Bruce

I was out hiking this afternoon, looking for mushrooms, not really expecting to find any. I encountered several that appeared to be Pepper Milkcaps, but generally passed them by. Eventually -- mostly out of boredom -- I picked one, turned it over, and broke the flesh. I was surprised to find there was no latex, and the (thick) flesh was cheeselike and brittle, more like a Russula. The smell was not distinctive. I was in a hurry to get home and didn't take a photo or evaluate it further. Looking in my references later, they suggest this could be Russula brevipes. Rumor has it that it's edible, but that doesn't mean it's good. I'd appreciate thoughts on 1) whether this ID has any chance of being correct and 2) for future reference, whether this mushroom really has any culinary potential. Another mushroom I encountered today was on my property, back near my observatory, where I've been getting puffballs for the past month. This one was small, gilled, terrestrial, not near any trees; likely a grass saprobe. On first glance I thought it could be a Meadow Mushroom, but the gills were white, not pink or brown, and if I recall correctly were attached to the stalk. Also, the base of the stalk was distinctly bulbous. There was a partial veil, but no volva, and the odor was not distinctive. In hindsight I should have crushed the base of the stem to see if it turned yellow. Again, I have no photos...sorry. Any thoughts on what this might be would also be appreciated, with the understanding that I'm not giving you much to go on. Thanks!

No problem. I will contact you offline to get further information.

I didn't expect to still be getting mushrooms this late in the year, but it was warm this morning and rained overnight so I thought I'd take a look. Sure enough, I found two more Purple-Spored Puffballs out in back, near my observatory. There are several more coming up but we'll have to see what the coming cold snap does to those.

A bowlful of pear-shaped puffballs, after an hour or so of cleaning, ready for cooking. I suspect these represent my last mushroom find of the season.

It was at McCormick's Creek state park.

Green-spored lepiota? Gotta watch out for them! I always take a spore print before eating a parasol mushroom...as a result, I've never had one in prime condition. :-) I also enjoy this forum and am grateful to the hosts for making it available to us.

I found a small hen today, my first and no doubt only one of the season. Mushroom Fu Yung for dinner tomorrow! I've also accumulated a ridiculous number of pear-shaped puffballs (Lycoperdon pyriforme)...so many that I got tired of picking them. I ran across some honeys today too but they were too far gone. It's that time of year...but still a beautiful day for a hike.

To be honest, I've always been reluctant to pick and eat honey mushrooms. It's my understanding that they are not actually a single species, but a whole litany of closely (?) related mushrooms that: -- grow clustered on tree roots around this time of year, -- are tan to brown with a dark central umbo and close gills and a white spore print, and -- may...OR MAY NOT...have a partial veil. Over several years I've encountered many mushrooms that fit that description and maybe I've done nothing but deprive myself of their enjoyment. But the fact remains that this is one that's been tough for me to hang my hat on, and in my experience even the best of mushrooms can give me all the symptoms of IBS if I eat too many of them. Bottom line is if someone could suggest a more definitive way to tell the good from the bad regarding honey mushrooms I might become more brave.

I haven't found a single Grifola this year, and I suspect it isn't going to happen at this point. But Laetiporus is a lovely consolation prize. I've had it oven-fried like chicken, baked in a casserole, and simply saute'd in butter with my breakfast eggs. Easy to ID, fairly plentiful, and invariably good, it's the nearly-perfect mushroom!

You may be correct, but I wouldn't bet my life on it!

Nice pics! Off the top of my head, looks like an Amanita of some kind, Polyporus squamosus, Lycoperdon pyriforme and probably some brand of Suillus. Lately I've been consuming a lot of Agaricus campestris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. :-) Be careful out there!

I agree, looks like Slippery Jack. "Edible" does not necessarily mean "good."

Hard to tell for sure, but probably not. Honey mushrooms grow on wood, often buried roots in the immediate vicinity of stumps and dying trees. I don't see any trees or stumps here. Identifying mushrooms is not as simple as looking at a distant photo. There are some very knowledgeable people here and that helps, but if they make a mistake who suffers the consequences? I recommend that anyone interested in eating wild mushrooms get some books, educate himself, and feel free to post photos and check in here for confirmation. Never eat ANY mushroom unless YOU know what it is.

