Keep the Guns. Take the whiskey. Pt.1

Posted by Amy Baranski

While installing some beehive stands
I found some mushrooms!

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I know, I know, it's now poker month but I'm not done espousing the virtues of mushroom hunting. Actually, there's a few things I'd love to share but I have to do this in parts becuase I'm on my way out to install 18 beehive packages around Seattle with my husband (who started Urban Bee Co.) Yesterday we set up ten beehive stands. So today is going to be enormous and enormously fun. Although I love this blog, and all the opportunities it's generating, I am very thankful to be physically untethered from it this month.

In fact, trying out mushroom foraging has drawn me away from the computer and on beautiful walks in the local parks, where I saw georgous signs of spring. See, you can search for mushrooms anywhere. We found mushrooms, and fungi of sorts, all over the city. Even at the Arboretum just when it seemed like we wouldn't find anything. Fifteen minutes after we turned the hunt into a game, where first prize was winner's choice under $5, Tallulah found a grouping of adorably gilled mushrooms. Man, was she pleased with herself.

First Place Winner,
2011 Arboretum mushroom hunt.
See more pictures of our hunt here.

Mushroom foraging is a great way to encourage yourself to be outside. It's hunting except without the guns. And April is the perfect month to start. Even though there aren't too many edible varieties fruiting this month on our side of the country, there are some, and there's much to learn about identificaiton or mushroom habitat. I wish I kept a lot of how many hours I spent outside this month versus last month. It's been fantastic, and it hasn't been all mushroom hunting. Even though Spring seems late this year, I've continued gardening, and we are now in honeybee "go time".

Speaking of which I have to run, but I have much more to share about this month including my recent foray on Tiger Mountain with local forager/foodie, Langdon Cook. I'll try to hop back on the computer during our lunch break if possible. So....to be continued.

More Mushrooms Musings

posted by Melissa


This past Thursday night's PSMS mushroom ID class focused on what the teacher called "Tonight's Tough Topic: Toxic Toadstools."  That title may clue you into the atmosphere of the class, yes, there was quite a bit of humor involved.  And while I was not in the mood for laughter when I got to class, it only took a few quips to bring a smile to my face.  I think my favorite one of the night was this quote about what happens if you eat a poisonous mushroom.

"The bad news is, you need a new liver.  The good new is, you jump the line."

I know, it doesn't seem as funny to me right now either, but with his delivery and the class response, it really worked in that mushroom people crowd.

Amanita muscaria (I did not find this one.)

The teacher was Daniel Winkler.  He has a business, Mushroaming, taking tour groups to Tibet, looking for mushrooms.  I can't wait for Good Luck with That to be able to take trips to Tibet during mushroom month!  Maybe someday.

*off daydreaming*

*ok, I'm back*

He started off our class, like any mushroom class should, with a beautiful picture of the Amanita muscaria.  Everyone is familiar with the look of this red and white, Alice in Wonderland, looking mushroom.

Maybe it's because of its flashy colors, maybe it's the book deal it got with Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgeson) in 1865, but something sure is alluring about this mushroom.  Upon further research into the subject, I found a picture here from the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, illustration by John Tenniel.  As you can see, this mushroom is not the fancy red capped with white spots like we often associate with the story.  Any readers have an idea what magical mushroom Tenniel was intending to illustrate for Alice to nibble?

Back to the pertinent poison posting.

The Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric as it is sometimes known, is considered poisonous and psychedelic due to the ibotinic acid and muscinol content.  Our teacher said that you could parboil (is that the same as boiling?) it twice for ten minutes, each time dumping out the water, and then eat it safely.  I can't say I will try that, or bring it to my next potluck.

Another mushroom in the same genus is also well known, but mostly only in the mushroom community.  Or at least that is my take, given the fact that I didn't know much about it before this class.  It is Amanita phalloides, also known as Deathcap.  Now there's a good band name that I have no idea why someone hasn't used yet.

Amanita phalloides, from Wikipedia

The scary thing about this mushroom (besides the fact that it will kill you) is that the symptoms can take up to 10 hours to show up.  The poisonous constituent are the amatoxins, which account for 50% of all mushroom poisoning, and 95% of all mushroom fatalities.

It can be mistaken for other mushrooms, but one way to be sure is to wait a day after picking it before eating.  While most mushrooms that it can be mistaken for have gills that turn colors (most likely brown), this mushroom always keeps white gills.  It will also always have at the very least remnant of its universal veil, the ring you see near the top of the stem in the picture to the right.

In Europe, some cases have been given injections of silymarin, from the plant milk thistle, with good results.  Although, as our teacher pointed out, there aren't many volunteers for a study of this kind to be peer-reviewed and published.

Know Your Mushrooms

Posted by Amy Baranski

The documentary, Know Your Mushrooms, by Ron Mann would better be called Gary Lincoff and Larry Evans Excellent Adventures. The story follows them to the Telluride Mushroom Fest (and beyond), and largely focuses on the cultural perceptions of mushrooms, versus really getting to (cough) KNOW YOUR MUSHROOMS. I would have much preferred a more indepth account of Evans and Lincoff's myco-knowledge.

