7 Trees Every Mushroom Hunter Should Know

[Music] everyone a madam parrots and if you're interested in finding lots of wild mushrooms then one of the best pieces of advice that I have for you is to learn your trees and the reason is simple many mushrooms are associated with particular trees in one way or another for example some mushrooms are mycorrhizal species meaning they hook up symbiotically with various trees some mushrooms might parasitize living trees extracting nutrients at the expense of the host tree and still other mushrooms might exist on dead trees helping to decompose them we call those saprophytic mushrooms so if there's a particular mushroom that you're interested in finding and you find out that it's associated with a particular tree rather than aimlessly walking through the forest with your eyes glued to the forest floor hoping to find that mushroom might be more wise to first go to those ecosystems where those associated trees grow and then look for your mushrooms so what I want to do for you in this video is introduce you to seven common trees that every mushroom hunter should know and I want you to keep in mind a few things before we get started the first thing is that this is not going to be an exhaustive list of trees nor an exhaustive list of mushrooms associated with these trees you know there are tens of thousands of species of trees worldwide there's millions of species of fungi worldwide clearly I can't cover them all I'm just going to cover seven common trees that are really likely to yield mushrooms that the conditions are right also I live in the eastern half of North America so that's where most of these species can be found however I will be covering broad groups of trees many of which can be found worldwide so without any further introduction on my part let me just say thank you so much for tuning into this video let's go see if we can find the first tree that every mushroom hunter should know so the first tree every mushroom hunter should know is the mighty the very majestic the oftentimes very massive oak tree so whenever I see an oak tree or I'm in an area dominated by oak trees I know of a good chance of finding lots of wild mushrooms and that's because oak trees form important ecto mycorrhizal symbiosis with various species of fungi but also fallen oak trees provide the perfect substrate for mushrooms that specialized decomposition it's just a few examples of some mushrooms that you'll find an association with oak trees include hen-of-the-woods Sheepshead maitake grifoll Aafrin dosa this one typically grows late summer through fall at the basis of oak trees you'll also find chicken of the woods in the late too porous genus on dead oak trees are very weak oak trees and you'll find that pretty much spring summer and fall you also find honey mushrooms in the autumn months parasitizing or helping to decompose oak trees and you'll find medicinal mushrooms like turkey tail jhemini's versicolor directly on dead oak trees now oak trees do form mycorrhizal associations with various fungi so you'll find mushrooms like black trumpets growing in the forest floor underneath oak trees you also find chanterelles in the Cantor Alice genus and you'll find various bull eat mushrooms associated with oak trees now there are other mycorrhizal mushrooms associated with oak trees and the lac area genus and Amanita genus and the rustle of genus as well - needless to say there are a lot of mushrooms associated with oak trees now the one I'm standing in front of right now is the classic northern red oak tree Quercus rubra now there are hundreds of species of oak trees worldwide I'm just going to focus on this one and white oak really quickly for you so the northern red oak tree is a very large tree that can grow to be about 100 feet or taller and it typically lives in well-drained areas and upland slope habitats when you look at the branching you'll see that it has alternate branching the leaves are lobed with bristle tip points and the bark is very unique because it's fissured but it's broken up by these smooth gray streaks that almost look like ski tracks now the white oak tree which is Quercus Alba is similar in appearance the large tree up to 100 feet or taller and it can live 400 years or more you see it in similar habitats though it also lives in drier areas than red oak it has alternate branching leaves with rounded lobes and bark that is quite light in color typically light gray and separating into scales and plates so as I mentioned there a lot of oak trees worldwide encourage you to get to learn the oak trees in your area and scout out those areas all year round looking for some of the mushrooms that I just mentioned another tree every mushroom hunter should know is the easily seen easily identified beech tree and the reason I included it's second in the list is because of its close relationship to oak trees so oak trees and beech trees are in the same family of plants that families Fugazi a meaning many of those mushrooms that I just described four oak trees can be found in association with beech trees not always but there is a lot of overlap for example although you will find hen-of-the-woods mostly in association with oak trees you occasionally find it at the base of a beech tree and I've seen that on more than one occasion also if you're interested in the her esteemed genus which includes lion's mane bears head to the combs tooth mushroom then look in beech force because I've had a lot of luck finding these mushrooms in beech force specifically her issome americana which is bears head tooth you will also see mushrooms like black trumpets crater ellis growing in association with beech trees you also see chanterelles growing in association