Hey there, well another great video Brother. Love seeing the Monotropa and love that they are "indicator" type plants as parasitizing to certain types of Mycelium. Spring, early summer for sure. I'm also on the lookout for Allotropa virgata, the Candy Cane (red colored) species that is specific to Tricholoma murrilianum Aka Western Matsutake. Plants show that the mycelium is nearby, no guarantee that you will find mushrooms , but definitely worth knowing for sure. Always enjoy the diverse species you show, not just fungi but everything along the "Mushroom Trail". Even as an experienced forager I constantly watch others videos and I always learn something. Thanks again for some great stuff. Appreciate you my friend. 👊🍄
Thanks! Always appreciate you tuning in - and I feel the exact same way - always so much more to learn! You're exactly right about Allotropa virgata - I actually came across some a few weeks ago while out searching for Spring Kings and made that mental note for Tricholoma murrilanum. Where there's mycelium....
Due to health and other issues interfering this year, I've not been able to get out to forest foraging areas that I favor. Thus, I finally broke down and tried eating Shaggy Parasols, which I had always thought were C. rhacodes from the day I first encountered some back when my field manual and the majority of WWW identification sites I checked still classified them as Lepiota genus. However, based upon your observation of overall darker pileus coloration, they are likely C. olivieri. Over the years, flushes of the mushrooms have occurred slightly inside the margin of a small commercial woodland immediately adjacent to my backyard, with scattered or solitary individuals sometimes emerging in the grassy area or even under some of the old landscape plantings of rhododendron, arborvitae, and Port Orford Cedar of this fifty-year-old property, my late parents' home. Because I hate 😠vomiting 🤮, I've long been reluctant to try Shaggy Parasols due to the "choice with caution" advisory usually attached to descriptions of the fungus. As I have always understood it, that advice even applies to properly identified "edible" species due to the possible individual sensitivity of persons consuming the mushroom. Three days ago, I finally tried a small sample, about half of a cap of a specimen about 9cm in diameter. Having experienced no ill effects from that trial, I incorporated a larger quantity in a sausage and rice dish yesterday, which I quite enjoyed. Personally though, while palatable, Shaggy Parasols are well down the list of my own favorites. For now, the top position is held by Hydnum umbilicatum. As with the Chlorphyllum species, I first encountered H. umbilicatum when I was working at Fort Lewis more than a dozen years ago. (My position saw me out in the forested training areas quite frequently.) Sadly, I haven't gotten out foraging enough in several years to locate new picking grounds for that delectable (to me) species. Perhaps this Fall!
Nice! Always exciting to add a new mushroom to the repertoire. I think that approach of initially sampling just a small amount of any new wild mushroom is, indeed, a solid practice to put into place. I typically take that exact same approach. And you're exactly right that a really small percentage of the population has an allergic intestinal reaction to shaggy parasols. I probably should have mentioned that in the video! I've actually heard that, were that not the case, they'd likely show up more frequently in restaurants and markets. There's something about that rich umami taste that comes from these when they're fried up that I find to be so satisfying. It has often taken center stage in a lot of the dishes I include them in. Also, interesting notes that you make on the taxonomic changes with this one. Fascinating to track how much DNA sequencing has changed the game recently... and nice that the original Chlorophyllum member (the toxic C. molybdites) is easily separated by its green spores. In the not-so-distant past, there was no way that a white and green spored mushroom would be lumped together in the same genus. That's an incredible opportunity to get to spend time in those forests at Fort Lewis - I hear those are really unique forests that have been incredibly well preserved. You don't see a lot of Oak or Ponderosa Pine stands like that this side of the cascades. Curious to know what your position entailed out there. I've had friends who have spent time in those forests doing various surveys and I've heard a lot about them.
I've never seen Shaggy Parasols growing so beautifully in the woods like that.... I think the ones around here have evolved into strictly roadside-only ecological niches. Those Ghost Pipes are insane, amazing beings. I hope I get to see the rare species we have in this country one day. Apparently July/August is the best time, but with the conditions we've been having, could be any time! It's called the Yellow Bird's-nest (Hypopitys monotropa). I'll keep a look out, I'm off exploring tomorrow and I've missed this patch of woodland greatly.
That is really interesting - I can totally see that being the case for Shaggy Parasols out in the UK. It is strange because, here in the US, the Gray Shaggy Parasol is not native, but actually is a European import that has found a nice niche. Here, I typically encounter it growing in duff under Western Redcedar ... it has done really well in our lowland forests. And, yes, keep your eyes peeled for Monotropa hypopitys - it's a beauty! I actually encountered that just coming up a few weeks ago while I was out East of the Cascades hunting Spring King Boletes. Out here, we refer to it as Pinesap.
