The Official Mushroom Thread

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It's been a bit over 2 years since I started to get into mushrooms. Last spring, I went down to NC and took some tests to get a license to sell mushrooms in 7 states. When I go on rides now, I am always looking for mushrooms. That's why my Strava times have been so slow, just incase you were wondering.

So I'll be randomly posting mushroom photos here. I can also entertain ID requests. When posting up photos for ID, it's best to take a photo of the cap and a photo of upskirt. Some mushrooms need more info than that to ID, but baby steps.

Any mushroom is safe to handle. You won't get poisoned just by touching it. Also, picking the mushroom won't affect future growth. It's similar to picking an apple from an apple tree. This has been proven scientifically.

If you are not going to eat and/or trip from it, coordinates might be appreciated depending on if it's a worthwhile edible mushroom.

Some recent finds:

Hericium americanum aka bear's head tooth fungus - choice edible - Ringwood
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Galerina marginata aka deadly galerina aka funeral bell aka deadly skullcap - deadly - Bowling Green Mountain
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Lycoperdon pyriforme aka pear-shaped puffball - edible - Bowling Green Mountain
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Pholiota adiposa group - questionably edible - Allamuchy
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Ischnoderma resinosum aka resinous polypore - edible when young - Allamuchy
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Let's see what you got!
 
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soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
"questionably edible"

Do you just try it or offer it to someone you don't like?
Depends on what I have available at the time. Always looking for volunteers.

So a lot of field guides will list the Pholiota sp as inedible or not recommended. It is because there have been reports of people have GI issues after eating them. However, if you look into it deeper, you will find that Pholiota adiposa is the most cultivated mushroom in the world.

Also, the mushroom world has traditionally not been very consistent with categorizing edible/inedible mushrooms. For example, chicken of the woods (classified as choice edible) is reported to be produce GI issues in some people. However, almost everyone is fine trying it because all the field guides tell them it's a choice edible. In fact, any mushroom can cause GI issues or maybe even allergic reactions in some people. It's like eating peanuts or drinking milk, you don't know until you try it.

With the Internet and FB groups available, you can start to figure out which questionable mushrooms are worth trying (if any) for your comfort level. Of course you're not going to try something that is known to be poisonous or deadly. But these days there is so much more information out there than a few books or some old dood in your neighborhood you can questionably trust.

So if I see something questionable often enough and I become confident enough to ID it and there is enough info out there that gives me confidence that it is not toxic. I might try a little piece. Then wait 24hrs. Then try some more, etc.. So far, I have not had any issues with any wild mushrooms I've eaten. I tend to think I have an iron stomach.

When they say "inedible" it normally means some combo of:

- you'll break your teeth
- do you like chewing on leather?
- tastes like crap
- super bitter
- super spicy
- can cause GI issues in some
- too small or fragile to be worthwhile
- not enough information to know
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
So if I see something questionable often enough and I become confident enough to ID it and there is enough info out there that gives me confidence that it is not toxic. I might try a little piece. Then wait 24hrs. Then try some more, etc..
Soundz more like you are trying to build immunity :D
 

rick81721

Lothar
When I was into this (wifey is now scared) one of our first harvests were some really nice horse mushrooms found near the sourland mountain preserve (funny we looked again for years afterwards and never saw them again). Did a spore print to be sure before we ate them. Since then, focused mostly on boletes/pore species, tho did find some inky caps a few times. Interesting thread!
 
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ekuhn

Well-Known Member
Was in the Adirondacks a few weeks ago, and a guy was carrying a chunk of "Chaga" said he got from a white birch. Guess its good as tea or something, he was super excited, his lady friend, not so much.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The mushroom @Dusty the Whale posted and @rick81721 ID'ed as fly agaric is an interesting one. The scientific name for that one is Amanita muscaria var guessowii. The bigger ones in the photo have lost their color (yellow). Basically, fly agaric is the red mushroom with white dots that you see in Super Mario Brothers. We don't get the red ones in this area, but we have the yellow ones (i.e. var guessowii).

As Rick noted, it is toxic (ibotenic acid which is a neurotoxin), but with special preparation the ibotenic acid turns into muscimol which is psychoactive. You can also feed it to a reindeer and drink the piss to go on your trip. It's named fly agaric because it's used as fly traps. The flys eat the mushroom and get all dizzy.

Lots of interesting info on the wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria
 
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