with beech trees mycorrhizal ii and you'll find a mushroom known as the hedgehog mushroom in the Haida gnam genus growing in association with beech trees now the tree I'm standing in front of right now is the American beech tree Vegas Grand folia it's the only native beech tree to the United States and this one's easily identified by its bark which is smooth and light gray it's one of the smoothest bark species in our woods it's a large tree between 60 and 90 feet tall it's found in moist soils usually in mature hardwood forests so we consider that a late successional species it has alternate branching at toothed leaves that oftentimes persist all winter long now perhaps the most infamous fungus associated with the beech tree is one in the neck tree at genus and in conjunction with a scale insect that was introduced from Europe to Nova Scotia in the late 1800s it's been responsible for a disease known as beech bark disease it's been wiping out large beech trees in North America ever since so we don't have as many large beech trees in our force today however we still do have plenty and we have all those mushrooms that I just described and many more so see if you can find any of those mushrooms growing in association with beech trees another tree every mushroom hunter should know is this one right here which is the birch tree in the genus betch allâh and birch trees are pioneer species meaning there's some of the first trees to colonize an ecosystem the short-lived trees and they typically live in temperate and boreal climate zones in the northern hemisphere and birch trees are easily identified because many species not all but many species have papery bark which peels off in horizontal strips I like looking for birch trees and you should like looking for birch trees as well because they're associated with a lot of mushrooms and they're great for the medicinal mushroom hunter as well because many medicinal mushrooms can be found growing directly on birch trees for example the chaga fungus in a notice of bleakness you will have a lot of luck finding that fungus on birch trees it doesn't always grow exclusively on birch trees but in the majority of cases it does also the birch polypore which is foamy topsis betcha lino that grows directly on birch trees and i have a lot of luck finding those on black birch trees I've also seen me tease versicolor turkey tail growing on birch trees and I have a lot of luck finding turkey tail actually on birch trees you'll also find a lot of mica Raizel species in association with birch trees not all of them are edible I mean you'll find ones and the coronaries genus you'll find lots of bullets in association with birch trees as well now there are a lot of bird species worldwide one I'm standing in front of right now is the beautiful black birch tree betcha love lenda it's a medium-sized tree that grows to be about 75 feet tall it's characterized by alternate branching leaves with sharply toothed the edges and the bark is actually rather smooth for a birch so it has horizontal lenticels but it has these vertical cracks which help distinguish it from any other birch trees typically inhabits rocky slopes you find it along streams and in moist forests and has a strong fragrance of wintergreen whenever you chew a twig or break into the bark so as I mentioned there are additional birch species out there in the world and I encourage you to explore your birch forest to see what birch trees grow in your area see if you can find all those mushrooms that I described and more okay so we cover three deciduous trees so far this will be the last deciduous tree before we move on to the conifer trees and for the last deciduous tree we have the graceful the elegant the quite historic elm tree I say historic because one of those popular trees in all of American history was an American elm tree it was known as the Liberty Tree the Liberty Tree was a very popular and monumental American elm tree in Boston during the pre Revolutionary War period that served as a meeting place for colonists to demonstrate their disapproval of British rule but we're not here to talk about American history we're here to talk about trees and mushrooms so what mushrooms might you find growing in association with elm trees well how about the very classic morel mushroom in the genus more chela so a lot of people have luck finding morel mushrooms growing underneath dead and dying elm trees in the spring months now I know you might have your favorite trees where morel mushrooms might be growing under you might look under apple trees you might look under ash trees cherry trees to a poplar trees all those are good trees as well but a lot of people do have luck finding morel mushrooms under dead and dying elm trees if you don't find morel mushrooms or if you did find a lot of morel mushrooms and you're looking for another edible mushroom growing directly on elm tree so the morel mushrooms grow in the forest floor away from the elm tree if you're looking for a mushroom growing directly on the elm tree during the spring months but also to a lesser extent summer and fall check out cereal poor moses which is dry at saddle or pheasant back it's a polypore mushroom that kind of smells like watermelon rind and kind of has a taste as well you catch it when it's really young then it can be quite tasty now there a lot of other mushrooms associated with elm trees specifically the parasites and the sap or fights that grow directly on dead elm trees for example you might find the elm oyster mushroom hips as I guess all marius and other mushrooms as well now the one that I'm standing in front of is the classic American elm tree Ulmus Americana and this one can grow to be pretty large it can