TEST

At the end of day I decided to go and check one of spruce groves that I rarely visit. It is couple of acres of quite young spruce, obviously planted with rows still visible on the ground. Entering the woods I did not see any mushrooms. It is not easy to move through young spruce. A lot of bending and pushing of the branches is involved. After advancing some 50 meters with no results I decided to leave. At the last moment I noticed lonely Safron Milkcap and ventured a little further. When I squatted down and looked along the ground I discovered a huge patch covered with mushrooms. A little further there was another one, and another one.  This is what guides call "growing gregariously". It seemed that I missed " Mushrooming Window " a little bit. Most of the mushrooms were mature specimens of considerable size and already funnel shaped. When I checked even the mature specimens were totally bug free and in pristine shape. I estimate that within one hour it was possibl...

The high temperatures and humidity are back with vengeance. The only time to go on trails is early morning. Later during the day it feels like walking in sauna. Suillus granulatus I decided to try mixed woods and sure enough, I found great flush of Suillus granulatus (Granular-Dotted Bolete). They were scattered around, single or in groups. The genus Suillus   has many members, but in my area of South-Western Ontario this one is the most common. At least where I am looking. They are good dried. The best are buttons that still have firm and compact flash. Mature specimens are quite spongy and can absorb a lot of moisture. They are also full of bugs, especially at this time of the year   Lactifluus hygrophoroides In the nearby area with oaks and birches I found a small flash of Lactifluus hygrophoides (see my post on Lactarius Genus ) . This is great edible and I am surprised that there is no common name for this mushroom. It certainly falls into the group "Orange Milky". Usu...

Saturday, 5 December 2015 At the end of this year mushrooming season I would like to comment on the genus Lactarius. The few species are fairly common in Southern Ontario. They show in Summer and Fall, but the most useful are flashes found in late September and October. They are almost 100% free of bug infestation.The mushrooms in this genus are relatively easy to recognize, and generally they are very similar to Genus Russula. The main attributes are: terrestrial (grow on the ground - never on wood) ring is not present the stem is of uniform diameter with no bulb at  the bottom, frequently hollow in mature specimen the cap colors are usually vivid and many are zonated (concentric zones) when damaged, gills and body exude latex ("milk") - some copiously the gills are attached to the stem or running down the cap margin is usually in-rolled when young, but cap gets funnel shaped in maturity the flash of the mushroom is relatively brittle During summer months I ...