Edible plants · Foraging · Wild Mushrooms

June 29th, 2017

 

The main thing I noticed on my recent hikes on the Niagara escarpment were Elderberries. A great number of bushes with huge amount of berries (in both green and red stage) abound. Personally, I have never tried to do anything with this berry, but this year,  I will try to make elderberry syrup. It is supposed to be a great remedy for colds and mild flu.

In my last post I mentioned the apparent absence of the crown coral mushroom. Well, in the last several days it did show up in many places. Maybe the growth is not really abundant, but they are certainly present and were missed up until now.

Several days ago I was checking the south-east slope of the hill for Lactarius hygrophoides (my favorite orange milky, now moved to the new genus Lactifluus). The trees around these mushrooms  are mainly oak with some pines mixed in. Under a pair of mature birch trees, I found a handful of king boletes (Boletus edulis). A real treat – this early in the season and perfect specimens, just out of the button stage!

Checking the coniferous woods, in this case mainly young spruce mixed with some pine, I found the start of the flash of the Great Lakes Amanita muscaria (mainly orange variety). In the button stage they do look like something out of this world. Even at this stage it is obvious that some of them will grow into gorgeous specimens. The actual reason I was in the coniferous woods was I was hoping to find chanterelles. According to the literature, they first show up in coniferous woods (mainly pines) at the end of June. I never found them yet, but I do keep on checking.

My favorite field guide  author claims the Gymnopus dryophilus is one of the most common of woodland mushroom.  This year and at this particular time, I agree with him. The mushroom commonly known as oak collybia seems to be literally everywhere. If you pay attention and look a little closer, this  smallish mushroom is present in vast numbers throughout deciduous woodlands.

I hope that  continuous wet weather in South-Western Ontario will give us a great chanterelle season. At this stage,  I am finding only miniature buttons in my usual spots, but give it a couple of days…

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