Bay Area mushroomers are a patient, hardy lot, but their patience was tested last month as the dry weather lasted well into November. Fungi were scarce in most areas with the exception of the far north coast, where rainfall was plentiful and mushrooms abundant. According to one source, ôThere were more mushrooms than we ever remember seeing.ö. Hopefully, storms will work their way south in time to bring mushrooms for the coming Fungus Fair.
Despite the dry weather, serious mushroomers were able to find fungi. The October 15th Yuba Pass Foray was a success, with over 75 species collected and identified. Noteworthy was a red-pored Boletus haematinus which was absolutely humongous. Russula mustelina and R. xerampelina (shrimp russula) filled the culinary void. The former easily made its way to the top of everyoneÆs list of choice edibles. R. mustelina has a variably colored cap (yellowish to brown to reddish brown), dark yellow spores, mild taste like R. xerampelina, and very firm, compact flesh. It grows under fir and pine in the subalpine zone of the Sierras.
In late October, I found two nice fruitings of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) on downed oak logs over a stream: one in West Marin and the other in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Conditions at Salt Point were very dry for Dave CampbellÆs foray. Only a handful of ceps were found, but there were a fair number of chanterelles. Thanks to some additional edibles brought down from Oregon and the culinary wizardry of Dave Campbell and Patrick Hamilton, it turned out to be a memorable event.
The Forager often mentions Sunset Boulevard as an area to hunt, for good reason. There is a fungal treasure lurking underneath the cypress and pine that line the boulevard. A light rain occurred just before Halloween so I hiked both sides of the boulevard on November 1st. There was a veritable eruption of fungal activity: the usual Suillus pungens (poor-manÆs slippery jack), Chroogomphus vinicolor (pine spikes), and Russula pectinatoides (brown-capped russula) were there as well as a myriad of brightly colored Hypholoma aurantiaca (orange hypholoma) in with chip beds. Also identified were Lepiota naucina (smooth parasol), L. cristata (brown-eyed parasol), Mycena subcana, an unidentified Collybia sp., and five Agaricus species: A. xanthodermus (yellow staining agaricus), A. californicus, A. bernardii (salt-loving agaricus), A. arvensis (horse mushroom), and a lone A. augustus (the prince). How do you distinguish those delicious A. arvensis when theyÆre growing among the phenolic (library paste) odored and toxic A. californicus and A. xanthodermus? The cap color of A. arvensis is usually a warm, slightly amber-tinged pale yellow. Sometimes there are veil remnants along the margin that earlier had been torn from the ôcogsö which are characteristic of its partial veil. When fresh it has a sweet, anise odor. The Agaricus xanthodermus cap has a rather dull, 'matte' white or mixture of dull white and brown. The Agaricus californicus has the same white/brown coloration but with a slight metallic, gun-metal gray cast to it. Be sure to discard any Agaricus species that has a phenolic or ôlibrary pasteö odor.
On the Peninsula there are some fleshy fungi beginning to appear. A few chanterelles have fruited along with Russula subnigricans (rank russula) on east-facing slopes of Skyline Ridge. There were two robust Russula brevipes (short-stemmed russula) and several Hebeloma crustuliniforme (poison pie) in Juniperro Serra Park. In the Pescadero Creek Watershed there was Pluteus cervinus (deer mushroom), Amanita pachycolea (western grisette), Xeromphalina cauticinalis, and Leucopaxillus albissimus. Polypores included a stunning Polyporus hirtus (bitter polypore), Gloeophyllum saepiarium (rusty gilled polypore), Trichaptum abietinus (violet-pored bracket fungus), and Poria corticola. Phaeolus schweinitzii (dyerÆs polypore) has been unusually abundant this year.
Hats off to the members of the culinary group who helped to make the Mendocino Woodlands Foray an unforgettable event. True, the area was very dry but there were matsutake (two), several Boletus edulis, chanterelles, both white and yellow, Leccinum manzanitae (manzanita bolete), oyster mushrooms and endless numbers of Armillaria mellea (honey mushrooms). There were still a few Agaricus augustus as well as the small, almond-odored Agaricus semotus. Two interesting polypores, Boletopsis subsquamosa (kurokawa) and Bondarzewia berkeleyi were found. Although the former looks very much like a bolete it does not possess one of the important defining characteristics of the Boletaceae, namely a tube layer which can be easily peeled from the cap. Another interesting find was a Brauniellula nancyae (gastroid pine spike).
As for December collecting prospects, you can pretty much follow the advise given in OctoberÆs Forager. If rain storms are still running late by the first of the month, concentrate on shaded canyons and riparian habitats where nighttime mists arising from streams can often provide enough moisture to trigger the fruiting of mushrooms. Clitocybe nuda (blewits) should be abundant in December as the temperature drops. Ceps can fruit well into December if thereÆs enough rain and the weather doesnÆt get too cold. Happy hunting and I hope to see you at the Fair!
(To contribute to The Forager, call me at 415-588-7634 or post your findings on Wade LeschynÆs Natural World Bulletin Board at 415-261- 1212. Thanks to Dave Campbell, Fred Stevens and Norm Andresen, who contributed to the preparation of this report.)