|
 | Introduction
to Fungi
and
The Wisconsin
Mycological
Society |  | | | |
"Nothing more than mushroom identification develops the powers of observation."
-- John Cage, INDETERMINACY
| There
exist over 70,000 species of fungi, with more being discovered every day! The
number of Agarics alone exceeds 5,000! These numbers are huge when compared to,
say the 700 or so species of birds in North America and they provide the first
clues that identifying mushrooms is more challenging than bird watching. In addition
to their vast numbers, the facts that most fungi only fruit for a very short time
and are often separated into different species based largely on microscopic differences
also indicates some of the difficulties encountered. Yet, in spite of these difficulties
(or perhaps because of them) mushroom identification is one of the most enjoyable,
satisfying and rewarding pastimes. So how does one get started in identifying
mushrooms? Perhaps first by admitting that you are not going to identify every
mushroom you find. You are not even going to identify half of the mushrooms you
find without hours and hours of work. Second, with many mushrooms you will have
to lower your identification standards and be content to identify the specimen
as a poisonous Amanita or a Russula or a member of some other large group or genus
of mushrooms. Many of these groups contain hundreds or thousands of species, and
even the experts have trouble sorting them out. But while mushroom identification
is not easy, it is possible. Many mushrooms have distinguishing features that
set them apart and it is possible to learn most of the common mushrooms that you
run into regularly. The key is knowing what to look for. Keep in mind that
the mushroom is nothing more than a fruit, like an apple; the main part of the
fungus lies beneath the soil or in the wood. The purpose of the mushroom is to
give off spores (microscopic seeds) and it is entirely built around this purpose.
First you need to take the mushroom that you are looking at and put it
into the broadest category that you can. Here are seven general categories. Not
everything fits neatly into one of these categories but most do. It would be prudent
to look through this list and either say to yourself ``Sure, I've seen those''
or else look for these in a mushroom identification book so that you will know
them when you see them. [Note that no one group is edible or poisonous.] | 
Gilled Mushrooms. These are the traditional ``mushrooms'' that one often
finds. They have a stem and a cap and if you turn them over you'll see blades,
or gills, radiating away from the stem. These provide a lot of surface area for
the spores to grow on and be released.
Boletes. These look almost the same as gilled mushrooms, except that when
you turn them over there is only a spongy looking surface. When you look closer,
this surface is full of holes called pores that are the openings for tubes where
the spores develop.
Tooth Fungi. In most cases these have the same basic shape as the gilled
mushrooms and boletes (a cap sitting on a stem). The only difference is that they
produce their spores on spikes pointing down under the cap.
Shelf Fungi. These are primarily fungi that grow out from wood to form
shelves which drop their spores through pores (like boletes). There are often
tough and last for many years but can be soft and fleshy.
Puffballs and Earthstars. As the names imply these are ball-shaped fungi
or ball-shaped sitting on a star-like base. They produce their spores inside this
ball and puff them out when disturbed. You can find these in all sizes from a
fraction of an inch to a couple of feet in diameter.
Coral Fungi. These look somewhat like ocean coral. The are usually a few
inches tall and grow either on ground or wood with many branches growing upward.
The spores are produced on these branches.
Cup Fungi. These are small (up to a few inches in diameter) flat saucer-shaped
mushrooms that aren't much interest to the mushroom eater, but can be a fun challenge
to the identifier.
Morels. Both true and false morels are related to the cup fungi and appear
briefly once a year in the spring.
| Now
let's concentrate on the gilled mushrooms as an example of the characters of fungi
and techniques of identification. Most of what is said will also apply to the
boletes. Spore Color
The first question that you'll want an answer to is one which is impossible to
immediately answer in most cases: What color are the spores? Since the spores
are microscopic, you can't just look at one and see what color it is. To properly
find the spore color, you must get out a sheet of white paper (some people prefer
halfwhite-halfblack paper), cut the stem off the mushroom, put the cap on the
paper with the gills down, then cover with a bowl or cup. If you're lucky, after
a couple hours or overnight you should have a nice outline of the gills made by
thousands of spores falling onto the paper, like the one shown, and can easily
tell the spore color.
