9 Wild Edible Mushrooms You Can Forage This Spring

[Music] [Applause] everyone I'm Adam Harrison and in this video we're going to discuss nine wild edible mushrooms that you could Forge during the spring months now some of these mushrooms can actually be found during the summer months some of these mushrooms can be found during the autumn months and a few of these hardy species can actually be found growing during the winter months so you don't just have to limit your search to the spring season when locating some of these mushrooms but it is spring right now and there's a lot to see so as you could probably tell the snow has finally melted the wood frogs have laid their eggs the spring wildflowers are blooming and of course some of our earliest spring fungal species are here needless to say I absolutely love exploring the woods and forests and floodplains this time of year because there's just so much to see there's so much to learn and there's so much to appreciate and to be grateful for to celebrate I thought I'd share with you a brief list of wild edible spring mushrooms that you're likely to encounter especially if you live in eastern North America so keep that in mind as we work our way through this list because I live in eastern North America because I'm most familiar with the species that grow in eastern North America it only makes sense that I feature Eastern North American species in this particular video also keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list by any means there are a lot of wild edible mushrooms that grow during the spring months not just the ones featured in this video so there is a chance that I might be leaving out one of your favorite mushroom species and I hope you're ok with that now before we get started I just want to go over some general points for you to keep in mind as we work our way through this list to ensure that your harvests are safe successful and fun first keep in mind that when I say that a mushroom is edible I mean it's edible when cooked none of these mushrooms in this video should be consumed raw every species in this video that is edible should be cooked first also just because a species is listed as edible that doesn't mean it's edible for everyone some people just can't tolerate certain edible mushrooms even choice edible mushrooms like morel mushrooms when cooked can make people sick to reduce the chances that you would experience any gastrointestinal distress upon consuming a mushroom that's edible if it's your first time consuming a particular wild mushroom start small and cook very well lastly consider reciprocity if you're harvesting lots of mushrooms from the wild consider reciprocating the action pick up trash Poland eat invasives plant native plants give away native plants teach others the joys of hanging out in nature and consider giving in return for all that you've been given and are constantly given the more we reciprocate the better our local landscape will be for everyone nonhumans included now one last thing before we continue I'm excited to say that I'm putting the final touches on the upcoming online mushroom foraging course that I've been incessantly and diligently working on for the past two years this course is designed to guide you through all the seasons spring summer fall in winter and help you successfully and confidently forge wild mushrooms this course is presented in video format with supplemental materials along the way and all the videos and materials are organized and curated specifically to build your knowledge and skill set around the fungal Kingdom by taking this course you'll have access to over sixty five brand-new full-length videos and cover mushroom ecology mushroom biology mushroom taxonomy common edible mushrooms poisonous mushrooms medicinal mushrooms how to make medicinal mushroom extractions cooking techniques and a lot more now registration for this course will be opened in early May and registration will only be open for a limited amount of time if you are interested in taking this course to gain the knowledge to successfully and confidently forge wild edible mushrooms you can visit learn your landcom slash course to join the waitlist once you join the list you'll be notified when registration opens so having said all that let's discuss nine wild edible mushrooms that you're likely to encounter during the spring season [Music] all right so of course we're going to start out with the morel mushroom because I don't think there's any other mushroom that is as highly valued and sought out during the spring season especially here in Eastern North America as the morel mushroom now to be clear there are a lot of morel mushroom species worldwide with estimates of up to 60 species in that more chela genus worldwide and around 19 or so species here in eastern North America now conveniently the morel mushrooms can be broken down into three main groups which are mica logically known as clades so there's the black morel clade which is the alotta clade there's the yellow morel clade which is the esculenta clade then there's a roof Oh Bruney a-- clade here in eastern North America we only have the black and yellow clades and if you're from Pittsburgh then you can really appreciate that so right now we're going to go over a couple morel mushroom species starting with an Eastern black morel mushroom known as more chela and Gustus EPs this morel mushroom is typically one of the first species to appear and it's very easy to positively identify so more chela in Gustus EPs the Eastern black morel is a medium-sized morel mushroom with a conical honeycomb pitted cap this cap typically contains vertically oriented pits and ridges and what's unique about the Eastern black morel is that it's ridges are darkened especially at maturity and the pits that are in between those ridges are somewhat lighter in color another key feature of the Eastern black morel is that when you look at a cross-section of the mushroom by cutting it in half you will see that it's entirely hollow from top to bottom so from the cap all the way to the base of the stem this mushroom is hollow and if you look closely you'll see that the cap is