The edible Fungus Among Us

Published by Marian Munro · September 15, 2015 at 8:54am

I used to consider myself half-knowledgeable on edible mushrooms. One bout of mushroom harvester’s disease was enough to convince me that I didn’t know near enough to be teaching others on their identification. My poisoning came from inhaling spores of a Galerinaspecies.

Of nearly 3000 species of mushrooms and other fungi in Nova Scotia, fewer than a dozen are to be considered safely edible. The following three are choice and by no means the only ones.

Mushrooms like the Shaggy Mane (Coprinus species) commonly seen in clusters on our lawn are pretty easy to identify. Their inky black spores beneath narrowly conical caps are distinctive. Beware of drinking alcohol with the meal containing them….coprine causes vomiting in the presence of alcohol, a character used in medicine.

The Common Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris) is closely related to the button mushrooms we purchase.  Also of grasslands, it has a white cap with pink gills that eventually produces a dark brown spore print.

Third choice edible on my plate is the chanterelle. All reports seem to point to a plentiful crop this year.  e, the Golden Chantarelle and its spicy flavour, with a fruity aroma are a personal favourite. Easy to identify, these funnel-shaped caps do not have gills below. Rather their spores are borne on a series of forking ridges decurrent along the stipe. Look for them on the mossy forest floor beneath mixed conifers and deciduous trees from August into October.

You might find my website, The Fungus Among Us useful. It was published in the 1990s but is a useful resource posted in both French and English on the Virtual Museum of Canada.http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/champignons-mushrooms/English/index.html and http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/champignons-mushrooms/Francais/index.html

For those in Nova Scotia, The Nova Scotia Mycological Society is presenting their annual Mushroom Foray Sept. 25-27. This weekend is guaranteed to be fun, informative and an introduction to identification. Suitable for all skill levels. http://www.nsmushrooms.org/

Agaricus campestris var. from the fungus among us
Cantharellus cibarius, Chanterelles wikipedia image

  

Shaggy Manes, Coprinus species, photo by Gary Kessler