So, you want to enter the amazing world of Mycology? Well, I have always been fascinated with mushrooms. Initially, I was mostly interested in them from a purely visual perspective. I drew them, observed them, photographed them and thought about them. After all, mushrooms are vivid, colorful, bizarre, alien and downright strange! It is speculated by Mycologists that there are well over a million species of mushrooms here on Earth, and perhaps only ten percent have even been identified!
I eventually became so interested in wild mushrooms that I decided to begin identifying mushrooms, and not just identify them, but identify and begin eating the choice edible mushrooms! Many cultures around the world have been eating mushrooms for hundreds to thousands of years, and indeed many people who came to America brought their knowledge and desire to eat wild mushrooms with them. The Japanese, for instance, have eaten the Matsutake for thousands of years. In America, we have the Matsutake, which is actually a Japanese word that simply means “pine mushroom”. Indeed, the name has been adopted in America for this mushroom, I believe for simplicity sake, because the true name of the pine mushroom found in America is Tricholoma Magnivalere. Try asking for that at your local farmer’s market!
So, enough of that you say, where do I find them? Well, that is indeed the question and like many other things to be found in nature the simple answer is: “You find them where they are!” Ha! you say, that is just as good as telling me “In the forest!” Well, the truth is that you find the mushrooms in the forest, but the knowledge you need is Where, When and Why.
First, a little background knowledge. One thing to realize about mushrooms is that the “mushroom” itself is the sexual organ of a Mycelium, (yes, mushrooms are very sexy, once you get to know them!) Under the ground, in most cases, is the “mushroom” itself, a network of fibers or organic material known as the Mycelium, which is, indeed, the actual “mushroom.” In fact, many Mycologists believe that these Mycelium are an entire Genus of their own and not a plant or animal, or are an animal differing from all other animals on the planet! In other words, we occupy the planet with an alien species, little realizing it, and you don’t need to watch outer space for the aliens, because they are already a Fungus Amongus!
So, the fruiting body, the sexual organ, the mushroom you see, and perhaps eat, is an organ for reproduction in that it releases seed (spores) to blow around and create more mushrooms (wow, see how sexy that is?) The second thing to realize, as I am sure most of you already know, is that some mushrooms are DEADLY POISONOUS, AND 100,000% POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION IS NECESSARY BEFORE CONSUMPTION!!! That being said, lets consider the fact that the choice edible wild mushrooms you can collect in the forest are so full of flavor, so delicious, so unique and wonderful that you will consider a Crimini, a Portabello, a White Button Mushroom from your grocery store to be a boring, decidedly unsexy mushroom indeed!
Ok, now to the details you have been waiting for:
Here in Central Oregon we have two seasons for Wild Edible Mushrooms. Spring and Fall. You will very likely not find Wild Edible Mushrooms in the Summer, as it is too hot and dry. And, in the Winter, everything is buried under snow and ice.
In the Spring, in Central Oregon, we have two main species of mushrooms to collect. Both are fairly easy to identify and both are delicious, and are famous worldwide, and highly prized indeed. These two species are the Morel (Morchella Esculenta) and the King Bolete (Boletes Edulis) * They can go for up to $30-$100 a pound at farmer’s markets or specialty stores such as Newport Ave. Market or Devore’s. And YOU can collect them in the forest for Free!
Finally the details you have been waiting for:
Morels typically start growing around Mother’s Day at the lower elevations such as the Metolious Basin.
A few weeks later they begin growing a bit higher at around the 4500′-5000′ elevations around Sisters. At about this time you may begin to see some of the Boletes coming up also. As we enter into June, start to look in the 4000′-6000′ elevation in any areas of the Cascade range that have mixed forest, such as Lodgepole, White Fir and Ponderosa trees. These mushrooms are known by Mycologists to be Mycorrhizal (Mycelium attached to tree roots.) So, the trees in the forest are an important clue to where to look. The Mycelium is in a symbiotic relationship with the tree roots, in other words: “find the tree, find the mushroom.” Typically, by the 4th of July, all the Morels and Boletes will be about done and it is time to go Jump in a Lake until the Fall mushroom season!
If you become serious about this foraging, I suggest you keep a mushroom journal. List the day, weather and location of your finds, this helps you over the years to know When, Where and Why. After all, like all things in nature, there are cycles and circles. Some years have lots of mushrooms, some have very few. The reasons for this are moisture or lack of, temperature and biology. In the Spring of 2010, we had excellent conditions, with some nice rain and some nice warming trends that were conducive to mushroom growth. Whereas in the Spring of 2011, a long, cold Winter prevailed, causing Spring mushroom season to be less productive.
And now, the Fall mushroom season:
In the Fall there are quite a few Choice Edible Mushrooms to forage for. They include the Chantrelle, the King Bolete, the Matsutake, the Bears Head, the Calliflower, the Coral, the Lobster, and the Psilocybin.**
Well, I just listed all those, although some of them are found on the Westside of the Cascade Range. Still, they grow in Oregon, and they grow in the Fall. In the Central Oregon area, the Chantrelle, the Bolete, the Matsutake, the Coral, and the Bear’s Head grow within a few minutes drive of Bend, Sisters, Sunriver, La Pine, Crescent, Diamond Lake and all over the Cascade Range! On top of that, there are also a uncountable number of other incredible mushroom species to be found in the area, and I can’t think of a one that isn’t terribly fascinating in its own right. The myriad shapes, colors and sizes are amazing. They rival, in my opinion, a coral reef in the ocean!!
So, the fall for mushrooms here in Central Oregon:
In the Cascade Range, look in the 4500′-6000′ elevation, mixed forest, starting in the middle of September until the forest is buried in snow. You can find the Matsutake, the White Chantrelle and the King Bolete. Try up around Santiam pass for some nice Bear’s Head, some lovely Gold Chantrelles.
Try Around Mackenzie river or Detroit lake, for Lobsters and Calliflowers. And, if you are heading for the Oregon Coast, you can find huge quantities of Gold Chantrelles, Lobsters, Calliflowers and Psilocybin.***
Well, I am writing this in the Fall of 2011, and we had a very hot and dry fall. Right now we are just getting moisture. What this means so far is that not too many mushrooms have grown so far. Remember how I said the seasons can vary dramatically year to year? Well, so far, this is not a great mushrooms season around here. On KLCC a few weeks ago, I heard about the East Coast. Remember Hurricane Irene? Well, it dumped huge quantities of rain, and foragers out there are having a HUGE abundance of Wild Mushrooms, like more than have been found for decades! So, that just goes to prove, a good mushroom appears to like some water!
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this story, and I hope you may spend some time in the fall examining the mysterious world of Mycology in the Fall. Whether you eat Wild Mushrooms or not, they are a wonderful part of the forest ecology and, especially in the fall, give a beautiful variety to life.
Footnotes
* Morels and Boletes: There are a number of separate species of Morels, and up to 150 species of Boletes. For further information I recommend Michael Kuo’s Mushroomexpert.com or David Arora’s book “Mushrooms Demystified.”
**These are all common names, for latin names I refer you to the above mentioned sources.
***Ah, you are excited by the mention of Psilocybin Magic Mushrooms? Well, the above mentioned sources and Youtube have all the information you could want about hallucinogenic mushrooms!
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