# Mushroom ID resource



## GLS (Aug 5, 2014)

Any recommendations as to a good book on Southeastern mushroom identification and edibility?  Tnx.


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## GLS (Aug 7, 2014)

Hoping to hear from someone knowledgeable, but after poking around elsewhere was told by someone with experience about David Arora's tome, Mushrooms Demystified and the National Audubon Society's Field Guide of NA Mushrooms.  Still looking for a resource more localized to our region.


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## waddler (Aug 7, 2014)

The sources I have found on the net seem helpful at first, but after awhile all the data points to numerous possibilities. I think we need to start a Georgia Mushroom Group and get some real experts to follow it for guesses as to the Toadstools we find.

I have joined this group and they are quite helpful, but I take bad pics and that hurts the benefit I get.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildmushroomhunting/


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## elmer_fudd (Aug 7, 2014)

Here is a Georgia group.  I have been thinking about going on some of their outings so I can learn.

http://gamushroomclub.org/resources.php


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## GLS (Aug 7, 2014)

Mr. Fudd, Waddler, thanks.  Y'all have provided a mother lode of info.  Gil


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## Jeff Raines (Aug 7, 2014)

From what I've been reading online about edible wild mushrooms.There are only 4 that I go out hunting.Hen of the woods,chicken of the woods,morels and chanterells.
Yes,there are others that are edible,but these for ranked highest in flavor.


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## waddler (Aug 7, 2014)

Of the 4 mentioned, I have found only some Chants and only one flush this year. I have recently found some oysters which are supposed to be good, and some puffballs which I have not tried yet either.


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## GLS (Aug 7, 2014)

Waddler, we've had a lot of rain in the past several weeks.  After a good downpour I find chants in the same locations.  I'm not finding a lot, but usually about 10 ozs. per trip.  Last year's best location has been a bust.  I found them on the first flush, but none since then.


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## Jeff Raines (Aug 7, 2014)

GLS said:


> Waddler, we've had a lot of rain in the past several weeks.  After a good downpour I find chants in the same locations.  I'm not finding a lot, but usually about 10 ozs. per trip.  Last year's best location has been a bust.  I found them on the first flush, but none since then.



I haven't found any chants in awhile now either......Had some come up in my backyard woods,nothing since the rain.But I started watering those areas and the log that the chicken was on.


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## GLS (Aug 8, 2014)

waddler said:


> Of the 4 mentioned, I have found only some Chants and only one flush this year. I have recently found some oysters which are supposed to be good, and some puffballs which I have not tried yet either.



I'm a little skittish on puffballs.  I don't see the giants, just the small ones.  Seems I read somewhere that the little ones look a lot like the early stage of a bad amanita and that's one to avoid for sure.  Supposedly if it's cut in half and you don't see a developing cap and stem, it's a puffball, but I need more guidance on those.


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## waddler (Aug 8, 2014)

The Giants I have found were too old to eat, but when sliced lengthwise there was no other possible ID.

These little brown ones are around and they look enticing, but are reputed not to be so tasty. Haven't tried them yet. They can grow on duff or wood.












http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoperdon_pyriforme

They can be confused with an Earth Ball mushroom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scleroderma_citrinum

But the differences seem distinct enough to separate the two. 

Waiting on rain. Hopefully this weekend.


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## GLS (Aug 11, 2014)

I went to a local farmer's market Saturday and one of the vendors had chants for sale.  He had a rectangular shaped plastic laundry basket half filled with them.  He picked them Friday.   Hard to put a weight on what he had, but it could've been 5-10 lbs., easy.  He finds  them in the low country woods around old growth live oaks in  undisturbed soil.  (Quercus virginiana)  That's where I find them as well, but the soil is considerably poorer than what he's finding them in.

I went to my usual haunts and found about a half pound.  It rained hard Saturday night but I couldn't get to the woods Sunday.

