Tag Archives: White Matsutakes

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A few Matsutakes appeared in the same spot they fruit every year. Usually there is an undulating string of at least fifteen Matsutakes but this year only four have sprouted.

 Rozann Grunig took this photo of me holding a nice Matsutake.

And here is a photo of several Shrimp Russulas. They like our Shore Pine habitat, just off our driveway. Our golden retriever, Huckleberry, likes them too. It's a race to see who gets them first - him or me.

We are longing for rain but the weather is remarkably autumn-like - warm and dry as a bone. If it rains, I hope to see Black Trumpets, Hedgehogs and Winter Chanterelles. May it rain soon!

Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photo of me with you here.

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Rick and I found a nice string of Matsutakes yesterday. We have sandy soil and that's what this prized edible mushroom wants to grow in. Below are three of them peaking out from pine needles and next to Salal, a plant they are associated with. Tan-Oak, Douglas-Fir and wild Rhododendrons are also close by.

You must make sure of your identification of this aromatic mushroom. It's important to get the complete stem to make sure there is no volva, a cup-like structure, at the bottom. Just looking at these photos brings the unique fragrance of these mushrooms to me.

 The Matsutakes that grow in the Pacific Northwest are also called White Matsutakes. They do not turn brown like Matsutakes do in other parts of the world. Below is a photo of the first Bellybutton Hedgehog we've seen this season. It's just a baby but it will grow in the days to come.

And we had wild weather today. Below is a photo of the storms clouds we saw from our deck in Anchor Bay this morning.  I call these days "wait five minutes days" because it can be raining one moment and then brilliant sunshine the next.

My best to you today!

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Matsutakes, Tricholoma magnivelare, are just beginning to appear. They come up in the same place, year after year, near our property in Anchor Bay. The first three made an appearance a few days ago. They are growing in sandy soil underneath a mixed conifer forest with manzanita and huckleberry bushes nearby.

The Matsutakes found in our area, the Pacific Northwest, are also called White Matsutakes. They have a wonderful aroma...like cinnamon. There is no other mushroom like it. Yes, another wonderful gift in the forest from Mother Nature.