Have you noticed the number of mushrooms that seem to have sprung up out of nowhere on your front lawns, or are hiding in your tree line or row of shrubs? Now that we have had a few frosts overnight, we are not seeing as many.
Scott Chalmers, Applied Research Specialist for Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization with Manitoba Agriculture, understands the world of mushrooms, not only as an Ag expert but also someone with a keen interest in this fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, as he often forages for them in different regions across the province. He voices what many of us feel, we don't understand them, and we know some are poisonous. "It's like nobody wants to touch them because they're scared of them, it's kind of like spiders."
Usually, a large rain will prompt the growth of mushrooms, more than an inch usually brings them out, but the different species are seasonal, says Chalmers. "The Shaggy Mane Mushrooms grow only in September, and they are looking for that big rain in early Fall. Some years it's just too dry and they won't grow but if you get that late August or early September rain, that's when they thrive and try to set up spores."
He says he was searching for the tan-colored Honey Mushroom in and around the Pipestone area as they are quite tasty! "This mushroom grows on hardwood. I've seen all kinds of pictures from Winnipeg and northeast of Winnipeg, but for some reason we just don't see them growing much out here.
"There are several mushrooms out here that you can potentially enjoy at this time of year," explains Chalmers. "You can find the oyster mushrooms which generally grows on maple or elm trees, or on green ash stumps that have fallen down. But you've got to be pretty quick because the bugs will find them first, and that's usually a good sign that it's edible is that the bugs are already on it. Sometimes you see birds peck on them too."
Chalmers says the Shaggy Mane Mushroom is a large one that you see in the middle of parking lots or sidewalks. "It has the power to push through concrete or asphalt. It will pop up in the middle of a parking lot quite often, and it's a very tall and skinny mushroom that's probably about 6 inches tall. It's got kind of a shag to it, it's white and then at the tips are blacker. When it expires the mushroom will turn into black ink and it will dissolve from the edge of the cap all the way up to the top, and then at this point you can't eat it, but it is an edible mushroom."
A dangerous mushroom that you might see in parks and lawns is white. It is called the Destroying Angel or Death Cap. "You don't want to eat that one," says Chalmers. "That will unfortunately give you organ failure and within about 2 hours, you'll need dialysis. It's just plain white and has a little cup at the base and that's the tell-tale sign, and there might be a white veil that attaches underneath the cap. Do not touch that one. Do not eat it. Just let it do its thing, and it's not going to hurt anybody."
The Horse Mushroom grows on horse manure, and is fairly easy to find, but still Chalmers says you need to know what you're looking for and do a spore print before you start to consume anything.
He says his favorite mushroom is the morel mushroom which he hunts for first thing in the spring, usually around mid-May if there's a good rain at that point. "Sometimes you'll see the odd one and they're quite a choice mushroom. But again, you'll have to find those east and north of Winnipeg in the boreal forest, which is more of the habitat where they grow."
If you're interested in foraging for edible mushrooms, Chalmers suggest not relying on Google or social media platforms that come from locations other than Manitoba. He says those sites are almost too broad and what's growing in the southern States may not be the same as what's growing in Manitoba.
Chalmers, himself, follows the Facebook page which shares information about mushrooms for Winnipeg Mycological Society // Société mycologique de Winnipeg | Facebook or click HERE!
(Photos below submitted by Scott Chalmers. Coral Mushroom in Spruce woods, Bolete mushroom found in the pasture near Carroll)
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