fully attached to the stock however there is a small groove or sinus typically right where the base of the cap meets the stem these are all key features for more chela and Gustus eps now where do we find the Eastern black morel mushroom well personally I tend to find more chela and Gus the steps under ash trees under black cherry trees and under tulip poplar trees and depending on where you live you can typically find the species during the weeks of March through April now another member of the black morel clade or the alotta clade is the half-free morel more cella puncta peas now many people don't value this species as highly as other more mushroom species though the half-free morel is a true morel mushroom and it is edible and it shares many features with other morel mushrooms especially with other black morel mushrooms so the half-free morel more cella puncta peas typically appears after the Eastern black morel though a little before the yellow morels appear so you'll see it in March you'll see it in April even into May the half free morel is a medium-sized species that grows up to six inches or taller and like other members of the black morel clade the half-free morel typically contains a conical cap with vertically oriented pits and ridges and these ridges darken at maturity and when you cut the half free Morel in half it is entirely hollow from the top of the cap all the way to the base of the stem and a key feature of the species is that the bottom of the cap hangs free from the stem the cap is not fully attached to the stock the top half of it is but the bottom half hangs free like a skirt and of course this is why more cella puncta peas is known as the half free Morel so where do we find the half free Morel in eastern North America personally I the most luck finding it under ash trees under tulip poplar trees under American elm trees and under black cherry trees in the last morel mushroom species that will feature in this video is the common yellow Morel more chela americana so we're moving out of the alotta clade into the esculenta clade now this particular species myrcella americana the common yellow Morel typically appears after the black morels appear and after the half-free morels appear though there is some overlap in season between all three species the common yellow morel more chela americana is a medium-sized morel mushroom that can actually grow to be quite large up to ten inches tall or greater more chela americana contains a cap that is typically less conical than black morel mushrooms though like other true morels the yellow morel contains a honeycomb pitted cap with pits and ridges however the ridges of this species do not darken at maturity so that's a key difference between this mushroom and the Eastern black morel mushroom when you cut the common yellow Morel in half you will see that it's entirely hollow from top to bottom another key feature of more chela Americana is that its cap is entirely connected to the stock with no or sinus so it doesn't hang free at all it is entirely connected to the stock now where do we find more chela Americana well there are a lot of trees that this mushroom grows in association with personally I tend to see the species under dying in dead elm trees under apple trees and under tulip poplar trees though you'll also see it under ash trees under sycamore trees under pine trees and some other trees so here are all three species next to each other so that you can see their similarities and differences if you're interested in finding morels I strongly encourage you to learn your trees because morels grow in association with a variety of trees if you're interested in learning how to identify morel associated trees I do have a video on morel mushroom tree identification that you can also check out now morels tend to appear when the soil consistently reaches temperatures between 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and they'll continue to fruit as the temperatures increase to improve your chances of finding morels early in the season you may want to check south-facing areas and slopes first as those tend to warm up before the other areas do and of course morels like rain so make it a point to explore prime morel habitats after some good spring rains lastly if you want to eat morels definitely cook them first I know I mentioned the importance of this earlier but it is especially important when talking about morel mushrooms because morels contain toxins that are largely destroyed through the cooking process next let's move on to another common edible spring mushroom known as dried saddle also known as pheasant back in the latin name of this beautiful species is cereal porous qualm OSIS now dry at saddle isn't exclusively a spring mushroom it can also be found during the summer months it can also be found during the fall months the spring seems to be its most prolific season at least here in eastern North America so dry it saddle is also known as the consolation prize for morel mushrooms because if you don't find morel mushrooms well then you'll probably find some dried saddle because it tends to grow in similar habitats and I tend to find dry at saddle decomposing elm trees however dried saddle or pheasant back isn't typically valued as a choice edible mushroom though it is edible and it's incredibly easy to positively identify so when we take a look at its genus name we are already given some key information regarding its fertile surface cereal porous means honeycombed pores that's exactly what we see when we look at the underside of Dryad saddle keep this in mind because you do not see gills or teeth on the underside Dryad saddle is a true polypore mushroom with lots of tiny pores from where it's white spores are dispersed now dry its saddle is a rather large mushroom that can grow up to 12 inches across or more and its cap contains very distinctive dark brown scales and this is where species name comes from squamosa smiie pnes scaly now dry it saddle grows directly on wood so you don't want to look around the forest floor for this mushroom you want to look directly on trees and I seem to find dried saddle most frequently on dead