Monthly Archives: May 2011

#2 Gregarious Mushrooms on a Stump

May 21, 2011Mushrooms, Unidentified MushroomsSteve

They come up so often, but I can’t seem to peg down what they are. Need to take a sporeprint. My first guess was something coprinoid, but they don’t key into anything well enough for a confident ID.

#3 Unidentified

May 21, 2011Mushrooms, Unidentified MushroomsSteve

Same kind as my other entry.

UPDATE: These cannot be Panus rudis, as they have forked gills and a bright yellow spore print. Back to the drawing board…

#1 Marasmius oreades

May 21, 2011Marasmius, Marasmius oreades, MushroomsSteve

#5 Unidentified Agaricus

May 20, 2011Mushrooms, Unidentified MushroomsSteve

First Agaricus of the season! However I’ll be buggered if I can figure out what it is. Big bulb at the bottom (no vulva), no yellow staining, no ring, slightly inrolled margin. No clue.

Update: Chocolate brown spores. Unfortunately, the print was lost before I could look at it under the microscope when the cap liquified from maggots.

#4 Marasmius oreades

May 20, 2011Marasmius oreades, MushroomsSteve

#3 Three more Dryad’s Saddles

May 20, 2011Mushrooms, Polyporus squamosusSteve

These were growing up from the roots of a maple tree.

#2 Unidentified

May 20, 2011Mushrooms, Unidentified MushroomsSteve

From a distance it looked like a nice cluster of Pleurotus, but up and close I found they were fuzzy and tough. With white gills and yellow-white spores (P. ostreatus and friends have lilac spores), my best guess is Panus rudis.

UPDATE: These cannot be P. rudis, as they have forked gills and a bright yellow spore print. Back to the drawing board…

#1 Fresh Dryad Saddle

May 20, 2011Mushrooms, Polyporus squamosusSteve

So fresh it made the whole car smell like watermelon (one of the odd quirks of this species of mushroom, although it certainly doesn’t taste like watermelon, or smell like watermelon after it’s cooked).

This one might be for sale on the upcoming RogueLeaf Fungorium. More soon about that. 🙂

In the meantime, if you’d like to purchase this specimen, email in to RogueLeaf •at• gmail •dot• com.

FDA Food Code 3-201.16 Wild Mushroom Buyer Specification:

Name & Author: Polyporus squamosus (Huds.) Fr. – “Dryad’s Saddle” “Pheasant Back”
Fresh Identification: This mushroom was identified in a fresh state.
Name of Identifier: Steve Caruso
Identifier Qualifications: Active amateur mycologist 5+ years.

Further information:

Mushroom edibility tested.
No mushrooms in this family are known to be toxic.
P. squamosus is a good “carrier” mushroom for other flavors as it does not have a very strong flavor, itself.
This specimen is very young and tender.
Like most polypores, the edges are the most tender portion of this mushroom and are best suited for eating, where the inner portions can sometimes get a little tough and are best suited for making broths.
If not sold within 1 week’s time from this posting, it will be dehydrated and offered for sale dried.