grow to be about 120 feet tall and as you look at the canopy in mature specimens you'll see it's typically vase shaped with drooping branches and speaking of branches it has alternate branching with toothed leaves the bark is brownish gray with vertical fissures and one of the key identifying features is when you look at the trunk of the American elm tree oftentimes its buttress meaning it flares out towards the base of the trunk now American elm trees typically inhabit moist bottom land areas usually along creeks and streams floodplain areas and slopes leading down to these habitats now just like with the beech tree how there's a pathogenic fungus and the next tree a gene is responsible for killing a lot of the larger trees there's a pathogenic fungus responsible for killing a lot of the larger elm tree and this one's in the ophea stoma genus maybe you haven't heard of ophea stoma but maybe you're familiar with what it causes and that's Dutch elm disease so Dutch elm disease was first described in Holland in the early 1920s and this disease made its way into North America in the late 1920s a Nokia stoma genus works with elm bark beetles to wipe out a lot of the larger elm trees we just don't have many mature specimens left in our forests in eastern North America but fortunately we do have a lot of medium-sized elm trees and a lot of younger size specimens as well so if you're interested in finding and foraging one of the tastiest wild edible mushrooms there is which is the morel mushroom I strongly recommend you get to learn your elm trees and figure out where they grow okay so we just finished up some deciduous trees let's move on to the conifer trees in the first conifer tree that every mushroom hunter should know is the hemlock tree and the sugah genus so I really like exploring hemlock habitats that's where I am right now notice the bark pattern around me notice all these leaves around me these are all hemlock trees in the sukkah genus hemlocks tend to grow in cool shady ravines usually alongside Swift moving streams and rivers now worldwide they're about eight to ten species in the sukkah genus here in North America they're about 4 species in the sukkah genus now just to clarify I'm not referring to poison hemlock here so poison hemlock is a completely different plant that's cony Immaculata that is a deadly toxic plant in the carrot family that's an herbaceous plant does not develop woody tissue like these trees right here so this is the sugah tree sugah canadensis the eastern hemlock tree definitely not poison hemlock so there are many mushrooms associated with hemlock trees and perhaps my favorite mushroom associated with a hemlock tree is Ganoderma su gay so think about su gay sugah canadensis that's the Eastern hemlock tree Ganoderma su gay means that it grows on sugah trees so Ganoderma su gay is the reishi mushroom this is a classic medicinal mushroom that's usually found on dead hemlock trees though occasionally you'll find it on living hemlock trees as well you also find many mycorrhizae species associated with hemlock trees in the forest floor including chanterelles I have a lot of luck planning the winter chanterelle which is Kratt or else to be formas I also find a lot of bull eat mushrooms associate with hemlock trees and sue Ellis mushrooms there's another Hedgehog mushroom that is hiding them on Bill academ which I find growing in association with now as I mentioned there are a lot of hemlock species worldwide here in North America about four species the one that I predominantly find here in eastern North America is this one which is the Canadian hemlock tree or Eastern hemlock tree sugah canadensis so this is a large tree that can grow to be about 140 feet tall and can live up to 400 years or more its leaves are linear and flattened it has really small cones that are usually an inch or less long so if you have access to an Eastern hemlock tree or any hemlock tree for that matter I encourage you to explore those areas explore the trunk explore the Fallen limbs and explore the soil all around the Eastern hemlock trees and see if you can find all those mushrooms that I mentioned and more for the penultimate tree in this list of trees that every mushroom hunter should know we have the pine tree genus Pinus so worldwide there are over 100 species of pine they occupy a wide variety of habitats including boreal subalpine temperate tropical even arid woodland ecosystems so pine trees have their evergreen needles borne in bundles of two to five like other gymnosperms they don't have any flowers but they do produce seeds and you'll find mushrooms growing directly on pine trees you'll find them growing around pine trees in the needle litter you'll even find mushrooms growing directly on pinecones so what mushrooms might you find growing in association with pine trees how about bolete mushrooms so many bolita species are mycorrhizal with many pine species specifically the sioux ilist mushrooms typically these have slimy caps somewhat yellowish pores on the underside for example you find sue ellis americanus the chicken fat mushroom that's an edible mushroom that grows in symbiosis with eastern white pine trees summer through fall you'll also find swilley's pictus which is this beautiful velvety reddish yellow color some people even have a lot of luck finding morel mushrooms growing underneath pine trees and they're a wide variety of other micro eyes'll species growing in association with pine trees not all of them are edible but we have mushrooms in the trickle omma genus we have mushrooms in the endoscopy genus we have mushrooms in the coronaries genus and various other general so the one that I'm standing in front of right now is very common in the