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Prop Wash
Jun 12, 2010



Cardiovorax posted:

Stinging nettles are perfectly edible once you boil them, which completely denatures the irritant their hairs contain. It's a fairly popular type of herbal tea where I live, you can buy it in most grocery stores.

I made a really good nettle soup last year with nettles we picked from the area. The prep is more hazardous and it doesn't really taste better than comparable greens but it's kind of a fun afternoon activity. Plus I had just been zapped by some while on a trail run the week prior so it was nice and therapeutic.

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the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



elise the great posted:

Speaking of boiling and discarding the water, any of y’all eat amanita muscaria? It’s a constant topic of debate in all my mushie groups— some folks feel like their ease of positive ID + clear process for safe prep make them an ideal beginner’s pick, while others insist that you can mess up the boiling process too easily.

I live in the PNW so I just haven’t bothered to eat anything besides chants, morels, oysters, and shaggy parasols myself

Asserting that a species that’s unsafe until prepped is beginner appropriate is absolute horseshit.

Edit- the simplicity of the prep is kind of irrelevant, you’re also expecting people new to the hobby to never forget there’s one amanita in that basket of chanterelles, and that there’s immediately an exception to ‘never mix food and dangerous shrooms when picking ‘

the yeti fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Mar 1, 2021

poeticoddity
Jan 14, 2007
"How nice - to feel nothing and still get full credit for being alive." - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Also, A. Muscaria contains muscimol which is a deliriant hallucinogen, so please don't suggest newbies treat it as a food. (Doubly so in Louisiana, where it's illegal to do so.)

elise the great
May 1, 2012

You do not have to be good. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
I’m kinda in the middle myself— amanita is pretty easy to identify in a basket of pretty much anything else, and if you DO eat it without prepping it right, you aren’t gonna die or suffer major organ damage, just poo poo a lot and hallucinate. It’s a bad time but a good lesson.

That said, I’ve drifted closer to the opposite school of thought as I’ve seen the dumb fuckin questions people ask in those groups. Endless blurry brown yard mushrooms with the caption ARE THESE MORELS

big scary monsters
Sep 2, 2011

-~Skullwave~-
There are tonnes of A. muscaria around here in the right season but they almost always seem to be horribly worm-eaten. Can't say I've been too tempted to pick them when we have so many nice hedgehog mushrooms, puffballs and porcini around. Shame the chanterelle haul was a bit disappointing last season.

All winter I've been missing the mushrooms and looking forward to spring, but now we've had a big thaw and loads of rain and I miss skiing and wish the snow would come back for another month or two. Bare ground in March just looks weird, and I haven't even spotted any friendly fungi yet.

the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



elise the great posted:

That said, I’ve drifted closer to the opposite school of thought as I’ve seen the dumb fuckin questions people ask in those groups. Endless blurry brown yard mushrooms with the caption ARE THESE MORELS

Right that’s tangential to my point, beginners by definition are missing some or all of the mental mapping and vocabulary that makes obvious things obvious to more experienced hobbyists—and so giving them a ‘if you do this wrong or forget or cross contaminate you’ll have an awful time and miss work a day or two’ option is pretty unfair.

Leave that poo poo to idiots like me who want to know if lactofermentation makes local russulas safe :v:

elise the great
May 1, 2012

You do not have to be good. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
There’s a spot near me with the hugest russula brevipes population I’ve ever seen, I wish I could infect it with lobster somehow. As it is I’m seriously considering eating the fuckers as-is, if I can find some that aren’t more worm than mushroom. What kinds of russies y’all grow over there?

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Prop Wash posted:

I made a really good nettle soup last year with nettles we picked from the area. The prep is more hazardous and it doesn't really taste better than comparable greens but it's kind of a fun afternoon activity. Plus I had just been zapped by some while on a trail run the week prior so it was nice and therapeutic.
If you ever want to try again, something helpful to know is you can use it nearly all the same ways you use spinach, except for making salads out it. Well, I wouldn't particularly recommend it, anyway. Pureed, it is a great addition to a potato creme soup.

elise the great posted:

There’s a spot near me with the hugest russula brevipes population I’ve ever seen, I wish I could infect it with lobster somehow. As it is I’m seriously considering eating the fuckers as-is, if I can find some that aren’t more worm than mushroom. What kinds of russies y’all grow over there?
Russula paludosa is very common and tasty here.

silicone thrills
Jan 9, 2008

I paint things

elise the great posted:

There’s a spot near me with the hugest russula brevipes population I’ve ever seen, I wish I could infect it with lobster somehow. As it is I’m seriously considering eating the fuckers as-is, if I can find some that aren’t more worm than mushroom. What kinds of russies y’all grow over there?

I saw some mushroomers say you can - just bring a lobster you find somewhere else over to that population and shake it/cut the gills, etc over what you want to infect.