If you're a die-hard mycophile, or just kinda curious, you can check out the flick on Hulu. I give it two thumbs sideways.

when you least suspect it

 posted by Melissa

I was out at Levi's soccer game today in Ballard.  Seattle was covered with blue skies and big billowy white clouds.  Although beautiful, the clouds made it feel a good 15 degrees colder than it was when they blew on past, and the sun warmed you right through the fleece.  I walked directionless through Ballard after the game, looking for a place to get change for a bus, and then hopefully a bus stop.  My two youngest kids in tow, both whining about their own personal drama of the hour.  Whining loudly, non-stop.

Then suddenly the whining stopped. (???)

The first one I found, in the rain garden.

A park was spotted.  Just a little corner park, aptly named Ballard Corners Park.  It was quite lovely, with a rain garden, a cement couch and chair like you were in an outdoor living room and a fun playground.  Although it was enticing, when the kids first asked, I reflexively said, "No!!"  I could see more complaining in the near future, two kids more tired, more hungry...and one mom, with much less patience.

But they pleaded.  Don't they always?  And they both appeared to be genuinely connecting (rare) on this effort, so I caved.

The found mushrooms, just barely out of the ground.

They must be over there

I think this is a Naematoloma disprsum.

Posted by Melissa

Seward Park is on a piece of land that sticks out into Lake Washington in the south part of Seattle.  It is filled with lush ferns and moss and douglas firs that stretch upwards as far as the eye can see.  But the truth is I hardly looked up.  When mushroom hunting your focus is on the ground. Eyes slowly wandering through leaves and fallen branches and then quickly darting here and there hoping, with fingers crossed, that you will stop on the right spot.

Like a roulette table, round and round the eyes are spinning, and I clench my heart muscles and wish that I'll land on the money spot and find a mushroom.  As Amy and I were cracking jokes, walking down the path, (and off path, don't tell on us please) I could feel the hopeful feeling swelling and releasing the tight wishing sensation from my chest outward.  It totally reminded me of  gambling.

I could hear the similar voices yammering in my head.

Volunteer Park Mushroom Walk

Here's a slideshow of what we found on our Volunteer Park mushroom forage on April 8, 2011.



Happy mushroom hunting!

Mushroom ID 101: No One's Dead Yet

Posted by Amy Baranski

**UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect the true cost of the Beginner Mushroom ID class $40 (that's a steal). Also, the next beginner series will be held September 2011.**

Our people!

“We've never had a death in our club.”

The teacher then knocked on wood.

So began our introduction to the Beginner's Mushroom Identification class, reasonably priced at $45.00 $40.00. To enroll, you have to join the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS), which is worth your time if you're serious about eating wild mushrooms.

The class runs 4 weeks: two hours every Thursday night at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the UW. Our first class served as a primer for learning about the parts of a mushroom, how to create a spore print, expert ID resources and proper specimen samples, and rules of edibility.

What's a Mushroom?

PSMS defines fungi as neither plants nor animals.

PSMS: Morels are fruiting!

Posted by Amy Baranski

The chatter on the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS) Yahoo Member Group has picked up since their first Spring field trip. Net: Morels are fruiting. Morels you can eat.

 Morchella elata (black morel)--identified by the finder and photographer: Isabelle Phan.
Interested in mushroom foraging? Join PSMS.

Urban Foraging in Seattle's Parks

Posted by Amy Baranski

*UPDATE:  Patrice Benson of the Puget Sound Mycological Society shared in the comments: "City and State parks have differing regulations for picking mushrooms and other plants and fruits. Check with the park before foraging.Since parks are used by many of the city's and State's residents, please be mindful that everyone may want to see the mushrooms. Field trips with PSMS are a great way to learn and discover and forage for Wild Mushrooms."*

Seattle contains a network of public parks and urban greenbelts that satisfy the curiosities of an urban woods person. The presence of these green swaths helps organize our public imagination of what the city's hills once were--deeply and intensely green--before we cut their wooded slopes, paved them with our streets, and planted our imported shrubs around our timbered homes.

Mahonia aquifolium - Oregon Grape.
State flower of Oregon and native species throughout the NW.
Can be foraged for preserves.

Inspired by yesterday's speed-mushroom foray at Interlaken Park I've decided that throughout the month I'll highlight some of Seattle's green spaces that offer ample opportunity for natural observation, and perhaps urban foraging.

Interlaken Park

Comprised of 51.7 acres of trees and brambly understory, Interlaken park is a city-slicker wood nymph's wonderland that bridges North Capitol Hill and the Montlake Cut.

In the 1890’s, Interlaken Boulevard was the principal bike and buggy path linking Capitol Hill with the boulevards on Lake Washington. The conversion around that time of the high bicycle wheel to the low bicycle wheel made bicycles much easier to ride and very popular. Assistant City Engineer George F. Cotterill, conscious of the hazards of biking on city streets lined with planks, toured the city to look for good bikeways. His bike trails formed the basis of the city’s boulevard system, and in 1903, the Olmsted Brothers approved Interlaken as a boulevard route. It soon became popular with walkers and auto drivers, who appreciated the views of mountains and lakes. In 1913, five acres of the Interlaken area were set aside as Boren Park to honor Louisa Boren Denny, the last surviving member of the party of pioneers that landed at Alki in 1851. - Seattle Parks and Recreation. 

