ForageCast: Week of August 15, 2011

Not many mushrooms up here, but you can't beat the view! Summit of Champlain Mountain in Acadia National Park.

As much as I have been enjoying this summer’s catch of shrimp russulas and lobster mushrooms, there’s nothing like a freshly picked Maine lobster. Ithaca’s gorges sure are gorgeous, but when we got time off work, Jenna and I decided to leave our landlocked town and head for the salty coast. So, we apologize for not updating the ForageCast the past couple weeks, but we are back just in time.

After a prolonged dry spell, rains are returning to the Northeast, bringing mushrooms with them. Today on my walk to work I spotted a hefty clump of jack o’lanterns fruiting at the base of an oak tree. I didn’t quite rejoice about finding a bushel of mushrooms capable of sending me into profound gastric distress, but the jack o’lanterns were a good sign that another round of chanterelles is on its way, too. August is peak mushroom season, so now that the rains are back all sorts of colorful characters may start decorating the forest floor. Keep an eye out for the hedgehog, or sweet tooth mushroom, which resembles a golden chanterelle until you turn it over and find that the bottom is covered in whitish teeth. The hedgehog tastes similar to a chanterelle, and is even safer to ID because of its distinctive toothed underside. Let me know if you see any hedgehogs in the woods!

ForageCast for the next two weeks