Never tried it myself but it makes sense. I wouldnt transport anything too far though.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Seems like a bad habit to get into, artificially spreading edible parasites through a wild population just because you prefer them over the equally edible host.

elise the great
May 1, 2012

You do not have to be good. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
If it helps, lobster is endemic here, I wouldn’t be introducing it to a foreign environment. I’ve been watching the spot for a few years in hopes that it will convert, like a couple of other spots I’ve haunted. Probably a terrible idea, but a girl can dream!

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Yeah, but there's still an ecological balance to it. Just a reminder. You probably wouldn't cause an localized extinction of Brevipes shrooms just by spreading the parasite to one more patch, but doing that kind of thing does have consequences.

the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



elise the great posted:

What kinds of russies y’all grow over there?

Red ones :shrug:

In seriousness I’ve found brevipes (quite locally abundant) green quilted (virescens I think, also locally abundant), green ones that I’m reasonably sure are not green quilted, myriad physically distinct red and purple ones that I never managed ID on, and a few brilliant yellow ones that might have been claroflava.

I’m told xerampelina can be found here but I haven’t located one yet.

crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010
Stinging nettles are ridiculously cool and should be eaten all the time, also making nettle cordage is fun. They can also be used to make leafu: http://www.plantfoods.org/demos/leafu/index.html

But since this is the mushroom thread, a muscaria anecdote. It's really common here but I wasn't convinced about eating it (there are definitely better psychoactive mushrooms around). However I heard that shamans in some parts of the world, for example Siberia, have used it by baking in the oven and then squeezing out the juice for tea. I tried this at a really low dose and felt the urge to dance after a while.

Scarodactyl
Oct 22, 2015


Not many shrooms out in NC at the moment but I got a new lens and wanted to try it out. There were still a few bracket mushrooms out with really neat, furry teeth.



The Glumslinger
Sep 24, 2008

Coach Nagy, you want me to throw to WHAT side of the field?


Hair Elf



I see mushrooms like these on fallen trees all over the place here (SF Bay Area), anyone know what kind they are? I assume they're rather poisonous

vonnegutt
Aug 7, 2006
Hobocamp.

The Glumslinger posted:




I see mushrooms like these on fallen trees all over the place here (SF Bay Area), anyone know what kind they are? I assume they're rather poisonous

Most likely turkey tails (Trametes versicolor). There's another similar looking species appropriately called false turkey tails. If the underside has pores, it's turkey tails. They're one of the most hardy fungi I see - they grow throughout the winter even.
They're not poisonous - some people make a tincture out of them to cure various ailments. I can't say how effective it is.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Wikipedia says that while there is an effective compound to be found in these mushrooms, it can have major side effects, ranging from simple diarrhea to "darkened fingernails," which I am not even sure what could cause that, but it sounds like the reason for it is probably bad.

crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010

The Glumslinger posted:




I see mushrooms like these on fallen trees all over the place here (SF Bay Area), anyone know what kind they are? I assume they're rather poisonous

Looks like Turkey Tail, but here is the test, source https://www.mushroomexpert.com/trametes_versicolor.html

Totally True Turkey Tail Test

1) Is the pore surface a real pore surface? Like, can you see actual pores?

Yes: Continue.
No: See Stereum ostrea and other crust fungi.
2) Squint real hard. Would you say there are about 1–3 pores per millimeter (which would make them fairly easy to see), or about 3–8 pores per millimeter (which would make them very tiny)?

3–8 per mm: Continue.
1–3 per mm: See several other species of Trametes.
3) Is the cap conspicuously fuzzy, velvety, or finely hairy (use a magnifying glass or rub it with your thumb)?

Yes: Continue.
No: See several other species of Trametes.
4) Is the fresh cap whitish to grayish?

Yes: See Trametes hirsuta.
No: Continue.
5) Does the cap lack starkly contrasting color zones (are the zones merely textural, or do they represent subtle shades of the same color)?

Yes: See Trametes pubescens.
No: Continue.
6) Is the fresh mushroom rigid and hard, or thin and flexible?

Rigid and hard: See Trametes ochracea.
Thin and flexible: Totally True Turkey Tail.

poeticoddity
Jan 14, 2007
"How nice - to feel nothing and still get full credit for being alive." - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Mushrooms in the news:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-australians-wild-mushrooms-deathcap-amanita.amp

Jestery
Aug 2, 2016

Eat a dick unicycle boy!
Been making a bucket "log" of straw for some oysters

Been heaps of fun and way quicker than I expected

the first week of spawn to bulk


And this morning I birthed it a little early because I was worried about contamination, no massive spots so I'm sure it will be fine

the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



Oh nice keep us posted!

Jestery
Aug 2, 2016

Eat a dick unicycle boy!
Well

Some local fauna decided to "help out" and pecked apart my straw log

No big deal just spread it over the wood chips that were there



Oh well, carrying on

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Yeah, bad time of year to have a convenient ball of nesting material just sitting in your garden.

