wild edible plants thread
- Thread starter gogofast
- Start date
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Here's a feral Citron Melon. I stole one as a kid thinking I had a watermelon but got a big shock when I cut it open. You wouldn't want to eat raw citron as it's all rine but they make fantastic jelly.
gogofast
Addicted Member
In your yard?!
Hope they come back every single year for a long time for you. My brother and I were looking for a forest land with the right condition for any types of edible mushroom, and still looking.
thermoluddys
Active Member
Yep they grow there every spring, under a silver maple tree.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Usually, at least in our region, Morels abundantly pop up where there was a forest fire the year before, and come back several more years in the same spot. Timing is critical with the Morels as well. I've seen some grow as big as a grown man's hand, and then quickly deteriorate.
toxcrusadr
Omelette au Fromage
Had some cooler weather and rain the past couple weeks, unusual for August, and there was quite a flush of late summer mushrooms on our wooded property. The Boletes in particular were abundant. They look like a hamburger bun on top and have sponge (not gills) on the bottom. I have eaten some that grown under my neighbor's pine tree before. This time I am shocked by the variety - at least 6 different types! I learned I have to carefully identify Boletes as they are not all edible. Our state Conservation dept. web page lists a bunch of them now to make ID easier. When in doubt I do spore prints.
I found a gorgeous one I have never seen before, burgundy/blood red both top and bottom. They are NOT edible - depending on who you ask! There is one that is red on top but yellow underneath (Bicolor Bolete, above) that is edible. I found one that is violet on top and creamy underneath that is also not edible. Most of the others, in yellow to brownish colors, are edible. So many mushrooms. After confirming the ID, I dried a few for soup later.
The king of all is the King Bolete. Never spied one of these. Supposed to have the best flavor.
I found a gorgeous one I have never seen before, burgundy/blood red both top and bottom. They are NOT edible - depending on who you ask! There is one that is red on top but yellow underneath (Bicolor Bolete, above) that is edible. I found one that is violet on top and creamy underneath that is also not edible. Most of the others, in yellow to brownish colors, are edible. So many mushrooms. After confirming the ID, I dried a few for soup later.
The king of all is the King Bolete. Never spied one of these. Supposed to have the best flavor.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Yep, King Boletes can't be beaten when it comes to deep flavors. Dried, ime, bring out the best. When it comes to boletes and look alike jacks, I only stick to easily ID'ed. Even edible ones sometimes give me stomach trouble.
I was surprised to find a dozen lobster mushrooms out in the woods the other day. Seems really early for this area. Have high hopes for this season.
I was surprised to find a dozen lobster mushrooms out in the woods the other day. Seems really early for this area. Have high hopes for this season.
toxcrusadr
Omelette au Fromage
If I'm not mistaken, the famous Italian Porcini mushroom is actually a bolete. Ah yes, Google confirms it, Boletus edulis.
toxcrusadr
Omelette au Fromage
I've never had a Chanterelle, are they delicious? There are supposed to be orange ones here but I haven't seen any.
Seems a lot of the ones that are technically edible around here, do not taste that great. The Blewit is supposed to be meaty and funky, but I thought it had too much 'locker room'. I just tried a Peppery Milky which are supposed to have a strong pepper taste (even hot, some say). There was definitely a black pepper flavor there, but there was a tannic bitterness to them as well. I guess I will just keep trying different edibles and stick to the ones I like. I'm keeping a log so I remember next year.
Seems a lot of the ones that are technically edible around here, do not taste that great. The Blewit is supposed to be meaty and funky, but I thought it had too much 'locker room'. I just tried a Peppery Milky which are supposed to have a strong pepper taste (even hot, some say). There was definitely a black pepper flavor there, but there was a tannic bitterness to them as well. I guess I will just keep trying different edibles and stick to the ones I like. I'm keeping a log so I remember next year.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Absolutely right. What tastes great on someone's palate can taste terrible on someone else's. Best to stay with what your taste buds like. I've narrowed down what I like and hunt for to only a handful: Matsutake, Chanterelle, Lion's mane, Morels, boletes, and oyster mushrooms.
Chanterelles are one of those that are pleasant tasting for most people. Very much fruity and slightly peppery tasting than anything else. I roasted most of it with butter and olive oil and threw some pasta in it - one of my favorite mushroom dish.
Last edited:
toxcrusadr
Omelette au Fromage
One that I did really like, first time I've tried em, was the puffball. Little white balls about cherry to plum size. They have that ethereal aromatic flavor like the Morel. You do have to get them young, because the inside turns into a bag of dry spore dust. When they're all white inside they are great. You also have to carefully slice every one from top to bottom and make sure there is no hint of a stem and cap structure in there, because there are a couple of Amanita species that look like a puffball until they pop open and the cap and stem emerges. It's a simple and reliable visual test but you don't want to neglect it because the two species I mentioned are the Destroying Angel and the Death Cap. 
Eat one of those and (according to one article I read the other day) "you will most likely be dead in 24 hours." Yessir, I'm slicing, slicing every one, yessir.
Eat one of those and (according to one article I read the other day) "you will most likely be dead in 24 hours." Yessir, I'm slicing, slicing every one, yessir.
scoloheros
Super Member
I grab Boletes and Giant Puffballs when they pop up, have dew berries along a fence. There's a lot of really good fruit out there you don't hear much about because it doesn't ship well for commercial biz, no reason for 'them' to mention it. The few good mushrooms I've found in the yard are the King Bolete, the Chestnut Bolete and 'old man of the forest', that last one is not so good but OK. Instead of killing wild onions like we're taught to do, I dig them up and cook with them. I found some wild leaks on the side of the road, dug some up and put them in my yard. I'd like to have a bigger place and cultivate native food plants in a natural setting. I eat the new tips of Greenbriar, pretty good, taste's like asparagus. I tried boiling a root one time, didn't like that at all.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Some I picked a few weeks earlier. There are some variations of these mushrooms (such as Tricholoma caligatum) that can possibly cause trouble but not fatal. Smell test is the most reliable way to distinguish in my experience, but when they're frozen, it's quite difficult.
Here is a very good App.
gogofast
Addicted Member
Yeah, that's a good one and there are few other apps also, but if you're picking mushrooms to eat, I strongly suggest people stick with what they know already. For new species, I think learning it from an expert in person is the best way. Using the app in the field is definitely fun. I often see many unknown-to-me mushrooms and use the app to identify 'em.