Blue Ridge Country May/June 2022 - 61

LEFT: Roanoke, Virginia's Jeff Huffman finds a yellow morel in a poplar
glade. Note the three poplars growing together behind the mushroom.
BELOW: Use a knife to remove an edible mushroom from its base. Doing
so often enables the fungi to reproduce from the same spot.
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE
Fungi fancier Jeff Huffman offers this advice for gathering mushrooms.
Don't consume a mushroom new to you until an expert identifies it.
Even then, only consume small quantities as even choice edibles can cause
intestinal problems in some people.
Also, save part of " new mushrooms " in case problems happen later.
Never consume raw wild mushrooms because of potential stomach distress.
Stir frying is a good option.
Beware members of the Amanita family, which can cause hallucinations and
even death. The aptly named destroying angel is one of the most dangerous
mushrooms in our region. Amanita species often feature white gills, rings or
veils around their stems, red spots on their caps, and cup-like structures at
their bases.
I once found what I thought might be smooth chanterelles, but they
didn't look quite right. I texted a photo to Huffman who instructed me
to immediately cut open the stem and see if it was orange inside. I did so
and saw the orange flesh which Jeff said proved the mushroom was the
poisonous jack o'lantern. -BI
ry issues. Turkey tail may aid respiratory
health and be an antioxidant. The oyster
mushroom, which rates as a choice edible,
may promote cardiovascular health.
The fungi fancier says he would welcome
more research on the vitamins and minerals
mushrooms provide as well as their
medicinal potential.
but their texture or flavor makes them
inedible, " Huffman says. " But there are a
lot of great eating mushrooms besides the
black and yellow morels.
Huffman says that Appalachian cultures
(both Native Americans and European
settlers) used mushrooms for food
and their medicinal properties. For example,
lion's mane is reputed to lessen
stomach problems and help with memoNearly
two months later, Huffman's
and my next excursion is to a Roanoke
City park. On that outing, his two major
objectives are to find chicken of the woods
and smooth chanterelles.
" Morels are my favorite wild mushrooms
to eat, followed by chicken of the
woods, and then any of the chanterelles, "
he says. " I keep notes of when, where, and
in what type of habitat I find mushrooms
one year and then search for them in
those places-and in similar places-the
next year and following years. "
We walk for several hundred yards,
then Huffman stops, consults his notes,
leaves the path, and walks about 15 yards
to a mature scarlet oak. Among the forest
duff grows a chicken of the woods, probably
a foot or so wide and long and a halffoot
tall-the creamy white and yellowish/orange
hues giving the fungi a distinct
appearance. Huffman deftly severs the
mushroom at its base, so that the fungi
will have something to regenerate from in
a month or two or a year later.
" Sometimes chickens grow on the side
of dead or dying trees, " he says. " And
sometimes, like this one probably is doing,
they gain nourishment from that
tree's roots. "
Again we walk several hundred yards
The oyster mushroom, which rates
as a choice edible, may promote
cardiovascular health.
and stop where we see smooth chanterelles
just barely poking up through the
substrate.
" It's been too dry for them to get any
bigger, might as well harvest them, "
Huffman explains. " It's really too dry to
look for anything else. Want to call me
in a month or so and I'll show you how
to find boletes? "
It's an offer I plan to accept.
MAY/JUNE 2022 61
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2022

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