Nice photos of the  brown puffball, btw. Gil


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## waddler (Aug 13, 2014)

Here are the first Honey Mushrooms I have found. (I Think)

Armillaria tabescens Ringless Honeys

I am going back for a fresh specimen to get a spore print. The one I took dried up before I got the print.


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## waddler (Aug 14, 2014)

This mushroom quest is frustrating. Day before yesterday I found what I think were Honey Mushrooms, but I need spore print for positive ID. I am going yesterday to get another specimen, but have to work til noon. When I finally get to the spot, all that is left is a small shriveled flat collection that looks like dried leaves.

How long mushrooms last is puzzling. The Chants lasted several days, some a week. However it seems that with many they are "here today, gone tomorrow". I guess I'll learn more over time, after all this is my first serious year at dealing with them.


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## waddler (Aug 14, 2014)

Check out this chicken.






This was on a Facebook Group "Foragers Unite!"


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## Jeff Raines (Aug 16, 2014)

That's a huge chicken!

My latest find is a cauliflower mushroom.Haven't tried it yet,gonna let it grow a little more.


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## Chefmuss (Aug 17, 2014)

www.morelmushroomhunting.com
My friend Chris Matherly own this web site and leads guided forays all over the country....he is the man for all your info.  He is currently shooting a tv show for National Geographic called filthy riches.
IMO (and I've been hunting mushrooms in Ga for around 15 years) as a forager and chef the number one mushrooms in ga are Morels, Chantrelles, hen of the woods, chicken of the woods, black trumpets, puff balls, snow crab mushroom, oyster mushroom, elephant ears, coral mushroom, king bolete, Russell's bolete, bi-color bolete.
NEVER MESS WITH LITTLE BROWN GILLED MUSHROOMS!  In fact don't mess with any mushrooms unless you are 100% sure what you've got.
Be careful and stay safe.  Good hunting to all!


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## Paymaster (Aug 17, 2014)

I have always had a fear of picking an inedible rather than an edible shroom and get somebody very sick. And after reading the links and other so called expert sites, I am convinced I will never live long enough to be expert enough to pick for myself. The experts with years of experience can't agree and often argue on IDs. How can anyone pick wild mushrooms and be sure that they won't kill themselves.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 17, 2014)

Paymaster said:


> I have always had a fear of picking an inedible rather than an edible shroom and get somebody very sick. And after reading the links and other so called expert sites, I am convinced I will never live long enough to be expert enough to pick for myself. The experts with years of experience can't agree and often argue on IDs. How can anyone pick wild mushrooms and be sure that they won't kill themselves.



Here's my rant and advice from years of studying and picking and eating mushrooms:


There are many, many poisonous berries and fruits. Ones that will kill you dead as a hammer if you eat them. That doesn't mean that we should live in fear of eating berries and fruits-why be afraid of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and apples just because there are dozens of poisonous berries out there? 
There are lots of wild plants that will kill you dead if you eat the greens. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't eat any greens. 
Mushrooms are the same way, but people seem to have an unnatural fear of them as a group for some reason, much more so than any other group of edibles. 

Once you start to learn about them, and learn the identifying characteristics, different mushrooms can be as easy to tell apart as blackberries from blueberries. The differences of opinion you are talking about are usually about specific groups of hard-to-ID mushrooms that nobody should be messing with to begin with.There are several good, easily identifiable mushrooms in the woods. Those are the ones that you should stick with.

Most mushroom poisonings occur in people who either know nothing at all about mushrooms, know a little about them and try to push the envelope way past where they should, immigrants who pick mushrooms that look somewhat like edible mushrooms where they came from, or highly-trained mycologists really pushing the envelope for thrill purposes: i.e. eating Amanitas, for example. There are several Amanita species that are edible. Other Amanitas are the deadliest mushrooms on the planet. Some species are almost impossible to ID without microscopic examination of spores, etc, and then it's still not 100%, because there are probably still hundreds of species of mushrooms out there that have yet to be described. 