Quick, Mushrooms to the Rescue

posted by Melissa

It all happened so quickly.  I went to a meeting to discuss the possibility of being able to go to school while still collecting my unemployment, and I left that meeting registered for classes.  That was less than two weeks ago, and yesterday I started school. 

My first class of the day is Intermediate Algebra, every day at 8am.  Homework every night, a quiz every Friday, and a graphing calculator...all included.  I have never even held a graphing calculator, did they have those the last time I took an algebra class in the early 90's?  Then I run home to take my kids, that were hopefully well behaved at home, to their school.  And  back to my school for Introductory Chemistry.  This class is also meets every day and has a lab once a week.  Home work also every day, quiz every Friday and worst of all, I have to find a small group to get together with every week for a worksheet project.  I also have a short, Healthy Families class that meets a few times this quarter.

I am very excited.  I love school.  I love a traditional school, the comfort of the textbook matching the lecture.  The clear rules and grades.  I love science and math, the way everything is logical and makes sense, fitting into equations and graphs.   I didn't know I loved those things so many years ago in my undergrad.  I thought passion and love were things only the arts and literature could accommodate.

April seems to be starting off quickly as well.  Mushroom month is five days in, only 25 more days to go.  I better get going on the fungi finding!  Much like Amy, I have been incorporating mushrooms into my grocery market foraging.  My mother-in-law was  in town this past weekend and she shared that market foraging was the only kind of mushroom foraging she felt comfortable with me doing.  I assured her that Amy and I are going to be taking a legit class, backed with scientific research, to learn how to safely forage in the wild. 

My plan for the month is to:
1.)  Continue to cook with mushrooms, and master the art of photo sharing the cooking process like Amy.  I love seeing her cooking in every stage. 

2.)  Attend the classes I mentioned above through the PSMS, Puget Sound Mycological Society, every Thursday.

3.)  Impart some knowledge I have learned through my herbal medicine education on medicinal mushrooms throughout the month on the blog. 

Paul Stamets, the man in the video that Amy posted earlier this month, is a wealth of knowledge on medicinal mushrooms and mushrooms in general.  After reading his interview in The Sun magazine a few years back, I really got excited about mushrooms and what they can do for the body and for the future of humanity and the Earth.  I urge you to read this two page section of the interview, and perhaps find a copy of the magazine or Paul's book and read on some more.  In fact, if I can fit it into my homework/school/blog/family schedule, I am going to try to read his book as well.  Here is another article on Paul Stamets from the Seattle Times. 

Maybe by the month's end, we'll see if we all think mushrooms can save the world as well.

-Melissa

Found my first fungi!

By Amy Baranski

It's hanging out on my neighbor's lilac bush that shades out my veggie garden. I'll take a sample to the mushroom identification class on Thursday and let you know what it is.

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Far Out: Mushroom Foraging Month!

Posted by Amy Baranski

Welcome to April everyone! Last night in my dream I was talking to Jamie, getting his advice on removing and replacing the old-lady contact paper that covers our hallway walls and ceiling. As we were discussing the recent trendiness of wall paper we saw a giant mushroom growing out of the wall. Everyone was amazed. Then I decided to touch it. It became separated from the wall and slowly deflated. I hope this is not a foreshadowing of the month as I am so excited to explore the world of mushroom foraging.

We've begun our adventures into this mystical magical world by joining the Puget Sound Mycologial Society (PSMS). They use a Yahoo group, so I get a daily member's e-digest that covers topics such as whether this guy should or should not eat the Agaricus augustus that come up in his yard. He lives in near the Asarco Smelter in Tacoma, one of the Superfund Cleanup sites. The safe answer was probably not. Apparently the mushroom genus Agaricus (and apparently others) concentrate heavy metals. Latin I love you.

Next Thursday, Melissa and I will start a four week Beginner's Mushroom Identification Class sponsored by PSMS at the Center for Urban Horticulture (one of my favorite places on the Seattle planet). This should give us a good foundation for identifying mushrooms (including those toxic ones), along with basics on mushroom hunting and common mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). We're supposed to try and bring mushrooms to every class so we'd better be on the lookout this weekend.

The PSMS also organizes field trips for members, and there are a few happening this Spring. I'm excited to meet some new (and undoubtedly interesting) friends/people and to get out in the woods. Also on the menu this month will be a lot of funky. I meant fungi. That was weird. Anyway, I checked out  Mushroom Cookbook by Mimi Broudeur from the Seattle Public Library. Since I'm a Mimi to my favorite littlest person I had to check it out. Tonight I will try to make Chicken Mushroom Fajitas! Off to the store, but before I go I wanted to leave you with this far out TED talk by Paul Stamets. Get that mushroom cloud out of your head and behold the power of Mycelium: