Tag Archives: wild mushrooms

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Mel Smith photographed an Earthstar, a uniquely-shaped mushroom that grows on the Mendonoma coast.

Craig Tooley photographed a Scarlett Waxy Cap, a mushroom that makes me think of flowers growing in the forest.

Craig also found a group of Shaggy Manes. This mushroom is edible when young, but they quickly melt away into an inky puddle.

Thanks to Mel and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We are having sunny, warm weather today. And tomorrow, Thursday, is supposed to be a bit warmer. We should be seeing more mushrooms appearing if they didn't drown in all the rain we've had!

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We've had enough rain for a Porcini, Boletus edulis, bloom. This choice, edible mushroom is such a treat to find. Paul Kozal hit a goldmine of Porcinis, over ten pounds of them.

Basketfull of Boletus edulis by Paul Kozal

And, this very morning Rick and I discovered this bloom of Coccora, Amanita calyptroderma.

Coccora by Jeanne Jackson

Coccoras should only be picked and eaten by the most experienced mushroom forage as they have a deadly look-a-like, the Destroying Angel. Since Rick refuses to eat a mushroom that could conceivably be mistaken for a deadly one - a wise decision - we leave these beauties alone and admire them growing in the forest.

Happy foraging! We have rain in our forecast for next week but for the weekend we are having a short heat wave.

Thanks to  Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's photography, here is his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/

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Young Hannah Bonfils was hiking a trail at The Sea Ranch with her parents. She photographed several wild mushrooms. The first is the distinctive Fly Amanita, Amanita muscaria.

And the second photo, I believe, shows young Turkey Tails.

Here's what Hannah wrote: “I’m thirteen years old. My family and I were walking through a trail in Sea Ranch and noticed some magnificent-looking mushrooms. I took some great pictures of them.  After seeing these pictures, I think many people will be interested in looking at the mushrooms in their area.”

Thanks to Hannah for allowing me to share her photos with you here. She shows a lot of talent with a camera and I hope she will share more of her nature photos with us.

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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!

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Fly Amanitas, Amanita muscaria, usually fruit in December or perhaps January. But Ron Champoux found one sitting as pretty as you please on March 24th. As an experienced mushroom forager once said, "That's why wild mushrooms are called wild!"

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see an Amanita muscaria holiday wreath, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/12/20/a-beautiful-fly-amanita-wreath-created-by-carol-kozal/ and to see a Fly Amanita shaped like a flying saucer, here is that link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/01/15/fly-amanita-that-looks-like-a-flying-saucer/