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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Off topic, Oyster Mushroom

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  • From: "Kieran and/or Donna" <holycow@frontiernet.net>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Off topic, Oyster Mushroom
  • Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:31:35 -0500

Oyster mushrooms can get really big.  They have gills, hard to mistake them once you've met them.   The photos people have been posting are some kind of polypore.  Many of those are also edible, but you'd have to look them up.  Something that the average person doesn't know is that there are types of mushrooms that are easy to identify and don't have extremely toxic lookalikes.  As Helene says, many tree mushrooms are bitter or woody, not too many are actually poisonous.  Actually I can't think of a single tree mushroom that has red flags in the book, whereas I know many groups and types that I would not eat at all or would only eat after much searching  the book. 
    We learned years ago that it was best to either learn to ID mushrooms from someone right there with you, or to have 3 different books to research in.  Kevin's comment on the Asians being poisoned by American mushrooms is a good example.  We have a British field guide that would not be safe to use here.  I have tried many many mushrooms over the years, and after eating a new variety I'd sit around and wait to die.  In the process of being correct in ID so many times I also noted that not all species are worth the trouble, some are just tasteless.  So now that I know what grows right around our place, I know what I like and don't worry too much about learning new ones.  Most of what we have not eaten already on our place are either bad or too hard to tell apart from bad.  And "bad" in this case includes bitter, hot, woody, scrawny, and other reasons why one would not eat them.   There are some very easily learned choice edibles which are worth knowing.  And some so easy to ID that even though they are only so-so they can be worth picking.  Eg we have an intense blue Lactarius in our area.  Hard to miss, and sometimes comes in handy with my recipe plans.  Hmmm... for groups to consider, I pick 3 Lactarius, 1 Russula, Oyster mushrooms, aborted Entoloma (ONLY THAT Entoloma) 2 Agaricus, oyster mushroom, something like a blewit but the pinkish fall version (Latin name keeps changing, used to be Lepista nuda) a Laccaria, hmmm... bound to be some others.  Season is a good thing to keep in mind in ID.  If you see something you think you recognize but it's the wrong time of year, be suspicious.  Boletes down here don't seem to be much good.  Donna



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