• Saturday-What'sUP September 9 - 09:38 pm

You say fungi and I say fungus, but they say mushrooms. It's six of one, a half dozen of the other -- in other words, they all mean the same thing when describing the subject of today's Pasty Cam. A walk in the bush, anywhere across the Upper Peninsula will yield a number of great finds like these. This handsome looking group of organisms have been supplied by Bob Gilreath, Tom Cook, Roger & Ruth Janke and David Woon, respectively. Quite the motley looking crew of mushrooms, so I'm not going to attempt to label them. I think I'll leave that to one of the 'amateur' mycologists in the viewing audience.

I always look forward to mushroom shots on the Cam. The U.P. has some unique Ascomycota.

By the way, Toivo, I always thought you were the guy behind the computer in today's What'sUP. Am I right?

The second pic looks like it may be a "chicken of the woods" (tastes like chicken), but don't take my word on it. We need more rain for more mushrooms, it's been a bad year so far.

When I look at the last picture, I think of Disney's movie,
Fantasia.

Somebody please, please, please: the scientific names?
Especially the second one, as it appears to grow on dead wood.

Danbury,

The first hit on Google listing under "poisonous mushrooms" has some great pictures and scientific names.

The bottom two pictures are Amanita and there are many varieties that can only be identified by examination of their spores. Their toxins of these mushroom can cause liver and kidney damage and death. They can be identified by the ring around the stem that was attached to the edge of the cap before it opened. They are known as "Death Cap" mushrooms and "Destroying Angels"
DON'T EAT!

If I'm correct on #2 Chicken of the woods or
"Laetiporus sulphureus" (sulfur shelf), now that's a mouthful.

Well, I don't know what they are, but they sure don't look like something one would want to eat.

Even if you love mushrooms as I do.

Try this site-
http://americanmushrooms.com/agarics.htm

Thank you, Mr. Bill, Fred and k j. I thought the second one looked like that, too, but wasn't sure. Anyhow, they are, at least some of them, something you just might eat anyway. Especially the second one (as long as it is really L. sulphureus - never eat mushrooms you do not know) which tastes quite good, as long as it's still young and fresh - no need to try the older ones. Wash them thoroughly, blanche them a little (short cooking in boiling water), slice them and fry them in butter, perhaps with a little finely sliced shallot. Attention - allergies occur. On trees, it's one of the most important causes for brown-rot globally.
Amanita muscaria - now that's a different story. While eating them could kill one, it's more likely to cause severe discomfort, along with liver damage. They were eaten regularly in some places, but the preparation required care and the proper methods, and even then it was risky, especially due to the varying amount of toxins (while one could sustain, the next might as well kill), so still - better not.

Try Michigan Morels.Com, Great bunch of folks and they know their shrooms. Steve B.