A journey to the kingdom Fungi
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Organizing such a walk to watch mushrooms, plants, etc. "live" in their habitat requires finding a good site, making sure that there will be some species there. Otherwise, you might end up walking around with a group of people disappointed about not seeing anything. This is why we were only informed with a couple of days in advance of the meeting point: a forest close to the Grosser Feldberg, the highest elevation of the Taunus mountain range (with 879 m not exactly the Himalayas, but well...).
It is also important to take into account if the weather conditions have been favorable to the growth of fungus. 2018 has been an atypical year in terms of high temperatures and lack of rain, so the expert mentioned that there were not as many species present as in other years. But, in my opinion, this is actually good: there are limits to the amount of information that one can absorb in a couple of hours, and less will stay with you if you watch 100 species than if you watch only 10, but take the time to observe and learn in detail about each one.
The walk/course was very interesting, and it gave me an overview of the species that are most common where I live. I was amazed by the variety, and by how the same category of mushrooms might contain species that are edible, others that are not poisonous but just don't taste well, and some that are toxic. The latter category contains different levels, from mushrooms that only cause slight stomach problems, to those that can cause permanent liver damage. There are also species that are edible, but need to be cooked well (at least 20 minutes) to eliminate toxins. Another interesting case is Coprinopsis atramentaria, which is edible but can cause a strong intoxication if ingested with alcohol (or even if alcohol is consumed hours after eating it).
Each year in October and November, as the temperatures lower and it rains more often, I often meet people looking for mushrooms in the surrounding forests, which makes me a bit curious. While I love dishes containing mushrooms, and I've even grown some at home using special substrates, the thought of picking my own in the forest makes me a bit uneasy, especially considering the horror stories about intoxication cases that pop up in the media every now and then.
Given this, and since I love learning new things, I had been looking for the opportunity to take a course to get some basic knowledge. Given that the fall is "mushroom season" around here and there is a lot of interest, the places in courses and guided walks often get filled up very quickly. For this reason, this year I took care to enroll early enough in a guided walk with a mycology expert from the region.
Given this, and since I love learning new things, I had been looking for the opportunity to take a course to get some basic knowledge. Given that the fall is "mushroom season" around here and there is a lot of interest, the places in courses and guided walks often get filled up very quickly. For this reason, this year I took care to enroll early enough in a guided walk with a mycology expert from the region.
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| A pretty mushroom (unfortunately I forgot to write down its name)... |
Organizing such a walk to watch mushrooms, plants, etc. "live" in their habitat requires finding a good site, making sure that there will be some species there. Otherwise, you might end up walking around with a group of people disappointed about not seeing anything. This is why we were only informed with a couple of days in advance of the meeting point: a forest close to the Grosser Feldberg, the highest elevation of the Taunus mountain range (with 879 m not exactly the Himalayas, but well...).
It is also important to take into account if the weather conditions have been favorable to the growth of fungus. 2018 has been an atypical year in terms of high temperatures and lack of rain, so the expert mentioned that there were not as many species present as in other years. But, in my opinion, this is actually good: there are limits to the amount of information that one can absorb in a couple of hours, and less will stay with you if you watch 100 species than if you watch only 10, but take the time to observe and learn in detail about each one.
The walk/course was very interesting, and it gave me an overview of the species that are most common where I live. I was amazed by the variety, and by how the same category of mushrooms might contain species that are edible, others that are not poisonous but just don't taste well, and some that are toxic. The latter category contains different levels, from mushrooms that only cause slight stomach problems, to those that can cause permanent liver damage. There are also species that are edible, but need to be cooked well (at least 20 minutes) to eliminate toxins. Another interesting case is Coprinopsis atramentaria, which is edible but can cause a strong intoxication if ingested with alcohol (or even if alcohol is consumed hours after eating it).
There was also the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, hallucinogenic and toxic, but impossible not to associate with the Smurfs.
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| Smurfette, are you there? |
We were also told that edible and non-edible species often grow very close to each other, so it is important to distinguish them well. Taste can be one of the distinctive characteristics, so we tasted some mushrooms, spitting them as wine and coffee tasters do.
Another interesting species is Oudemansiella mucida, known as porcelain mushroom for its shiny, slimy appearance, but not particularly interesting from a culinary point of view.
Another interesting species is Oudemansiella mucida, known as porcelain mushroom for its shiny, slimy appearance, but not particularly interesting from a culinary point of view.
Even though the course gave met some basic pointers to distinguish mushrooms, I don't think that I'll be starting to collect them in the forest very soon. There are just too many types—and they often look too much alike—to be certain of not taking a toxic one. So for now I'll stick to the mushrooms in the market, and use my new knowledge to distinguish (but not eat) those that I find in the forest or in my garden.
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These cute Cyathus stercoreus (which look like little nests) emerged among my spring onions. They are not edible, but are apparently used in Chinese medicine.
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