elm trees another key feature of dried saddle is its smell put your nose up to it and it should smell a cucumber or watermelon rind not too many mushrooms smell like this but dried saddle does regarding edibility and my experience is the younger specimens are the best for eating and usually the youngest mushrooms will be the smallest ones that you'll find as the mushrooms mature they become very tough and leathery though you can oftentimes still salvage their outer margins and consume these thin margins after cooking also you could dehydrate even mature specimens then powder them and use the dried mushrooms as seasoning for soups and stews and other dishes next let's move on to our first guild fungus of the day this one is none other than the wine cat mushroom stropharia rugosa agnolotti this is another spring favorite amongst mushroom enthusiasts now unlike many of the other species on this list the wine cap mushroom doesn't necessarily demand a good hunt because you could typically find it in suburban and urban landscapes typically in mulch beds garden beds and in wood chips so don't think you have to go too deep into the wilderness to find the wine cap mushroom many times it's just growing in your neighborhood maybe even in your backyard now the wine cap mushroom is easy to cultivate and it's one of the most popular mushrooms that is cultivated commercially worldwide so the wine cap which is also known as the garden giant and king stropharia is a medium to large-sized mushroom that can grow up to dinner plate proportions the cap of this mushroom is wine red or burgundy colored especially in younger mushrooms there the cap fades to a straw or tannish color with age underneath the cap you will see a fertile surface comprised of gills but before you even see the gills you may see a partial veil that covers the gills in immature mushrooms when the cap expands the partial veil breaks to leave a rugged ring around the stem so look for all those features a partial veil that covers the immature gills and a prominent grooved ring around the stem of more mature specimens the gills of the wine cap are whitish at first then they become grayish and eventually purplish black this latter color reflects the color of the spores which when mature are dark purple brown blackish now the wine cat mushroom is edible though it tends to act as an insect motel and it gets really buggy with age so before cooking and consuming make sure to check for insects and also keep in mind the quality of the habitat from where you'll be harvesting wine caps if the mulched beds are chemically treated or sprayed with toxic chemicals consider foraging somewhere safer and saner next let's talk about oysters mushrooms and like wine cap mushrooms oyster mushrooms are edible they're delicious and they're easy to cultivate now there are a lot of oyster mushrooms in that pleurotus genus too many to cover in this one video there are estimates of between 40 to 200 species within that pleurotus genus so the one species that we're going to cover in this video is an oyster mushroom that really likes to cooler temperatures of the spring months that you can also find this oyster mushroom during the autumn months and during the winter season so long as temperatures are mild so pleurotus austria Attis is the common oyster mushroom and as I just mentioned one of its key features is that it prefers to grow during the cooler months of the year so autumn through winter and even through early spring if you're finding an oyster mushroom during the summer months in eastern North America this is a good chance you're looking at a different species entirely so the common oyster mushroom is a decomposer of wood meaning you'll always find it growing directly on wood usually and shelf like clusters if you see the species growing terrestrially it's still fruiting from wood though the wood is buried so the common oyster is a medium to large sized mushroom with caps that are whitish tannish to light brown in color underneath the cap you'll see a fertile surface comprised of whitish gills that our de current meaning these gills run the complete length of the cap and even down the stock if the stock is present the spore print of this mushroom is pale lilac - whitish and as I mentioned earlier this is a delicious wild edible mushroom with the added benefit that you can often find it growing in abundance so no surprise it's one of my favourite wild edible mushrooms to forage especially during the spring months and I'm sure you'll enjoy foraging it - okay the next mushroom the list might come as a surprise because many people might not consider to be a spring mushroom though I assure you this mushroom does start to appear in May at least here in Pennsylvania and it continues to fruit during the summer months into mid to late autumn so which edible mushroom am I talking about how about the 80 mile per hour fungus chicken of the woods also known as the chicken mushroom which is a member of the late - porous genus so chicken of the woods is one of the easiest mushrooms to positively identify and it's one of the easiest mushrooms to see in the woods because nothing is as large and is vibrantly colored as chicken of the woods now it's important to keep in mind that not everybody tolerates a meal made from chicken of the woods even if it's cooked well so it's your first time cooking and consuming chicken of the woods definitely start small and cook very well the first laetiporus species will discuss is laetiporus sulphureus which is also known as sulfur shelf this is a medium to large-sized polypore mushroom that grows in overlapping clusters or as a rosette on deciduous wood its cap colors bright orange - yellowish orange sometimes with a bright yellow margin though with age the capital fade and turn whitish and will become very crumbly however if you find chicken of the woods at this stage check that spot again in a few months or next year because this mushroom tends to fruit multiple times from the same substrate as I already mentioned laetiporus sulphureus is a polypore mushroom so when you look at its underside you will see a fertile surface comprised of lots of