Matsutakes, the prized wild mushroom that smells of cinnamon, are continuing to appear.
It's important to carefully dig up this mushroom to see the complete stem. It does have a very bad lookalike so only forage for this mushroom if you are very certain of your identification.
And here is one of my favorite edibles, a Queen Bolete, Boletus aereus.
Yet another storm is hitting the Mendonoma Coast. But this weekend is forecast to be sunny. We will be ready for some of that yellow stuff!
Jane Jarlsberg found these Oyster Mushrooms the day before Thanksgiving. She brought them to a friend's home to add to the celebratory feast. They are exceptionally frilly for Oysters but no less delicious.
Yesterday Rick and I found two beautiful King Boletes, Boletus edulis. You can see the sponge underneath the cap is still white, indicating it fruited recently. With age the sponge turns yellow.
And this morning, under threatening skies, we found a small Queen Boletus, Boletus aereus. The very dark top was nearly munched off, perhaps by a Deer. But the stem was sturdy and pristine. Fresh mushroom for the Jackson household tonight!
Thanks to Jane for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
I wasn't the only one to photograph this morning's beautiful sunrise. Allen Vinson sent along a photo he took on The Sea Ranch. You can compare it with the one I took from our home in Anchor Bay, which is about seven miles north of Allen's home. First is Allen's photo.
And as if the lovely sunrise wasn't enough of a gift from Mother Nature, Rick and I found this Queen Bolete, Boletus aereus, near a path on our property. It is one of our favorite edible wild mushrooms.
On Sunday Rick and I joined in a mushroom forage led by David Arora in Mendocino County. It was a treat to learn from the person who wrote the definitive books on mushroom hunting in the United States and Canada.
As we've had little rain - until today - the mushrooms were rather sparse. But we did find edible White Chanterelles, Queen Boletes, Shrimp Russula, Coccoras, Laccarias, The Prince and Milk Caps.
After the forage, we went to his house where he showed us the Death Cap.
Rick and I had brought a beautiful Red-capped Butter Bolete to give to David. We invited him to come to our property the following day to photograph the remaining ones. He also photographed this group of Coccoras at our place.
And to learn more about David Arora and planned forage events, here's his web site: davidarora.com
Queen Boletes, Boletus aereus, fruited in profusion on Friday. A friend, Rick and I found five perfect mushrooms. They are delicious! The ones on our property in Anchor Bay are growing near Tanoaks and mixed conifers. David Arora writes in "Mushrooms Demystified" that they are found in mixed woods and under hardwoods.
Many people confuse these with King Boletes, Boletus edulis, and it really doesn't matter - they are both choice edible mushrooms. They are gifts in the forest. Here's a link to a photo of the biggest King Bolete I've ever seen: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/17/the-biggest-king-bolete-ive-ever-seen-was-found-in-the-manchester-area-a-few-days-ago/