I have been studying mushrooms for a couple decades. I have went out in the woods and learned from a mycologist who has helped write many of the field guides and mushroom books. If I learned anything it is this: There are a lot of mushrooms. Only a few are deadly. But those few will make you die horribly. Many will make you wish you were dead. Many are edible. Edible doesn't necessarily mean that it tastes good. A few are really good, easy to ID, and worth your while to pick them. Those are the ones I stick to. I follow my own set of rules to keep me out of trouble:

There are only a few deadly species of mushrooms. everyone whoo picks mushrooms should learn to identify them. In my neck of the woods, there are some deadly and seriously toxic species of Amanita, such as the destroying angel, panther Amanita, fly agaric, etc. Amanitas are easy to identify as a genus, not so much by species. Therefore, I leave all Amanitas alone. Period.

The Deadly Gallerina: This is a common, brown, gilled mushroom that grows on logs and dead wood. It will kill you. It will destroy your liver and kidneys. Therefore, I won't touch any brown gilled mushrooms growing on wood with a ten-foot pole. That rules out such edibles as honey mushrooms, but I don't care. I don't need a mushroom that bad. Even if I can say with 99.99999999999% certainty which species I have in my hand, I'm not eating it. Period.

Lepiotas and Chorophyllum: there are enough poisonous species of these that I don't mess with any edibles like parasol mushrooms that look very much like them. Even if they are tasty. I don't care. Ingles sells mushrooms.

Boletes: There are some of these that will make you very, very sick. Most of these fall into a few groups, so I avoid any boletes with any of the following characteristics: Red pore surface, blue bruising, and all brown/orange-capped Lecciniums (scaber stalks.) Yes, I know that rules out some good edibles that stain blue,  but again, I don't care-I don't need a mushroom bad enough to take chances.

Little brown mushrooms-don't mess with any of them. Period. Some of them are edible. Most aren't. 

Morels: Never eat morels raw. Yes, morels are poisonus raw to most people, and there have been many cases of poisonings, including a chef at a well-known restaurant making a bunch of people seriously ill by putting raw morels in salads. Also, make sure you have a true morel-completely hollow inside with the stem and cap all one piece. Some of the false morels are very toxic, but easily told from true morels if you pay attention. Also, there have been reports of black morels reacting in people who have drunk alcohol within a couple days each side of eating them. Since I rarely go without drinking alcohol for a week at a time, I don't eat black morels. The same applies to shaggy manes. 

Chicken of the woods/sulpher shelf: This is a very commonly eaten mushroom. It is also the source of some poisonings. Most of these involve the yellow-pored species that was growing on conifer wood, locust trees, or a few other trees with toxic properties. Therefore, I don't eat chicken of the woods if it's growing on a conifer, such as the ones I find commonly growing on hemlock trees here, nor will I eat any shroom growing on a locust tree. Am I missing out on some meals? Probably. Have I gotton sick? No. Not worth the risk. I prefer the white-pored cincinnatus variety, anyway.

Meadow mushrooms-make sure it's growing in the grass in the sun, has pink gills, a chocolate-brown spore print, and doesn't bruise yellow or have a "chemical" smell. There are some poisonus Agarics. Most grow in the shade, bruise yellow, or have a phenolic odor. 

_Use your head_. A sauteed mushroom isn't worth days of agonizing pain and sickness, or your family being without you from now on. If there's any doubt, don't eat it. This also applies to past-their-prime old, faded mushrooms. You can get sick from a half-rotten mushroom just like you could from a half-rotten fish.