closely spaced tiny pores you do not see gills you do not see teeth or any other kind of fertile surface you see pores in lots of them in this particular species laetiporus sulphureus the poor service is bright yellow and fresh though this color will fade with age spore print produced by this mushroom is white the next chicken of the woods species I'll briefly discussed is one that also appears during the spring months and it will continue to fruit summer through autumn this one is late to poor Cincinnatus and it's another white sport woody decomposer that shares a lot of similarities with laetiporus sulphureus however there are some big differences that will help you positively differentiate between the two species late the poor Cincinnatus is paler in color almost a pale orange to pinkish orange color so it isn't as bright orange or yellow as laetiporus sulphureus also on the underside late the poor Cincinnatus has pores that are peach ish white in color remember laetiporus sulphureus has pores that are bright yellow another key feature of late the poor Cincinnatus is that it typically fruits in a rosette pattern either at the base of a tree or even a few feet away from a tree it doesn't typically develop overlapping shelf like clusters up and down a tree remember laetiporus sulphureus typically fruits and shelf like clusters directly on wood regardless late the poor Cincinnatus is edible and i usually prefer it at least culinarily speaking too late to poor sulphureus let's move on to and finish the list with ink cap mushrooms and these fungi are incredibly interesting and that their caps and gills auto digest and turn into a black inky goo with age and the mycological term used to describe this phenomenon is deliquescent now there are a lot of ink cap mushrooms that are taxonomically spread out over a few families in many genera because many of the species in these general and families don't turn into a black inky goo with age they don't tell a quest the term ink cap may be less preferred than the word copra noid to describe all these fungi however the species that i'm about to discuss it is edible it does turn into black inky goo with age a does della quest and so it is appropriate to refer to it as an ink cap mushroom so this species is commonly known as the mica cap mushroom and the most frequently used latin name to describe the species is copra nellis my caseous i just want to throw it out there for those who are interested in these kinds of things that there are at least four species that all look identical to the naked eye and to determine which species you actually have you may need to perform some micro copic analysis fortunately though all four species are edible so if you find a mica cat mushroom regardless of its true identity according to my colleges and purists you can consider it to be a mushroom that is edible so the mica cap is a small edible mushroom that grows in large clusters on and around stumps and logs oftentimes from buried wood in urban and suburban landscapes typically the wood is derived from a broadleaf tree species so cherry oak maple or ash and mica cap mushrooms can actually be found during all four seasons not just during the spring months however there seems to be a strong resurgence of the species during the spring months so that's why I'm including it in this list now the mica cap mushroom is very unique because its cap typically contains many fine granules when it is young and fresh however these mica like granules may wash off in the rain or disappear with age entirely the fertile surface of this species contains gills that no surprise partially della quest with age in other words these gills will liquefy decompose and turn into an inky goo and of course you want to harvest and cook these mushrooms before they della quest the spore print produced by the mica cap is black now despite what you might read the mica cap mushroom does not contain the chemical compound co-prime that is responsible for making people sick if they would happen to ingest the mushroom with alcohol so if you ever hear that some ink cap mushrooms can make you sick if you ingest them in conjunction with alcohol that's true but it's not true with the mica cap some other ink cap mushrooms contain co-prime and those species could make you quite ill if you would consume them with alcohol however this one the mica cap does not contain co-prime so there you have it nine edible fungi that grow during the spring season now some of the species on the list are very particular in their growing requirements so you're going to have to put in the work to learn the tree associations and soil and temperature preferences other species on the list are less picky about the requirements make it be found with much more ease meaning even if you just walk through the woods or walk around the block a few times a week during the spring season chances are that you'll find at least a few of the species on the list without putting in too much extra effort however I all encourage you to put an extra effort because as it's true with many good things in life extra effort equates through extra special rewards so I hope you learn something through our hanging out this afternoon and remember if you're interested in learning more about the upcoming online mushroom foraging course we want to head on over to learn your landcom slash course and join the waitlist thanks again I truly appreciate it happy spring mushroom fortune the mushrooms are telling me that spring is finally here sunny it's warm it's my favorite time of the year we're gonna find more else hey we do a poem in a sack can't get you off track it happens that's okay cuz he bears pheasant back [Music]

Channel: Learn Your Land

Views: 647,367

Keywords: Learn Your Land, Adam Haritan, Mushroom, Mushrooms, Fungus, Fungi, Morels, Morchella, Hunting, Mushroom Hunting, Medicinal Mushrooms, Paul Stamets, Mycology, Botany, Plants, Foraging, Wild Edibles, Herbalism, Gardening, Bushcraft, Primitive Skills, Outdoors, Nature, Pennsylvania, Rewild, Off Grid, Homesteading

Id: OE54NpooUls

Length: 22min 52sec (1372 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 04 2019