The Sudbury Valley Trustees a local land conservation group together with the Boston Mycological Club hosted a Fall Mushroom Foraging event this past weekend at Rauscher Farm in Clinton, Massachusetts. The 60 acre Farm was purchased by the town of Clinton with the help of SVT in 2008 to be held as open space for the community. Yeah Clinton! The farm is a combination of meadow and woodlands and is a perfect habitat for prospecting fungi.
Fall Mushroom Foray. What is this all about? About 25 people get together and fan our over the Farm to search out mushrooms, and bring back samples for examination.
Who is in this group? Some experts collectors for many years paired up with others out for their first time. The age range of the group was 3 to 75 years old. So off we went out across the lovely trails of the farm eyes towards the ground seeking signs of fungus.
Sunday was a beautiful day to be out in nature. We followed the trail for about an hour, collecting samples enjoying a walk and the opportunity to be out with other folks who enjoy nature. Each of our group peered into the woods off the trail, looking at trees, fungi on fallen logs and an occasional mushroom popping up through the golden carpet of leaves.
Collection basics for mushroom foraging
- Collect the entire plant. Look at all parts of the plant for complete classification. Exact identification is critical in mushrooms whose effects range from deadly to delicious. Mushrooms are not forgiving and you don’t want to make a mistake.
- Mushroom need to breathe after they are picked, store them in an open weave basket or paper bag.
- Don’t pick mushrooms then put your hands in your mouth or your eyes.
- Take care to inspect for ticks after foraging expeditions.
First Time Mushroom Foraging Key Learning
- There are many varieties of mushroom. More are hallucigenic, toxic or deadly than good to eat.
- You need to be absolutely certain about what you are doing before you collect and eat wild mushrooms.
- Always collect the whole plant for complete identification.
- Mushrooms change in appearance as they age you want samples in their prime for certain id.
- Three types of mushrooms (Not the Science classifications, but the common sense groupings)
- Polypore
- Gill
- Tooth
- Polypore
When everyone got back we placed our booty on a table for identification and discussion. Wow, there was a surprising variety of specimens different sizaes and colors. Several members of the Boston Mycological Society lent their expertise, ID and describe a number of samples.
They took the time to carefully examine and teach the identification points edibility, toxicity and uses for many of the samples. A unique opportunity to see book info applied in the field and collect real samples to compare to pictures. Great Afternoon out in nature, and some real fungi fun.
The information provided on this blog is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team