Still haven't found any, and I've been out looking quite a lot!

The recent rains have really brought out the puffballs in central Indiana. Over the past two days I've collected Lycoperdon perlatum, Lycoperdon pyriforme and Calvatia cyathiformis, along with a smattering of Agaricus campestris . A couple of photos are attached.

That looks like a Meadow Mushroom.... http://www.indianamushrooms.com/agaricus_campestris.html I've been finding these myself lately. Note the partial ring remnant around the stem and the detached, pink gills which *should* soon turn a dark, chocolate brown when it starts releasing spores. The stem should NOT bruise yellow, nor should the mushroom have a disagreeable (creosote-like) odor. They typically grow in arcs or "fairy rings" in grass, NOT in the woods or at the base of trees. If I've identified this correctly, they are closely related to the button mushrooms found in grocery stores and are themselves quite tasty, although a little stronger in flavor. Fall is also a good time to start looking for puffballs of all kinds. Finally, if you spray your lawn with herbicides, fertilizers or other chemicals you need to be finding someplace else to harvest mushrooms for consumption. Be careful out there!

I think it could be a fawn mushroom, but am not entirely sure. Someone more knowledgeable than me will have to verify. Generally speaking you need to get some books and become familiar with mushrooms yourself. I can't speak for others, but I don't want to be even partially responsible for you getting sick (or worse). Rumor has it that those who run the mushroom society also have occasional forays that you can tag along on but I've never participated in these myself. Be careful out there!

There are many mushrooms whose edibility has not been established. The pictured mushrooms bear no resemblance to oysters. If they are indeed honey mushrooms, you got lucky. There are plenty of poisonous mushrooms in Indiana, and some of them are deadly. Please educate yourself and be 100% sure of what you have before eating. No mushroom is so tasty that it's worth risking your life for.

First off, I am jealous of your rain. It's been a long time since we've had any measurable precipitation. More often than not, chanterelle stems are riddled with insect tunnels -- if they have insecticidal properties, that's news to me. Golden Chanterelles do not grow on wood, they grow in soil. Smooth Chanterelles can sometimes cluster like that, but Golden Chanterelles rarely do. Finally, those gills look pretty thin and bladelike to me. Put that all together and I suspect you have Jack-O-Lanterns. There are three kinds of mycophagists: 1) Those with a healthy (irrational?) fear of all mushrooms that they didn't find in the neighborhood grocery store. 2) Those that study not only edibles, but also poisonous look-alikes and many other mushrooms they would not consider eating, because fungi are intrinsically interesting and cool to study (not to mention good photographic subjects). 3) Those who develop a passing familiarity with a few edible species and tend to disregard slightly different traits in the fervent hope that they still have something tasty in their possession. Guess which of the three is most likely to get poisoned? I can't ID the other two without photos of the undersides, but I will say that the third looks like a Russula of some kind. Hope this helps, and be careful out there.

Being so young it's gonna be hard to ID. Is it growing out of wood or the ground?

Jim et al -- To be fair, I should also state that I am *not* a dues-paying member. Dues are $15 a year. It is possible that if you pay dues you will receive more information...maybe even a newsletter. I've seen no clear indications of that, however. Having contributed nothing but forum posts towards this club, I have low expectations. I am grateful to whoever is running this site for providing the opportunity to discuss "mushroom things" with you and a few others. The way I see it, I'm already getting something for nothing.

I'm not a group moderator or anything like that; but I have been around here for several months now. Although there are events on the calendar, they don't get announced; and with nothing resembling a trip report afterward it's hard to say if anyone ever shows up. The forums appear to be more active than the forays, and even that's not saying much. Exactly how many people might be here, I don't know; but I have a hunch that turning things around will require each of us to participate instead of waiting and expecting. Hope this helps!

It's always nice to find edible mushrooms in your own back yard, even if it's just Polyporus squamosus. Saute'd in a little butter for about 10 minutes, this mushroom is an "okay" addition on the side with your breakfast eggs. If anyone has a great recipe for this mushroom I'm all ears.

I should mention that similar mushrooms in the area displayed a partial veil remnant that was more obvious than the one in this photo.