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On weekend I visited forest near Cambridge (Ontario). The area is some 45 km North-West of my home. I was passing through really old hardwoods and area with mature spruce. Hardwoods The most spectacular was strong showing of clusters of Clitocybula oculus .  In my main field guide ( Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada ) the name is differently spelled, so there is some difficulty finding info on this mushroom. The main prize was my first find of the Hericium americanum. Excellent edible tasting very much like seafood (scallops). This mushroom loves old decayed logs. Some years I find them in great numbers. The one on the picture is very young and fresh, with pink overtones in the tips. It still did not develop relatively long "teeth", typical for this species. As an interesting find I will mention Geopora sepulta. Very handsome cup mushroom. I do not encounter it frequently. Coniferous Woods The first mushroom I noticed was chicken fat mushroom ( Suillus americanus ). ...

The end of Summer is here, at least according to calendar. The weather forecasts for South-Western Ontario still includes humidex and daily highs are in low 30°C range. Overnight low gets to 15°C, quite a bit above seasonal.  In general, the dry weather trend is continuing. The main bolete season is over and woods are starting to turn into brown and red shades. At this time I would expect Blewitts, Puffballs and Honey mushrooms to be present, but none of that is happening in my area. After several checks in week intervals I did harvest some Hericium americanum , excellent edible and medicinal mushrooms. This mushroom is supposedly creating chemical compounds that actually stimulate nerve growth and regeneration. It is certainly not hard to spot, although quite frequently grows at the lower portion of the logs and can be seen only from certain angle. The older specimens I usually dry and use in soup. The young ones I prefer to eat sauteed or in some kind of vegetable meal. They taste ...