Some fun finds...

[Stick in Mud]

Picking has been pretty good in my neck of the woods...plenty of chants and lobsters to keep the dehydrator running. But I've been lucky enough thus far to find some decent numbers of mushrooms I either had never found before or had only found once or twice.

Oddly enough, I've already found a few hens and a hericium. It seems early for both of these, but they're out and about. I checked all my other hen and hericium spots but there weren't any more about.

One of the edible blue-staining boletes: gyropyrus cyanescens. Super delicious.

Another fantastic edible bolete: boletellus ruselli. I usually don't like boletes, but these last two are top-notch.

And last but not least, I stumbled upon a bunch of cantharellus ignicolor today. These are a little beat up from getting jostled in the bag. It was the first time I'd ever found them...anyone else happened upon these?

[JP Z]

AWESOME finds Stick! I now need to get in the woods again, I was just waiting for the next rain as it seemed very dry when I was out on Wed.

[Stick in Mud]

Now's the time....for how dry it's been, there are lots popping. Great year so far. Just bummed I haven't found more trumpets.

[JP Z]

Today we got dumped on for rain, don't know if it was enough though. I'm thinking Tuesday....

[jerkin'm]

Awesome finds! Don't like seeing the hens already as I won't be home to the hen zone for a week- oh well, plenty of chanterelles still around at the cabin and a chicken or two as well-

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[pushbutton]

Not as fun finds as Stick or as many finds as Jerky, but finds none the less Looks like summertime fun time is upon us!

[Stick in Mud]

Nice finds, guys. I was wondering if anyone's been getting out...it's been quiet in here.

I stumbled across another fairly-new-to-me mushroom the other day: a laccaria ochropurpurea. It's edible, and I'm usually pretty brave with trying newish mushrooms that do NOT have a deadly poisonous lookalike...but this one could pretty easily be mistaken (except for the spore print) with a purple cort, another mushroom that definitely grows around here (I found some last fall). I'm 99% certain that this one is a laccaria, but when a mistaken ID could cause *serious* trouble, I make sure to share them with my friends first.

[Tom Sawyer]

So how's the friend doing that took a bite out of it?

[Stick in Mud]

That's just how it looks. Pretty cool looking 'shroom.

This is an old one. The younger ones are a bit more "normal" looking.

Here's another pic of the same one. Neat stuff.

[Stick in Mud]

Awesome finds! Don't like seeing the hens already as I won't be home to the hen zone for a week-

In the interest of making sure I hadn't missed any fruiting elsewhere, I put in a mini-marathon yesterday to hit pretty much every tree besides which I've ever found a hen. Found nothing. I suspect you didn't miss much.

[jerkin'm]

Wow, that's a really cool looking shroom! Never seen one of those before-

[NoWiser]

Awesome finds, Stick!

I was up in the Brainerd area over the weekend. In an area I thought would be great, I got completely skunked. So, I went to a small blueberry patch I had found a few weeks ago to get enough for some pancakes. After 20 minutes of picking blueberries I realized I was in the middle of a HUGE patch of trumpets! So, I filled up one of those reusable grocery bags with them and then moved on. I found quite a few yellowfoots after that, and a decent number of chants. I also stumbled on one of those boletellus ruselli! But, I didn't know they were edible and since I only found one, I kept on walking.

The hens are out! My buddy sent me a picture of one he found over the weekend while he was out picking chants.

I really should make a point to get out this week, but my freezer is chuck full of chants and I've got elk hunting on the brain. If I can find an extra hour or two this week I just might have to sneak out and see what I can find.

[Matt Breuer]

You're about the 5th person this week who has posted a pic of a hen... all from the Metro area. And for the record, I consider St. Cloud a suburb of the Metro (pushbutton).

Those are some great finds! Love hericium of any kind... wish we would find more up here! Occasional lion's mane is about it for us.

Lots of russel's boletes up here, and I do not find them tasty. I've tried them twice with poor taste. One of my favorites to photo though! Coolest stype on a mushroom IMO!

[Matt Breuer]

Also, I noticed your comment about purple corts.... I assume you're going off of Michael Kuo again? Brings me back to the scaber stalk discussion last month. Michael Kuo and Rogers Mushrooms are not reliable guides. Most well known mycologists consider Kuo "mycophobic". I believe all purple corts and blewit look-alikes are edible...

[JP Z]

I think I have to get out today.......it Rained pretty good on Sunday so that should get more stuff popping I would think.

[pikestabber]

So, I went to a small blueberry patch I had found a few weeks ago to get enough for some pancakes. After 20 minutes of picking blueberries I realized I was in the middle of a HUGE patch of trumpets!

Just curious if there is any correlation between where blueberries grow and where trumpets and chants grow? I've never found either one but have both on my "find this year" list.

[NoWiser]

Just curious if there is any correlation between where blueberries grow and where trumpets and chants grow? I've never found either one but have both on my "find this year" list.

Pikestabber,

Unfortunately I don't really have enough experience to answer that question. This is the first patch of blueberries that I've stumbled across aside from our trips to Canada. It is also the first sizeable patch of black trumpets I've ever found.

I suspect that it was a coincidence given the large oak trees that were in the middle of the blueberry patch, but I can't be sure.

Chanterelles have been fairly easy for me once I learned to recognize the type of areas they like to grow. White oaks are key, especially down here in the metro area.

[Matt Breuer]

Up here we find blueberries quite close to chants. There are two ways to hunt chants, oaks, or conifers. They love mossy conifer groves from basically my area up into Canada. The first chants I ever ate were on a BWCA trip and we picked those just off of a trail we were picking blueberries from. Trumpets love moss, and they love oak. I've never found a trumpet near blueberries, but we don't have oaks anywhere near blueberries up here. Haha!

[Stick in Mud]

Also, I noticed your comment about purple corts.... I assume you're going off of Michael Kuo again? Brings me back to the scaber stalk discussion last month. Michael Kuo and Rogers Mushrooms are not reliable guides. Most well known mycologists consider Kuo "mycophobic". I believe all purple corts and blewit look-alikes are edible...

Interesting. I must admit to not being "in the know" regarding which mycologists are well-known, mycophobic, or (in)competent. David Arora recommends eating none of them, even though some are edible. So does Kuo. Those are my two primary sources.

I'm curious about why Michael Kuo is so wrong on this....Are his comments about the potential dangers of purple-shaded corts completely off base?

[Gissert]

Nice Jerky! Got a nice 16 inch chicken on Friday. The Warden loves those things..

[jerkin'm]

Got about 10 pounds of chanterelles and a couple chickens up there myself this week Gissert-fishing was pretty good too...

[jerkin'm]

Got out around home today- lots of variety and due to my vacation I missed lots of chants that are now too far gone....

Did grab a few that were still good, some hedgehogs, chickens, boletes, and my first hen of the year. Also saw some cool purple something's.... Grabbed some recent emergents and a mature one for pics at home.

[pushbutton]

Nice job getting on the henometer board......

[JP Z]

Yep............after this drenching I think I have to get out in the woods again. Hopefully this time I keep the Deer tick number down to less than 2

[Matt Breuer]

Was up north visiting my old man after a stroke and some heart issues last week. He took a nap, so my wife and I took a 2 hour hike on some private property and scored huge. Had about 40 lbs., mix of chants which we gave to the landowner, 5 hens in good shape, an overload of COW, and 2.5 lbs. of lobsters. Over the weekend my daughter and I struck it big with a 32 lb. beast of a chicken. Also guided on Friday and found the suillius to really be thick, with some lobsters and plenty of chants still out there...

Been a fun year!