Fungus blues
I've begun to read the hefty "Mushrooms Demystified" in earnest, namely because I have exhausted almost all of my other reading material. I'm not being overzealous and reading it page by page, fungus by fungus - rather, I went through the 70s notable species and now I've moved on to genera and genus descriptions, which is still a hell of a lot of reading material.
One thing I hadn't noticed about the book that is now indispensible is the latin root dictionary in the back. I've been wanting to find a book solely on latin and greek roots, and I still do, but this is more than adequate. Roots interest me very much because they come in handy when one comes across an unfamiliar word. Not only that, but I can pick apart the latin names of mushrooms (and other things, of course). Interesting points: Amanaita phalloides, aka deathcap, literally means "penis-like mushroom." The cantharellus cibarius, aka yellow chanterelle (one I'm nuts for), literally means "small cup food." Hellvella lacunosa, aka black elfin saddle (yummy in small quantities, especially stuffed into a butterflied chicken breast), means "cavity-filled herb." The more you know! Somehow, I have a knack for remembering stupid useless things like these - all the more exciting.
By the way, I'm getting sick of people's reactions to my mushroom book. It's not like I flash it around, desperate for people to catch a glimpse of it so they can start a conversation - not all; it's a big, eye catching book and I gather that people are surprised to see such a lengthy book devoted to mushrooms. I don't mind talking about what limited mycological information I know, but the only two things I get from people are "oh.... dangerous!" and "what's it like to trip balls on shrooms?" First of all - mushroom collecting is only dangerous if you are careless and stupid, and thank you for insulting my intelligence by suggesting that I am stupid and careless enough to eat a mushroom that I am uncertain about. There are plenty - PLENTY - of mushrooms out there that are not only harmless, but delectable. Also, I have no interest in hallucinogenic mushrooms. There are only a few of those, and again, plenty to eat. Thanks for assuming that I am seeking mind-altering substances...
I miss being able to go out and hunt mushrooms, but... this winter is going to be awesome. I'll be in Santa Cruz for the whole season instead of the tail end of it. You'll know where to find me on the weekends.
One more thing - I just purchased my tickets to Philly. I'll be gone Wed., Aug 30- Thurs., Sept 7.
posted by sausagequeen @ 8:31 PM
8 Comments:
Good, good. I'm really eager to have multiple people come with me on forays. You cover more ground that way, it's more fun, and you can picnic too! I'll show you what to look for and then I can verify what it is for sure.
I also plan to cultivate oyster mushrooms and maybe shitake mushrooms. On the backside of my apartment - which faces the ravine by the porter bridge - I'm going to setup a big oak log that I will inject with Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium. Then, if it turns out well, it'll just keep producing from the first rains and through the spring. Oyster mushrooms are good, but definitely not as good as some of the fungi that you can't cultivate because they are mycorrhizal; they are hosted by tree roots in a mutually beneficial relationship. Fortunately, these tend to grow in the same spots year to year!
In the words of my aunt the herbalist, "do you have a fuckin' death wish? My friend Larry the botanist will stop and admire a chantrelle or witches butter, etc. and won't pick them. You're putting your life and the lives of others at risk."
Ummmm.... I'm not going to eat anything that I'm not abolutely sure of because a) I don't want to get sick or die, and b) I don't want my friends to get sick and die. It's pretty hard to confuse something like a chanterelle or a blewit with something like a death cap or satan's bolete. Remember what I told you - I don't go out and look for random mushrooms and figure out if I can eat them or not. I go out looking specifically for things I know are edible. There are many, many distinguishing factors involved in mushroom identification, and more often than not, they ave very clean cut. It's not worth it to put myself or others at risk.
If I say "look for a small red-orange mushroom, hollow stem, white spores, leaks a transluscent white latex when cut, smells sweet almost like maple syrup (especially among dryer specimens, gills adnate becoming decurrent, cap never viscid" you're going to bring back a candy cap (lactarius fragilis) because there's nothing else with those characteristics, even in the lactarius genus. This isn't "let's take stabs in the dark and hope we end up with something we can eat and survive," and this is a COMPLETELY different ball game than botany - different kingdom, even...
Like I said in the original post - I do find it slightly insulting [not by you, Kevin - I know you're just quoting your aunt (and I hope you have the sense not to take her that seriously in this instance)] that someone would think that I'm stupid and careless enough to jeopardize my own welfare.
I should also clarify - there is NOTHING that will make one specimen of (for example) cantharellus cibarius abnormally toxic. Mushroom toxicity is the trait of a species and not of a single specimen.
Sorry, one more thing...
Your aunt's botanist friend is missing out on delectible chanterelles for dumb reasons. If he already knows what it is, it isn't that much work to verify its identity, and chanterelles are amazing eating.
"Boy, that broccoli sure looks good enough to eat! But I'm not going to eat it because I don't want to learn anything about it! Heck, it could very well kill someone, or it might make a tasty meal, but I will never know!"
"It's great that you can identify edible mushrooms like Chanterelles, and cultivating your own mushrooms is a great idea, but you cannot learn mushrooming from a book.
I'd recommend taking a class from Christopher Hobbes if he's still in Santa Cruz, or joining your local mycological association. However picking mushrooms without spending a significant amount of time with a field instructor is unethical, especially if you are planning to bring others with you.
Ask Christopher Hobbes, he'd tell you the same thing."
-Amanda Moore
I agree that there's no substitute for real world mushrooming experience. I'm learning from a book now because... what else am I going to do on the off season? I have taken a mushroom class, and yes, I do need plenty more time in the field - so, for now, I'm focusing on the almost foolproof beginner mushrooms. Coincidentally, the check is in the mail to the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz.
Sorry I've been so defensive... I'm just convinced (thanks to author David Arora) that Anglos and Americans are needlessly fungophobic.
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