The problem, of course, with this method is that it
takes at least a couple hours and sometimes if the mushroom is too dry it doesn't
work at all. What most experienced mushroom people do is make an educated guess
based on the color of the gills and their past experience. It helps that there
are only a few major colors that spores usually can be: white, pink, brown, or
black. (There are actually quite a few varieties of browns and off-whites.) One
can start making a spore print while making a tentative guess as to what color
the spores will be. The
second most important feature of a gilled mushroom is one that you may not think
of with most mushrooms: gill attachment. How are the gills attached to the stem,
if at all? There are two main categories for gill attachment: free and attached.
When we say a mushroom has free gills we mean that the gills never reach over
to touch the stem. This is quite noticeable in older mushrooms as there is a small
area around the stem where there are no gills. It's sometimes harder to see in
younger mushrooms but still noticeable. The second category, attached gills, is
further divided into degrees of attachment: Are the gills just barely attached
(adnexed)? Do the gills run straight into the stem (adnate)? Or do the gills run
down the stem for a little ways (decurrent)? If this weren't complicated enough,
there is one other common possibility where the gills get short like they want
to be free, but near the stem are decurrent. These are called notched gills. So
how do you keep all of these attachments straight? Most people just divide gill
attachment into four possibilities: Free, Attached, Decurrent
or Notched (where it's understood that attached means not decurrent and
not notched). One rarely needs a finer distinction.  | 
The next group of features that you want to look for comes about as the mushroom
is developing. When a mushroom starts growing it tries not to dry out, which is
hard for the gills not to do because there is so much surface area. A lot of mushrooms
deal with this problem by forming a veil. (This is a thin layer of tissue.) Sometimes
this veil covers the entire mushroom (the universal veil) -- sometimes just the
cap (a partial veil), and sometimes there are several veils (or layers) that may
cover both. When we find the mushroom it is older and in many cases the veil has
broken or vanished. Some of the characters that it leaves behind are:
A volva or cup at the base of the stipe. This is where the veil that covered
the entire mushroom was attached. It can have several shapes and often these shapes
are important in identifying the mushroom to species.
Patches
on the top of the cap are remnants of the veil that covered the cap. These can
vanish quickly for some kinds of mushrooms and are not usually the main feature
in identifying a mushroom, but can sometimes be very important.
A ring
on the stem is an important piece of evidence. Like the patches, the weather can
take these away rather quickly for some mushrooms, but a ring is very important,
because it means that the mushroom developed with a veil around its cap attached
to its stem. Sometimes the ring can be thick and sometimes it is just a few darkened
threads on the stem.
The veil itself or veil remnants can often
be found in many mushrooms at least partially attached to the edge of the cap.
Like the ring, sometimes it is thick and sometimes very thin like a spider's web.
All four of these items are important when found. The most common found
of these is a ring. But if you see a cup at the base of the stem and free gills,
you can immediately place the mushroom into just a few groups: Amanita
or Volvariella. Likewise, if you see a spiderweb-like veil, you can say
(with a few exceptions) that the mushroom you have is a Cortinarius. Another
comment about rings and veils is that they are good places for spores to get trapped.
So by looking closely at the ring or veil, you can often see a dusting of spores
and save the trouble of making a spore print. The same is true about leaves under
the caps as well as other mushrooms growing up beneath their older siblings. Most mushrooms have what we call a fleshy stem. In a few
cases, however, it is a thinner, tougher stem. This is usually called a cartilaginous
stem. Other mushrooms go the other direction with a big brittle stem that crumbles
like damp chalk. Another very important character of the stem, when it occurs,
is the lateral stem, i.e., the stem coming out from the side of the cap. This
is usually seen in mushrooms growing on trees. There are many other characters that are used in mushroom
identification -- too many to mention here. A few of the more common things to
look for are: - Bleeding: many mushrooms exude a juice when cut or broken.
