette. Its taste is mild when immature, becoming bitter when fully grown. B. montana is also known as B. mesenterica.
Flesh: White.
Cap: A caplet is 2½" – 10" wide and ⅛" – 1" thick. B. berkeleyi: creamy in color on the upper surface, sometimes with some off-white, yellowish or brownish. Margin sometimes a lighter color. Often zoned. Caplets become fused together on their interior sides and at the base. Overlapping caps in the cap clusters are fan-shaped. B. Montana: tannish brown to brownish. It typically is a little smaller and can somewhat resemble an Albatrellus.
Berkeley’s Polypore (B. berkeleyi)
Pores: White, becoming cream colored with age and descending down the stalk. Not circular, but somewhat angular and often ridge-like.
Spore Print: White.
Stalk: 2" – 4⅜" tall and 1" – 2½" wide. B. berkeleyi: creamy to yellowish. Often central. B. Montana: brownish. Both species’ stalks are attached to an underground tuber-like mass called a sclerotium.
WHERE, WHEN HOW TO LOOK
Where: On soil, but connected to wood. B. berkeleyi usually grows touching at the bases of hardwood trees, typically oak trees or stumps, but occasionally growing 10 feet or so away from the tree on underground roots. It is more eastern and central in range. B. montana is western and grows in the same manner but on conifers such as pine, spruce and fir.
When: July to November.
How they appear: Usually singly at the base of a tree, but sometimes several can be found at a tree.
How common…how rare? Occasional to common.
LOOK-ALIKES
The edible Black-Staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei), which differs by bruising black. The edible Umbrella Polypore (Polyporus umbellatus), which differs by having circular caps and a central stalk on each caplet. The edible Sheep Head (Grifola frondosa), which has smaller caps and does not taste bitter or bruise black. All three of the above are edible. The inedible Dye Polypore or Dyer’s Mushroom (Phaeolus schweinitzii) has flesh that is yellowish to brownish or with rusty tones.
Berkeley’s Polypore (B. berkeleyi)