Fall Fungi!
After a long dry season, the rains finally began to fall last week. Red Dawg and I decided to try our luck looking for mushrooms. We chose a section of the Pacific Crest Trail up above Hemlock.
The rains brought out numerous critters. There were dozens of large frogs leaping through the mossy forest floor.
I found a bizarrely camouflaged cricket - can you spot it in this photo?
We found a bagful of nice chantarelles,
both the lovely yellow Cantharellus cibarius, with its fragrant faint
apricot smell, and the less common white Cantharellus subalbidus Red Dawg
is holding up for inspection.
Of course, it goes without saying, no one should collect mushrooms for the pot if they do not have a good field guide and a thorough understanding of how to use it. This Gomphus floccosus Scott found is a good example of why care in identification is so important. Almost identical to the Cantharellus and found at the same time and place as the delectable chantarelles, Gomphus species are described as questionable by some field guides and listed as poisonous in others. If in doubt, throw it out!
All photos and articles Copyright© Vernon Wade 2005 unless otherwise noted