In particular, one genera, Lactarius, is identified primarily by this feature.
- Bruising:
Color changes can be important keys to identifying species.
- Liquefying:
One group of mushrooms, the inky caps, have the property that they turn to liquid
as part of their spore releasing mechanism.
| So now you know some of the
things to look for. But who's going to tell you what they mean? So what if it
has attached gills, a ring, and a white spore print. What is it and is it edible?
This is where the books come in. There are two basic kinds of good mushroom
books (see the list of mushroom books later in this booklet), those with lots
of mushrooms and good illustrations like Lincoff or Phillips,
and those which lack either in the quantity of mushrooms or in the quality of
illustrations, but which have keys. With the first type of book you are given
a lot of choices, but little guidance. Basically you must find a mushroom picture
which matches your specimen, then read its description to see if it really is
what you have. More often than not the description won't quite match your specimen,
for example, the wrong spore color or the wrong location; so you go back to the
pictures. On the other hand, a (dichotomous) key is a step-by-step questioning
that should take you to the correct mushroom (or close). Here is a typical section
from a key. | 1. Veil absent;
cap brown to red-brown. | | 2 | | 1.
Veil present, consists of fine hairs (check young specimens) | | H.
mesophaeum | | 2. Cap 4-6 cm broad; gills white to gray,
covered at first with fine water drops | | H. crustuliniforme |
| 2. Cap smaller or larger; gills lack water drops | | 3 |
| 3. Cap 2--4 cm broad | | H. hiemale |
| 3. Cap 7-12 cm broad | | H. sinapizans |
This is the key to Heboloma (other keys would direct you to
this key) from Orson Miller's "Mushrooms of North America" and illustrates some
of the common problems in using a key. You often must have both young and older
specimens to answer a question. Sometimes the feature that you're looking for
isn't always present leading you to doubt any choice made. Quite often when there
are two size ranges, your specimen will be right between the two, i.e., what if
your Heboloma has a 6.5 cm cap? Another problem here (and a problem of
mushroom books in general) is that there are probably over a hundred species of
Heboloma and only the most common four are listed. There is a chance that
what you've found isn't in the book. Still, even with all of its problems, a good
key should be a consideration in choosing a mushroom book. A useful beginning
key is a key to genus. This will tell you that the mushroom you have is a Lactarius
for example, but won't tell you what kind of Lactarius. There are a couple
of common kinds of keys to genera. One is the dichotomous key like the key above.
The other is a pictorial key. Here
is a pictorial key to the major genera of gilled mushrooms based on spore color
and gill attachment. Choosing the column with the correct spore color and the
row with the right gill attachment leads to a suitable section of the array which
must be surveyed to find the genus of your mushroom. Keeping a list of the mushrooms you've found, where you've
found them and when you've found them will help you learn more about the habits
of the mushrooms that you're finding. You will more readily learn their names
and remember where and when they come out. It's fun to keep a life list of mushrooms
that you've identified. Any small notebook will work. Another way to record
your finds is by writing up a Description Sheet on each mushroom. This provides
more details on each mushroom and helps train your identification skills by forcing
you to look at the mushroom in detail. The particular group mushrooms that you
look at most often may affect what you choose to list on your description sheet.
Here is a sample description sheet that you can copy and
complete each time that you find a new species of mushroom. You can add to it
or keep a list of where and when you've subsequently found the same mushroom.
| Most of the following ten mushroom species are considered
to be choice edibles in the common field guides. All are easily recognizable.
- Morchella esculenta
("morel") -- This unusual pitted grayish to yellow mushroom is many people's
favorite collectable edible. It is one of the harbingers of spring and is usually
found in May to very early June. A good place to look for them is near dead or
dying elms.
-
Grifola frondosa ("hen of the woods") -- This delicious edible
typically grows at the bases of oak trees where it forms large clumps resembling
the many-layered feathers of a hen. The ``feathers'' are usually grayish-brown
with white pores underneath.
