I get very excited about mushrooms, but disappointed sometimes too. I may have ranted about this before, but despite the Pacific Northwest’s reputation, I really had much better luck finding edible mushrooms in northwestern Pennsylvania where there was less competition, more wildland, and a summer as well as fall mushroom season. Sure there are way more chanterelles out here, but there is more to mushrooming than that apricot-colored slug of a fungus. Just kidding, I like chanterelles. The other thing is when I lived in Pennsylvania I never went mushroom hunting specifically for edibles. I was into identifying every mushroom, and I just happened to find them. Here edible mushroom hunting as a sport is a popular social activity, and in some ways the pressure to find the booty makes it less fun.
Anyway, this is the first fall in Oregon I really got to get outdoors for mushroom season. I got my fill of edibles one day early on when I picked a couple pounds of chanterelles just off of Highway 26 headed toward Seaside. Then I could concentrate on the rest. Here are a few of my other finds:
Earthstar
Finding one of these is a real treat. Many earthstars are hygroscopic, meaning their rays fold closed in dry weather and open in wet weather. Like puffballs, they are not edible when mature.
Questionable Stropharia
These mushrooms, Stropharia ambigua, I found growing in droves at both the Leach Botanical Gardens in Portland, and the Audubon Society property in Sandy, OR. They have a yellow cap with shaggy white edges and a shaggy white stalk. The gills are purple gray. As for edibility, it is “not recommended”.
Flat-topped Agaricus
This mushroom is definitely an agaricus, mostly likely of the flat-topped variety (Agaricus praeclaraesquamosus). I found it growing in the woods on the Marquam Trail in southwest Portland. Distinguishing characteristics besides location include the pink gills which are free from the stalk (chocolate brown when older), a large ring, a base that stains bright yellow when cut and gives off an unpleasant odor, and a white top with small brown scales.
Crazy Russula
Red Coral Mushroom
This scaly, old Russula was gigantic. I don’t know exactly what kind it is, but russulas in general can be identified by their brittle chalk-like texture. They shatter when thrown, and the stalks break cleanly with no visible strings or fibers. Due to the texture of their flesh even “edible” russulas are not generally eaten. An exception is the lobster mushroom which occurs when another mushroom, Hypomyces lactiflorum colonizes Russula brevipes. The pretty little coral is mostly likely Ramaria araiospora.