With all that said, there are several good edible mushrooms out there that are well worth picking. Ones that I pick and eat on a regular basis: White and yellow and gray morels. Chanterelles and smooth chanterelles (my favorite out of all of them.) Black trumpets. White-pored cincinnatus variety of chicken of the woods, a couple different types of puffballs (some are great, some not so much. I've figured out the ones I like best. The Calvatia cyathiformis is my favorite.) Hedgehogs-very good and very easy to ID. Some of the tooth fungi that grow from wood. Beefsteak mushrooms (Fistulina hepatica.) Meadow mushrooms-very similar and closely related to the grocery-store button and portabellas. Some Boletes and Suillus. A few of the Lactarius- the volemus, corrigus, and indigo are about the only ones I eat. Russula virescens. Oysters. A few other odds and ends now and then. And that's about it.

As far as resources, I have a bunch of books. They vary from region to region. Some of my favorites are 100 Edible Mushrooms by Michael Kuo, (highly recommended,) North American Mushrooms by Orsen K. Miller, Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians by Roody, Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora. There are some good regional ones out there, like Boletii of North Carolina, Mushrooms of the Great Smokies, and such that I have, but some are outdated. As for online resources, I like Mushroomexpert.com, Roger's Mushrooms, Tom Volks Fungi site, and a few others.


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## GLS (Aug 17, 2014)

Chef, NC, thanks.


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## Paymaster (Aug 17, 2014)

GLS said:


> Chef, NC, thanks.



Indeed. 
My apologies.Probably should have just kept those thoughts to myself because I don't have enough knowledge to form a valid opinion. I really am envious of those that can ID wild edibles. Just never had the time to apply myself and learn. I am surprised that I had time to learn to cook a Boston Butt. Did not mean to stir.


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## doublebarrel (Aug 17, 2014)

I eat morels and oyster mushrooms and often wonder if it is worth the chance you may get one that could make you deathly sick. BB


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 18, 2014)

Paymaster said:


> Indeed.
> My apologies.Probably should have just kept those thoughts to myself because I don't have enough knowledge to form a valid opinion. I really am envious of those that can ID wild edibles. Just never had the time to apply myself and learn. I am surprised that I had time to learn to cook a Boston Butt. Did not mean to stir.




Pay, you're such a troublemaker, I swear.    

Apologize for what? I didn't see you doing any stirring at all. I wasn't aiming all that specifically at you, just used your quote as a beginning because what you said is what almost everybody says when the subject of eating mushrooms comes up. That was just a general answer to folks in general.


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## Paymaster (Aug 18, 2014)




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## GLS (Aug 18, 2014)

Paymaster, from now until cool weather the chanterelles will be one of the most plentiful and easiest to identify mushrooms with the added bonus that they are edible and most delicious.  Go out after a good rain the next day or so and look amongst the oaks on hills.  I am in the low country and I find most of them within the drip line of old growth live oaks (Quercus virginiana).  I used the botantical name to distinguish it from a dead oak and not to be fancy.   Typically, the soil beneath the oaks often has wild grapes growing under them.  I've also found them along sandy roads on what goes for a "hill" around here with the mushrooms growing out of oak leaf accumulations along the road edges.   Up around the Athens area, my daughter finds them on hills with mixed hardwoods.


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## Jake Allen (Aug 18, 2014)

Great info Steve, thank you sir.


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## waddler (Aug 19, 2014)

RAIN !!!

Finally rain in Bogart. Good shower on Sunday and a frog strangler last evening. Maybe more today.

After one of the driest spells we have had since 2000, looks like we may have mushroom conditions at last.


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## Scrapy (Aug 19, 2014)

Went to Ga southern for a bit . Took non-vascular plants course from an Indian lady. She said " do not eat shrooms , they can make you cwazy for ever.


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## Jeff Raines (Aug 23, 2014)

Gonna keep my eye on this one.On the other side of this old dead white oak log was a chicken of the woods.It got water logged and broke off,you can see it on the ground there.
Hope this one starts turning orange.


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## waddler (Aug 24, 2014)

Yesterday I found this Stinkhorn Egg:







I put it in a plastic container with a top and this morning it had "Hatched". Never knew mushrooms could be so fascinating.


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## GLS (Aug 24, 2014)

Waddler, I, too, am easily amused.   Gil


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