-
Agaricus campestris* ("meadow mushroom") -- This
is a wild relative of the common white mushroom found in stores. It can be recognized
by its ring and its free gills which are pink when young darkening to chocolate
brown in age. It is a firm, meaty mushroom with a white to brown, smooth to fibrillose
cap. Typically, it grows in grass and the large smooth caps can often be seen
poking out of the ground in yards or along curbs.
-
Cantharellus cibarius* ("chanterelle") -- This is
a golden-colored mushroom with a flat to sunken cap and blunt ridges rather than
gills running down the stalk. The odor is distinctive and mellow fruity, somewhat
similar to apricots. Chanterelles frequently start to fruit in July.
-
Coprinus comatus* ("shaggy mane") -- This is one
of the distinctive ``inky-cap'' mushrooms whose gills and flesh darken and dissolve
into an inky-black mess. Before this happens, though, it is a beautiful white
mushroom with shaggy upturned scales. It is commonly found in grassy areas in
the fall.
-
Pleurotus ostreatus* ("oyster mushroom") This is
a large, fan-shaped, moist, whitish to tan mushroom with little or no stalk. The
widely-spaced gills jutting straight out from high up on a tree trunk often make
this mushroom a beautiful spectacle.
-
Hydnum repandum* ("sweet tooth") -- This is a firm,
compact tooth fungus with a buff to orange cap that is often flat-topped and with
paler white to yellowish teeth.
-
Hericium coralloides* ("bear's head tooth") -- This
is also a tooth fungus, but does not have the usual stem-cap form. Rather its
teeth hang from a cluster of white fleshy branches. It grows on decaying wood.
-
Leccinum insigne/aurantiacum *("scaber stalk") --
These are pored, bolete-type mushrooms with orange-brown to reddish-brown caps
and dark projections or scabers on the stem. They are usually associated with
aspen or birch trees and are quite common. A related species which is also edible
is the light gray-brown-capped L. scabrum.
-
Flammulina velutipes* ("velvet foot" or "velvet
stem") -- This is a small firm mushroom that grows in clumps on wood. It is
noted for its sticky reddish-yellow cap and dark-brown velvety stem and for the
fact that it often can be collected even in cold weather when there are no other
edible mushrooms around.
| Here is a list of thirteen
mushroom books. Each book has some nice features as well as some drawbacks. Beginning
Field Guides - George Barron, Mushrooms of Northeast North America,
Lone Pine Publishing, 1999 --one of my favorites, it is informative and beautiful
with more than 600 species; no key.
- Clyde M. Christensen, Common
Edible Mushrooms, The University of Minnesota Press, 1943 --black and white
photos of 62 common species. (out of print)
- Booth Courtenay and Harold
H. Burdsall, Jr., A Field Guide to Mushrooms and their Relatives, Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1982 --short descriptions and small color photos of approximately 334
common Wisconsin mushrooms; no key. (out of print)
- Orson L. Miller, Jr.,
Mushrooms of North America, Chanticleer Press, 1978 --good color photos
and descriptions of 422 species; contains keys. (out of print)
- Alexander
H. Smith and Nancy Smith Weber, The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide, The
University of Michigan Press, 1980 --photos of and keys to 282 species.
Miscellaneous
Books about Mushrooms - R. T. Rolfe and F. W. Rolfe, The Romance
of the Fungus World, Dover Publications, 1925 --mushroom folklore. (out of
print)
- George W. Hudler, Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds,
Princton University Press, 1998 --historical overview of fungi and man, with an
emphasis on fungal pathogens.
- Elio Schaechter, In the Company of Mushrooms:
A Biologist's Tale, Harvard University Press, 1998 --well written overview
of all things fungal.
- Sara Ann Friedman, Celebrating the Wild Mushroom,
Dodd, Mead & Company, 1986 --sort of a mushroomer's autobiography, whimsical,
light reading; contains some recipes. (out of print)
- Nancy Smith Weber,
A Morel Hunter's Companion, TwoPeninsula Press, 1988 --a complete guide
to the true and false morels.