eastern half of North America this is the eastern white pine tree Pinus strobus so this can be a very tall tree that grows to be up to 180 feet tall or more the current champion northeastern United States is actually in western Pennsylvania at about 184 feet tall the leaves are the needles of eastern white pine tree are born and bundles of five the bark is thin and smooth and younger specimen that the bark becomes scaly and deeply fissured in older trees and pine trees especially the eastern white pine tree is a pioneer species so you see in all kinds of different habitats you see it in cleared land you see it in a band of agricultural land you also see it planted in plantations throughout the woods so of course this is only one pine tree among over 100 different species and I encourage you to learn the pine trees in your area and explore those habitats all year round see what kind of mushrooms you can find growing either directly on the pine tree or growing an association underneath those pine trees and last but certainly not least one tree that every mushroom hunter should know is the spruce tree known worldwide for its use in spruce gum spurs beer it's early incorporation into aircraft materials before aluminum was widely available now we're not here to talk about aviation history we're here to talk about trees and mushrooms so spruce tree is a cadet forever green tree worldwide they're about 35 species here in eastern North America they typically inhabit the northern cooler climates but there's one exception which is the red spruce tree whose range extends down to the Appalachian regions into Western North Carolina now no surprise are a lot of mushrooms associated with spruce trees including those mica Raizel bolete mushrooms is there any tree with the micro Heysel bullet mushrooms art associated with yeah there's a lot of trees that brilliant mushrooms aren't associated with but with a spruce tree there are a lot that are associated with the spruce tree including maybe everyone's favorite which is the porcini mushroom boletus edulis and it's relative so i have some luck finding boletus edulis under spruce trees here in the eastern half of North America you also find a variety of chanterelles Panther Alice genus in association with spruce trees and I have a lot of luck surprisingly finding Blewett mushrooms Klaas P Nutella pista nuda so I find them growing underneath these trees typically late summer through fall into early winter and they're helping to degrade some of the plants underneath the spruce trees now this first tree that I'm sitting in front of right now is one that's actually not native to North America but it's widely cultivated plant that around the world so this is the Norway spruce tree picea abies this one is native to central in northern Europe and it's a large pyramidal tree that can grow to be about 120 feet tall what's really unique about this tree is that it has main branches with secondary branches that hang straight down in a pendulous fashion so it's almost like their arms sticking out of the tree with tassels of secondary branches that hang straight down and the leaves are dark green they're up to one inch long and they are four-sided now of course the Norway spruce tree is just one spruce tree amongst many in that Picea genus that I encourage you to explore the spruce trees in your area learn them all and see which mushrooms might be growing in association with them either directly on the spruce trees or mycorrhizae or saprophytic underneath those spruce trees well there we have it at least seven trees that every mushroom hunter should know and even if you don't live where I live in eastern half of North America let's say you live on the west coast in California well you do have a lot of the trees that we talked about you do have oak trees you do have pine trees if spruce trees you have hemlock trees and you have a lot of mushrooms growing in association with those trees so learn those trees explore those habitats see what mushrooms can be found also remember this was not an exhaustive list of either the trees or the mushrooms so of course I left a lot out but these trees and these mushrooms should definitely get you started this year thank you so much for tuning in to this video as always I truly appreciate it I encourage you to subscribe to the YouTube channel if you enjoyed this video head on over to learn your land so we can stay in touch with each other and sign up for the email newsletter feel free to follow me on social media Instagram Facebook and thanks again happy true learning and happy mushroom harvest you [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 805,452

Rating: 4.9287887 out of 5

Keywords: Adam Haritan, Learn Your Land, Foraging, Mushrooms, Mushroom, Fungi, Fungus, Wild Food, Wild Edibles, Plants, Botany, Mycology, Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Primitive Skills, Outdoors, Hiking, Nature, Woods, Forest, Paul Stamets, Wild Mushrooms, God, Universe, Thank you, Gardening, Permaculture, Cultivation, Morels

Id: _bcwlsSzPDk

Length: 18min 15sec (1095 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 26 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Crabjock]

Adam Haritan. I recommend Learn Your Land thoroughly. His videos are the most informative I've ever found. Any questions you have, he likely answers them.

I imagine most people who frequent this subreddit already know of him.

[u/the-Nemophilist]

These are great videos. Even if you think you know, Adam always says something new. Very well researched info

[u/yoosemit]

This is so overlooked. It's hard to successfully hunt for mushrooms if you can't identify where they live.

I wish I had more upvotes to give to this post.