Jestery
Aug 2, 2016

Eat a dick unicycle boy!
Thought I might get Lucky
But this bugger is around

Still, I'm sure something might happen at some point

Fwiw

I have a couple jars of wine caps going well


Lessons learnt from the straw for sure

Jestery
Aug 2, 2016

Eat a dick unicycle boy!
Trying to make a passive humidity chamber under the house from some random rear end junk I have lying around



Got a drip going from a resovoir and some holes for air exchange

Hopefully should work, but I might add some more wicking material

Otherwise

My wine caps continue well and I'm pasturising some worm castings and hay to make some cakes tomorrow

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Its morel season, everyone. Post your finds so I can be jealous.

Harry Potter on Ice
Nov 4, 2006


IF IM NOT BITCHING ABOUT HOW SHITTY MY LIFE IS, REPORT ME FOR MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HIJACKED

Dik Hz posted:

Its morel season, everyone. Post your finds so I can be jealous.

I've heard of people hunting previous burns is this a good strategy or what would you do

ThePopeOfFun
Feb 15, 2010

Not a bad strategy. You also want well drained soil such as next to creeks/rivers or other places. You really have to get out there a lot and look. Eventually you'll trip over some. Took me a few seasons to find some, then I moved to I'll have to re-scout.

Harry Potter on Ice
Nov 4, 2006


IF IM NOT BITCHING ABOUT HOW SHITTY MY LIFE IS, REPORT ME FOR MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HIJACKED
Great thanks, what about slope orientation, can that be indicative to where they grow? More or less or dappled light? Or tree species?

Prop Wash
Jun 12, 2010



Depends on a lot of different things! Sucks that everything's on facebook now but there are probably a few groups in your local area where people will post well-meaning advice that frequently doesn't meet the correlation/causation test. This is my first year looking on the east coast and I found a handful mostly in areas similar to what Fun Pope was saying. I gather that I'm lucky, there's some people on these groups that have been looking for years and not found any.

The biggest single factor seems to be that they show up a day or two after it rains (or maybe that's just when we all get out to look for them). The ones I find are mostly in leaves (but not pulped matted-down leaf mass), and adjacent to but not in areas that frequently have standing water. Also check mulch.

the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



Harry Potter on Ice posted:

MOr tree species?

In PA people like to look for them around tulip poplar

ThePopeOfFun
Feb 15, 2010

Harry Potter on Ice posted:

Great thanks, what about slope orientation, can that be indicative to where they grow? More or less or dappled light? Or tree species?

There's so many variables depending on the geography. That said, south-facing slopes for the early ones because the soil warms up sooner in the season where you are. Once the soil hits 50F ish (look up the exact temp), they start popping up. Some places have mushroom guides, too. They won't take you to personal spots, but they might take you somewhere else and you can get an idea where they grow in your region.

I'm no expert, but the above posters have nailed what I've heard and experienced. I've also found some in shin-high grass a couple football fields away from a river. I can't recommend enough that you just have to get out and put in the miles look for them. No ways around it unless someone tells you about their honey hole, which won't ever happen.

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Harry Potter on Ice posted:

I've heard of people hunting previous burns is this a good strategy or what would you do

Depends where you are. Burn site morels are a western rocky mountains thing mostly. Around here (NC) I look for tulip poplars in river beds. Back in the upper Midwest its cottonwoods and dead elms.

silicone thrills
Jan 9, 2008

I paint things
Was on a walk in a park in north Seattle and found this monstrosity of a morel. Holy gently caress

I looked around for more but no dice

Greatest Living Man
Jul 22, 2005

ask President Obama
:drat:
looks like some extra protein in there too

Hooplah
Jul 15, 2006


that's an amazing morel. makes me miss seattle.

i got out yesterday looking for morels. didn't find any, but did score my first ever wild oysters! took ~1.5 lbs. still trying to decide what to make with them. the anise scent is super strong and quite pleasant. probably the best-smelling mushroom i've ever foraged.


plus a bonus scarlet tanager. beautifully striking red in person. iphone camera doesn't do it justice.
https://i.imgur.com/B7eofAg.gifv

also found a few morels last weekend. wasn't good conditions as it had been too dry here in MN. the couple i found were stunted and/or sunburned. local forums seemed to be saying similar things.
basically stepped on this one before seeing it. it was growing mostly under a piece of fallen bark


this was in a park adjacent to a residential area, and it's obvious there's some mushroom hunters in there all the time. i've found some in these woods most years, but my spots show clear evidence of other hunters (such as that last shroom i found picked and lying on its side drying out next to the other drying morels), so i need to move on to someplace less traveled. like the spot i went to yesterday for instance.

Pham Nuwen
Oct 30, 2010



Looks like mushroom collecting isn't allowed in CA state parks which seems a little absurd given, like, biology... are there any places you can collect on the SF peninsula, or am I doomed to drive when I want to walk slowly through the woods?

Scarodactyl
Oct 22, 2015


Still not seeing a lot of mushrooms here in central NC, but I did spot these guys



Decidedly unwelcome guests on my pear tree.

Scarodactyl fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jun 7, 2021

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Scarodactyl
Oct 22, 2015


Finally, some real mushrooms!


Only fire ants live here now.

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