Advanced Field Guides
- David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified, Ten Speed Press, 1979 --a humorous
and enjoyable field guide as well as a good source of general information about
mushrooms, though it covers primarily West Coast mushrooms; does contain a very
good key.
- Alan E. Bessette, Arleen R. Bessette and David W. Fischer, Mushrooms
of Northeastern North America, Syracuse University Press, 1997 --has it all;
1500 species, color photos and a good key to species and a regional nature that
covers Wisconsin.
- Alan E. Bessette, William C. Roody and Arleen R. Bessette,
North American Boletes, Syracuse University Press, 2000 --keys to more
than 300 boletes.
- Kent H. McKnight and Vera B. McKnight, A Field Guide
to Mushrooms of North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series), Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1987 --drawings and good descriptions of approximately 1000 mushrooms
and their look-alikes, no key.
- Gary H. Lincoff, The Audubon Society
Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1981 --color
photos and descriptions of approximately 730 mushrooms and hundreds of look-alikes,
no key.
- Roger Phillips, Mushrooms of North America, Little, Brown
& Company, 1991 --comprehensive field guide, covering a large number of species,
color photos, Key to genus only. (out of print)
| To learn to identify thirty mushrooms is a major accomplishment.
This list is meant to aid you in knowing what to expect. All of the mushrooms
on this list occur regularly in Wisconsin and are good edibles which someone starting
out can expect to find and be able to identify with the help of a field guide.
-
Agaricus campestris.* This is a relative of the
common store mushroom that is found on city streets and in meadows in the summer
and fall. Be sure that you positively identify it, as it may look vaguely like
an Amanita.
-
Boletus edulis.* The King Bolete. One of the world's
favorites. It's usually quite rare, but once in a while is found in quantity.
It can be confused with the very bitter (but nonpoisonous) Tylopilus felleus.
-
Calvatia gigantea.* The Giant Puffball. Make sure
that the interior is pure white and not starting to turn yellow.
- Cantharellus
cibarius.* The apricot--colored chanterelle found quite
often in summer.
-
Clavicorona pyxidata.* This is a small coral mushroom
found growing on wood in the summer and fall. The name `corona' refers to the
crown that each branch of the coral has at its tip.
-
Coprinus comatus.* The Shaggy Mane. This is a common
fall mushroom coming up shortly after a rain and quickly liquefying to a stem
and a black mess.
-
Coprinus micaceus.* These are small fragile tan mushrooms
that grow both on soil and on wood during summer and fall. All Coprinus species
are known as inky caps because they turn to ink in age.
-
Craterellus fallax.* The Black Trumpet (of Death).
Despite the name these are nonpoisonous and have a very good flavor. They are,
however, very small and you have to be a good looker to find them.
-
Entoloma abortivum. These have many common names: Earth Prunes,
Pig Snouts, etc. They are malformed masses (the result of being parasitized by
Armillaria) that can be very common in the late fall under maples.
-
Flammulina velutipes.* `Velutipes' means velvet stem
and refers to the hairy black stem on this little mushroom. You can find this
growing any time of the year in clusters on dead wood. This can be found growing
in the winter (during warm spells) and is often called the Winter Mushroom.
-
Grifola frondosa. The Hen of the Woods. This is a prize fungus
because of its size and edibility. It reaches a diameter of one or two feet across
and often you find more than one! You find it in the fall growing at the base
of oak trees.
- Hericium*,
all species. These are tooth fungi, growing on wood, without a cap. All are edible
and tasty.
- Hygrophorus
russula.* This is a large pinkish--streaked waxy mushroom.
It doesn't have a lot of taste but can sometimes be found in quantity.
-
Hydnum repandum.* This is a medium-sized pale orangish
mushroom with teeth (i.e., spines instead of gills under the cap). It's found
on the ground in late summer and fall and is easy to identify: it's orange, has
teeth, and is fleshy, not tough. It's taste is very good.
- Hypsizygus
ulmarius.* This is quite common in the late fall on box
elder, but can also be found in the early spring. It is a large-stalked, cream-colored
mushroom growing just beyond your reach in wounds of trees.
- Laccaria
ochropurpurea.* This purple mushroom fades to tan with
age, with only the gills remaining purple. Be aware that many poisonous Cortinarius
species also have purple on them.
- Lactarius
deliciosus. Lactarius mushrooms exude a `milk' when cut (deliciosus
has an orange milk.) This is a good-sized orange mushroom that turns green when
bruised or in age.
-
Laetiporus sulphureus.* The Sulphur Shelf. This is
a bright sulphur yellow shelf mushroom that grows in live or dead trees and stumps.
A large percentage of the population has an allergic reaction to this mushroom;
so be cautious when trying this fungus the first few times.
-
Leccinum*, all species. As a group Leccinum
are known as scaber stalks because of the dark ornamentation on the stalk (called
scabers). There are several species of this bolete and all are edible.
-
Lepista nuda.* Blewits. This is a common pink--purplish--tan
mushroom with a wide cap and a short stem. It has a distinctive odor.
-
Lycoperdon perlatum. A common small puffball growing on wood
in the fall and late summer. These can be found in quantity.
-
Marasmius oreades.* The Fairy Ring Mushroom. This
is common in summer and fall in lawns. Always make sure that you know what chemicals
are used on the lawn before eating. This is considered a very good tasting edible.
-
Morchella augusticeps.* The Black Morel. This is
a smaller, darker and earlier species than the common morel.
- Morchella
esculenta. The Morel. This is America's favorite wild mushroom. It
grows in the spring (May), and can be common. It can be found around elm, apple
or ash.
- Oudemansiella
radicata. This is a common thin-fleshed mushroom with a wide brown
cap and a twisted white stem. It's found in the fall growing almost anywhere.
It isn't often found in quantity.
-
Pleurotus ostreatus.* The Oyster Mushroom. These
are cream-colored mushrooms growing on wood. They grow in clusters and their gills
extend down their stems.
-
Suillus americanus. These are somewhat sticky bright yellow
boletes growing in white pine in the fall. They are small for boletes.
- Suillus
granulatus. These are tan-capped with a light yellow stalk. This is
one of the kinds of Suillus without a ring, but it does have brown dots
on the stalk.
-
Suillus luteus.* The Slippery Jack. These are slimy
brown capped boletes with a slimy ring found in pine during the fall. They can
be quite common.
-
Suillus pictus.* This is a handsome bolete with a
distinctive reddish cap and stem. It has a white cottony veil that leaves a ring.
| There are many species of poisonous mushrooms.
The list below is by no means inclusive. However, it does point out some of the
poisonous mushrooms you are most likely to encounter. -
Amanita verna/virosa/bisporigera -- These are very similar species
of deadly poisonous mushrooms. They are all stately, pure white mushrooms
with a ring and a volva. In general, one should learn the features of Amanita
and avoid picking them for eating.
-
Galerina autumnalis* -- This is a small, brown mushroom
with a ring growing on logs. It contains some of the same deadly poisons as the
Amanita do.
-
Lepiota cristata -- This is a small, woodland mushroom with
a whitish cap and reddish-brown scales. In general, small Lepiota-like
species should be avoided.
- Chlorophyllum
molybdites -- This mushroom is probably responsible for more poisonings
than any other in the United States. It is Lepiota-like and grows in grass,
but is distinguished by its light green spore print.
- Gyromitra
esculenta -- Gyromitra are deeply wrinkled to lobe-like fungi
which resemble morels in their hollowness and spring growth, but they are poisonous.
- Inocybe
fastigiata -- This mushroom with its golden to brown, conic, fiber-streaked
cap and light brown gills is representative of the genus Inocybe, which
should be entirely avoided when collecting for food.
-
Amanita muscaria* -- This is a beautiful, bright
yellow mushroom with white spots or patches on its cap and a ring and bulbous
base.
- Panaeolus
foenisecii -- This is a thin, fragile brown mushroom. Since it is
a common lawn mushroom, it can be dangerous for small children.
- Omphalotus
illudens -- This is a bright orange mushroom that grows in clumps
around tree stumps.
- Russula
emetica* -- This is a common woodland mushroom. It is known
by its red cap, white gills and crumbly white stem. It is a member of a large
group of Russulas which are hard to distinguish and should be avoided.
| - DO
NOT EAT ANYTHING YOU CANNOT POSITIVELY IDENTIFY.
- Be cautious with
white-capped mushrooms or mushrooms with white gills; this eliminates many hard-to-identify
species, including several deadly species.
- Do not eat wrinkled, brain-like,
or saddle-shaped mushrooms.
- Beware of any mushroom with a ring on its
stalk or any mushroom that grows out of a cup or has an enlarged base.
-
Avoid LBM's. Species of Little Brown Mushrooms can rarely be determined by non-professionals.
-
Avoid Boletes which have red pore mouths or which bruise blue or taste bitter.
-
Do not eat any puffball that is not pure white and uniform in texture inside.
-
Keep each species that you collect in a separate container.
- Whenever
you eat a new variety, keep a few specimens in the refrigerator. In case of poisoning
these can be identified through a poison control center.
- When eating
a variety for the first time, eat only a small amount in case of an allergic reaction.
-
Be aware that some mushrooms cause reactions when consumed with alcohol.
- Be
aware that certain edible mushrooms have nonedible lookalikes, i.e., mushrooms
which are similar in appearance, but poisonous.
Dining Ethics - You must take responsibility
for the wild mushrooms that you eat. Don't blindly take someone else's word on
identification or edibility.
- Never try to force wild mushrooms on anyone
who is unwilling to eat them.
Picking Ethics
- Do not intentionally trespass on someone else's property.
- Don't destroy
habitats.
- Pick only what is necessary for your wants. If you do not want
it, leave it intact so that someone else may admire or photograph it, or so that
it may grow to produce more.
Identification Ethics
- Be 100% sure of your identification before advising others or eating mushrooms
yourself. If you are unsure and are making a guess, emphasize to the person that
you really don't know.
- If you know someone who has unknowingly picked
a poisonous mushroom, tell them.
Basic Necessities - Basket, pail,
box or paper bag: In order to get your mushrooms home in good condition, you
should have a rigid container to carry them in. A shallow basket is best.
- Knife:
A knife is necessary for digging up the entire mushroom for identification
purposes and cutting mushrooms you want to eat.
- Insect repellent:
No explanation necessary.
- Roll of wax paper, wax paper bags,
or small paper bags: Wrapping mushrooms in wax paper or small bags keeps them
separated and helps protect them from being crushed. Never use plastic bags for
this purpose except for short periods as they don't give the fungi enough ventilation.
Additional
Equipment - Compass: Indispensable if you become separated from
a foray group or you venture into new woods alone.
- Whistle: A whistle
carries farther than yelling when you are lost.
- Hiking attire: Dress
for the weather and the terrain.
- Magnifying glass and field guide: These
aid in field identification of mushrooms.
- Notebook and pen: For recording
field observations.
- Small containers: For small/delicate mushrooms
--anything from small jars to berry baskets can be used.
If
mushroom poisoning is suspected, keep some sample specimens in the refrigerator
for identification purposes. Call a poison control center or your local hospital
or medical center. The phone number for the poison control center in Milwaukee
is 414-266-2222. The
Wisconsin Mycological Society is a non-profit group whose main purpose is to educate
our members. We do this primarily in two ways: through our winter lecture series
and by way of forays during the temperate months. Our members have broad interests
ranging from art and photography to scientific studies to culinary. We try to
meet these interests as well as possible. If you have any suggestions, feel free
to contact any of the directors or officers. | This
document was written by Peter Vachuska
with the help of many other WMS members. Back to the table
of contents 
| |
