Each day a mushroom expert was available to go on forays. This was a general identification foray, and I was prepared to find some good edibles and id some new ones. I was really after only one species.
The scenery is beautiful in Cordova. Off the main road is solid rain forest.
The moss carpeted forest floor and lots of tree trunks is the typical scene where all the good mushrooming happens.
A few hundred yards up the creek and an expert found this nice coral mushroom. Ramaria? Clavariaceae? After speaking with some of the experts the names and terminology just started to run together. Very distinct and pretty against the mossy backdrop.
This one is Lactarius deliciosus. Or saffron milk cap. Listed as edible. I did not eat this mushroom, but it grows all over the place down there. Step out the car to use the outdoor potty? You may be stepping on one of these. I've never spotted one in Willow.
Here I am holding my prize. The hedgehog mushroom, Hydnum repandum, has been on my list for a few years now. They grow all over too - step out the car and walk twenty feet into the woods and you are likely to find a few hedgehogs growing in a line down a slope. Not one that grows in Willow either.
A mushroom action shot - the hedgehog is distinct because it has teeth, not gills or pores. Fairly easy to spot in the green carpet-like moss they grow in. 'Hogs don't have slime on top and do not reflect light like other whitish mushrooms. I took these home and ate some last night. They taste great.
The USFS is housed in the old federal building. Beautiful! Here are the collection tables with labeled mushrooms from the numerous forays. By the end of the fair the tables were full.
Some Boletus edulis growing on a grand scale.
A fairgoer pointed out that one section of the table was for eating, the other for dying. Haha! The dying portion of the table showcased the many earth tones that can be created with mushrooms. For the record edibles were clearly marked and kept separate from the poisonous ones.
My entry into the xtratuff boot decorating contest at the fungus fair dinner. The dinner was a five course meal centered around mushrooms. It featured truffles, hen of the woods, black chanterelles, porcini and candy cap mushrooms prepared by a mushroom expert chef. All delicious.
What a great weekend. I left out so many details; like the really great presentations, the dye workshops, the many mushroom experts that flew in to Cordova to share their knowledge. Not to mention the least expensive but best place to eat in town! And the great people that attended the fair. The Cordova Fungus Festival was a real treat to attend and an experience not easily forgotten.
4 comments:
The Fungus fair sounds like so much fun! I enjoyed seeing the different kinds of mushrooms. I didn't even know they had fungus fairs. They sound like such a great source of info! Thanks for sharing!
We have a ton of mushrooms here, but I'm afraid to eat any of them that I find when my local guide isn't with me. I'm pretty sure I can safely identify the "Fried Chicken" ones, but with my luck I'd get my hands on a rare toxic cousin. Sounds like I need to sign up for next summer's Fungus Fair :)
Hen of the Woods is one of my favorites -- YUMMY!!
Sounds great, I am going to something similar here on September 25th.
That sounds incredible!!! I am thoroughly jealous. We find saffron milk caps in our pine plantation here and they are my absolute favourite. Delicous, hold their texture really well so great in stir fry, yummy on pizza, excellent with olive oil herbs and garlic sooooo yum. Not much knowledge about Australian fungi species you can eat so we really miss out on the range you have.
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