Mushroom ID Thread

[pianoman9701]

I've heard you can slice the parts off that are ready and it will continue to grow and produce longer without damaging the culture. Don't know if its true or not.

I find it on the same wood, year after year. Whether or not it grows back during the same season, I don't know. I always cut it off.

[lokidog]

Found this one today, Yellow Pholiota maybe?

[HellsBelle]

Ok... No pictures, but I'm real good at finding chanterelle, and I would easily recognize morelle if I found then, but I'm not sure where to look.. I'm in Western Was, and I heard cottonwood was a good place to look, they grow all along the river nearby, and I've not found a thing.. any advice greatly appreciated!

[Buckhunter24]

Im far from a mushroom hound, but yes hardwood stands are a good spot for morels. Freshly disturbed soil, like cutbanks above roads have morels sometimes. Burns are great but youd have to drive a ways for that. Chantrelles I always seem to find in mostly closed canopy conifer stands.

[HellsBelle]

Thanks... We have a ton of chanterelle growing on state land above us , but yeah, I've been along the river, and under the cottonwood with no luck.. still going to look this year.. hoping for better luck.

[CastleRocker]

Morels are a springtime mushroom.  We usually go out when the Spring Chinook hit the Cowlitz.  (At least that time of year...can't depend on the fish anymore).  I don't know if there is a habitat for Morels.  We've got them high up in the Pine trees in Idaho, and Eastern Washington, but we've done real well on the islands in the Columbia too.  In fact, I've eaten more Morels and Springer than any other combination.  Need a week of rain, and three days of sun in mid March.  "They are everywhere, and impossible to find" is the quote I always think about when hunting them.

[MR5x5]

Mushroom ID reference (in case it hasn't been posted for awhile)

http://www.alpental.com/psms/PNWMushrooms/PictorialKey/index.htm

[HellsBelle]

I thought we were getting close to time for them, I have never looked real seriously for them except by the river and I was told sometimes old orchards too.. A neighbor of ours had a few few just randomly in her yard... So odd. I've seen where you can buy a lot for starting your own, I'm tempted to try that sometime.

[pianoman9701]

Found this one today, Yellow Pholiota maybe?

Sure looks like it. 

[pianoman9701]

Verpa bohemica/thimble cap morels, are starting. Bring on all the comments about them being dangerous and "false morels". But they aren't. The company I just left sells a few thousand lbs of these each year - never had a problem. Just don't eat too many. You'll have gas and the poops if you do. You'll normally find these along river banks under cottonwoods, usually hiding in the blackberries. You may also find some large blond morels, too.

Bring some rubber gloves to pick stinging nettles, too. They taste a lot like spinach. Rubbed raw on joints with arthritis will irritate for a couple of hours but can give pain relief for 4-6 weeks. Drinking the nettle tea after cooking the plants can improve lung function for people with asthma. Pick them for eating until the tassels on top start to turn brown. The should be a blond color when harvested for food. They can be any color for relief of arthritis pain.

Miner's lettuce, lemon balm, mustard flowers and greens, wild watercress, and wood sorrel are also primo right now. Make sure the watercress isn't hemlock (hemlock has serrated edges instead of smooth), and don't pick it near a pasture because of parasites. Makes a nice salad.

[Matth]

Verpa bohemica/thimble cap morels, are starting. Bring on all the comments about them being dangerous and "false morels". But they aren't. The company I just left sells a few thousand lbs of these each year - never had a problem. Just don't eat too many. You'll have gas and the poops if you do. You'll normally find these along river banks under cottonwoods, usually hiding in the blackberries. You may also find some large blond morels, too.

Bring some rubber gloves to pick stinging nettles, too. They taste a lot like spinach. Rubbed raw on joints with arthritis will irritate for a couple of hours but can give pain relief for 4-6 weeks. Drinking the nettle tea after cooking the plants can improve lung function for people with asthma. Pick them for eating until the tassels on top start to turn brown. The should be a blond color when harvested for food. They can be any color for relief of arthritis pain.

Found about a dozen yesterday.

Miner's lettuce, lemon balm, mustard flowers and greens, wild watercress, and wood sorrel are also primo right now. Make sure the watercress isn't hemlock (hemlock has serrated edges instead of smooth), and don't pick it near a pasture because of parasites. Makes a nice salad.

[Matth]

I found some close to Battle Ground.

[frazierw]

What do we have here?

[pianoman9701]

Those appear to be oysters. I can't be sure without verifying.

[kellama2001]

Tagging along, some great info here!