So, what did we find up in Alaska? A mushroom festival!
We attended a workshop and a guided foray aimed at edibles of the region. In addition, A and I took a couple of hikes to show her some of the country (as she hadn't been up there before) and, along the way, noticed some interesting 'shrooms. The folks leading the foray said that mostly they get yellow footed chanterelles, hedgehogs, and angel's wings- nothing like the big boletes we enjoyed this year. With all the rain, moss, and decaying wood around in those spruce forests, we kind of expected more. Regardless, the rain forest is beautiful in a green, drippy, close sort of way. Check out this lichen, which we think is cabbage lungwort:
Of course, maybe the local folks were being cagey when discussing edibles in public forums. On one hike we found a small bear's head, which smells quite like a cauliflower mushroom, as well as a good sized growth of oyster mushrooms. We also saw quite a few angel's wings, although not in huge amounts, and a couple of hedgehogs.
Bear's head:
In addition, we ran into these-
which we haven't been able to identify yet. They look just about like a fried egg setting, don't they? Edible or not, cool mushrooms.
Fungus, it's everywhere.
2 comments:
Hi Mike: So it's a very fungal time of year all over the continent, it appears. Those bear's head tooth mushrooms are really a treat--I had a tree that produced a big one every year for several years, but now appears to have given up the ghost. We have to content ourselves with much poundage of hens of the woods these days.
Happy foraging, and a happy autumn to you~ Brett
Brett,
Unless the rains we're getting right now cause another flush, I think we're done with mushrooms down here. Everything is drying out and turning brown. Poundage of hens of the woods (and particularly a reliable bear's head) sound very fine.
Happy autumn, too!
Mike
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