@@MushroomTrail Those parasols have settled all over the world haven't they? It looks like a nice place to go about their fungi business, can't blame them. The only other place I see them is down on the coast, but you'll probably give your teeth a sanding if it's been windy... I'm always forced to photograph them and leave them be, so it's oddly one I've never even tried?! I will have to be super vigilant and attentive out amidst the trees tomorrow, I don't want to miss anything/anyone! 🌲🌳🌲
Hopefully a Shaggy Parasol from a nice clean spot in the forest hops into your basket tomorrow! It really is one of the most delicious mushrooms out there!
@@MushroomTrail We can only hope! Though it'll probably be a sly rucksack rather than a basket. Unfortunately, here in the New Forest, the council have been pushing this "Look But Don't Pick" agenda for years, with posters everywhere at autumn, trying to deter commercial foragers mainly. There isn't an actual law against picking mushrooms for personal consumption, only for uprooting native plants, but I'm always careful not to draw attention to myself by carrying anything I've picked openly. We live in quite a myco-phobic/forage-phobic culture here. It's so silly. I wish I could skip about with a foraging basket!
Ghost Pipe is truly one of the most incredible plants out there! Keep looking - when you do find this mycoheterotroph you won't be disappointed. It really is a natural masterpiece!
It's NOT a fungi, its a plant without chlorophyll. I sometimes find it here in southern New England, but I haven't seen any in the usual spots this year. Supposedly tastes a little like asparagus and some people claim it has medicinal properties. Interestingly, I have a book that shows hundreds of edible plants from this region but it doesn't list Ghost Pipe. I think Learn Your Land posted a video about it a while ago (he's in western Pennsylvania).
I have a large patch of Indian pipe out back, it's kind of pink but not fruiting yet. I make 4oz of tincture every year,...just in case. I also found some beautiful bright orange clavaria sulcata first time (I think). It's been dry here for a few weeks, can't wait till we get some rain.
Whoa! That is really incredible to have a patch right out the back door - and very cool that you produce an annual tincture. Really curious to know what your experience has been with that and what you primarily treat with it. I am absolutely fascinated by mycoheterotrophic plants - especially this one!
@@MushroomTrail So far I've given it to my grown daughter for migraines, works well for her, but I like having it on hand just in case. Being a nervine, I'm reluctant to use but in an emergency.
That makes a lot of sense, and I agree. I have heard about people using it to treat migraines, so that is super interesting to hear about your daughter's experience with that. What a fascinating plant!
And, yes, I've heard of people immersing it immediately ... really curious about that. I know they change color quickly. I've also heard that if the flower turns up, it has already been pollinated and is too late to tincture. Curious to know what your ratio is for your annual 4 oz. And what do you find to be the prime stage of growth for harvest?
Any tips on telling Chlorophyllum olivieri apart from the other shaggy parasols Chlorophyllum rhacodes and Chlorophyllum brunneum? All of their most notable features to me are nearly identical.
That's a really good question! I agree that most of their features are quite similar. Luckily all three of those shaggy parasols are edible, but what I notice most is that Chlorophyllum olivieri seems to have less contrast on the cap than the other two. It also seems to have a more slender appearance and those brown center scales transition to a grayish shaggy scale (as opposed to more whitish shaggy scales on the others). Also, purely anecdotal, but it seems that I'm always seeing C. olivieri growing amongst the fallen fronds and duff under cedar ... not that that is, by any means, a shoe-in, but definitely a clear pattern in my local forest. Overall - it is important to look for those core characteristics of the edible shaggies (scaly cap, orange staining, white spores, & moveable ring) to rule out the Green-Spored Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites)
@@MushroomTrail , A day without some form of slide guitar is like a day without sunshine! Some of my longtime favorite sliders include Ry Cooder, David Lindley (may he rest in peace), and Sonny Landreth.
@@MushroomTrail , also Lowell George, Bonnie Raitt, John Mooney, Dave Hole (awesome Aussie slider), Leo Kottke, Martin Simpson, Cindy Cashdollar, Megan Lovell (from Larkin Poe), Roy Rogers, Johnny Winter.....although in terms of originality and technique, I think Sonny Landreth beats them all.
Absolute legends in that list 👍 Derek Trucks gets a spot too ... Warren Haynes... and so many under-rated players who are largely forgotten or relatively unknown: Jesse Ed Davis, Rory Gallagher ... I also like what Keb Mo does with a slide ... so many masters of sound!
