Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Cherry root mushroom

At the base of an old cherry tree outside our building, these outlandish mushrooms have pushed their way through the landscaping gravel:

Group of three. They're up to about 8 inches across.

Another trio. These start out "normal", like the small round one at the far right.

Tough-skinned, shiny under all the dust, raggedly gilled.

I can't identify these. One of our neighbours says his mother used to cook them back in the "Old Country", in Eastern Europe. She boiled them with a silver spoon; if it tarnished, they were poisonous, he says. It's not a test I would trust.

I think I'll wait for an expert's opinion, a spore print, a DNA test, a test for pesticide contamination, and after all that, someone braver than I to play guinea pig.

4 comments:

  1. I spotted some this year, too.
    I called it my Fun Guy Post!
    Cheers from snowy Cottage Country!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm with you on that. The only mushrooms I eat are ones from the store. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Weeta! I've been trying to name some of my mushrooms and fungus, and found a great site: Mushroom-Collecting.com He's on facebook, and while he's in
    Wasington, ME, US, there are many fungi that I have here. May work for you to ID yours!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Jenn!

    Margy, I eat ones I can identify with no room for doubt; puffballs, boletes. One of these days, if I ever get them soon enough, I'll try shaggy manes. But iffy ones, never!

    ReplyDelete

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