The Mushroom Report

The most unusual discovery was the parasitic Bolete which attacks puffballs.  The puffball is actually poisonous to eat, but the Bolete is edible, though flavorless. They make for an odd pair. ”

After the most serious drought in recent memory, the forest fungi are starting to produce their fruiting bodies, which we call mushrooms.  Their appearance surprised and delighted about 30 members of the Manchester/Essex Conservation Trust when we wandered into the Cedar Swamp Conservation area last weekend.  Expectations were low, but excitement was high and, surprisingly, nature did not disappoint us. 

Upon crossing the boardwalk, we were all delighted to find a large Boletus edulis, a Porcini, staring us in the face!  It was the size of a dinner plate and, once cut open, we were further surprised to find it bug free!  I guess the lack of moisture has seriously impacted the bug, and mosquito, population.  One lucky attendee had a serious meal ahead of them. 

Another member of the group found a reasonably sized, fresh, young Hen of the Woods, Griffola frondosa, (in a location I cannot reveal as it is likely it will occur there again in future years and she would probably do me bodily harm if I revealed her "spot," LOL). Hens are particularly good in all sorts of dishes, but I prefer to tear them into ‘chips’ and toss them in olive oil and soy sauce, then lay them out on a sheet pan and heavily dust with salt. I then roast the “chips” at 425 degrees for 25 minutes to produce delicious, singed Hen-chips. Great for a surprise dinner appetizer.

One would expect to find a lot of decomposing fungi, saprobic mushrooms which break down the lignin and cellulose in twigs, trees and branches, because they can get their moisture out of the trees themselves, allowing them to grow in times of drought. They clean up the forests and allow us to walk freely whereas we would otherwise need chain saws just to take a stroll. However, saprobic fungi were in the minority of what we found. They did include that one Hen of the Woods, Griffola frondosa, a small amount of Honey Mushrooms, Armillaria gallica and mellea, some Turkey Tails, Trametes versicolor, the Violet-toothed Polypore, Trichaptum biforme, and some Pear-shaped Puffballs, Apioperdon pyriforme.

The group of us did find dozens of mycorrhizal species, however.  They are the opposite of saprobic fungi and are nature’s architypical example of symbiosis.  They release enzymes to digest minerals from the soil which are then shared with trees who, in turn, share as much as 30% of the sugars they produce during each year.  There were a number of species of the Bolete family, which includes Porcinis.  They are mushrooms that have a dense pore layer under their cap instead of the classic gills we all know of. Most of those we found were edible, but not incredible, in terms of flavor.

The most unusual discovery was the parasitic Bolete which attacks puffballs.  Pseudoboletusparasiticus lives off of a thick-skinned puffball, Scleroderma citrina. The puffball is actually poisonous to eat, but the Bolete is edible, though flavorless. They make for an odd pair. 

Another interesting Bolete we found was Leccinum longicurvipes.  It has a Latin name that I respect.  Instead of being named after some deceased mycologist, it’s name translates to "Long Curvy Foot," and that is exactly what it always has, a long, curved stem. It is apparently quite tasty, though I’ve never gathered enough of them to try. 

More Bolete family mushrooms we found included the Suillus species of Suillus weaverea, Suillus spraguei and Suillus americanus (which grow specifically, and loyally, with Eastern White Pines, of which our area has more than a few).  Also Suilllus acidus, a red and white pine associate with a form of gluten on their cap which gives an acidic taste if you lick them in the field.  This is a practice I succumbed to over the years but have ceased doing.  Licking wild mushrooms is an extreme, if not unnecessary way of identifying these curious natural creatures.  I have kicked that habit.

Some of the other mushrooms we discovered included the Wrinkled Cortinarius, Cortinarius corrugatus, which typically has a very textured cap like the fabric of corduroy pants.  It is a prolific fall mushroom in our woods.  Every year it seems you see odd variations of things, or an unusual array of species.  This year it seemed as if someone ironed out the corrugations on them; their caps were almost smooth. 

Finally, we found a variety of small Milky Caps, Lactarius species. They are mushrooms that release a liquid resembling latex from their gills when cut.  Our region has some very tasty Lactarius but those that we found were smaller, less tasty, species.  I will be sending them to a lab for DNA analysis so that I can start the first ever database of the fungal species in our lovely Cedar Swamp Conservation Area.

As always, never eat any mushrooms that you have not been shown by an expert and be sure that you know their lookalikes just as well as the mushroom themselves.  Consider joining the Boston Mycological Club and attending one of the numerous Sunday morning walks they offer so you can learn more about them first-hand.

Gary Gilbert is a member of the Executive Committee of the Boston Mycological Club and gives lectures and leads walks throughout the country. Some of his mushroom recipes are featured in the “Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook” a compendium of recipes from myco-chefs throughout the country.