People Gathering Mushrooms in the Woods

This is one of the times of the year that people gather mushrooms in the wooded areas of California, especially in the Coastal Range, Sierras, and Cascades from California north all the way to Washington and possibly even Canada.

Where I live the coastal forests of Northern California are a combination of Oaks, Ferns, Coastal Pine trees and Redwoods. As I was walking with my son and my dogs through the forest I noticed all sorts of sort of unusual people that one would not regularly see there. They were not only on the trail but walking off the trail through the woods everywhere. At first I thought they might be Geocachers searching with GPS devices sort of on a scavenger hunt. But then I realized they actually were gathering mushrooms as I noticed they all were carrying plastic bags to put their mushrooms in. I sort of worried that some of them didn't really know what they were doing as many people pick the wrong mushrooms and either get sick or die every year. Because many mushrooms look very similar even though many are also fatal. One of the worst is Amanita Muscaria which is a very bright red mushroom with white spots that often banana slugs eat(I wonder what their experience is) but often when humans eat even a little, they die or are permanently deranged. So, one must be very careful gathering edible mushrooms because one mistake often is fatal. I learned to gather Morels which have to be my favorite food variety of mushrooms I have ever eaten in the forests around Mt. Shasta. A friend of mine used to gather some mushrooms that were purple that were amazing cooked in butter too.

But as a cautionary tale when I was about 21 I was with my friend who was then a graduate student at UCLA and thought he knew everything. He saw edible mushrooms growing in a friend's front yard. So, because I sort of believed at that time that my friend knew almost anything, I helped him gather these mushrooms for our salad. However, after we ate them I found myself really worried for about 24 hours because I realize my friend might have been full of it as to whether these were good food mushrooms and not potentially fatal or might make one blind or something. So, ever since then I have never gone into the woods to pick mushrooms unless I knew I was with a real expert who actually knew for sure what he or she was doing regarding gathering mushrooms in the forest for food.

However, if you like mushrooms there is nothing like cooking mushrooms in butter and then either eating them by themselves or putting them on some other food you like after they are cooked in butter.

But please be careful if you are wandering alone in a forest and spy an interesting looking mushroom. If you put it in your mouth without being ABSOLUTELY sure what it is it may be the last thing you ever do.


Morchella esculenta
http://www.wild-harvest.com/pages/morel.htm

begin quote:

Morels are among the most highly prized of all the Wild Harvest Mushrooms. The reason is plain. Their taste is superb!

Their great value may also be found in their elusiveness. While they often grow in profusion they may be very difficult to see - especially for the inexperienced.

Morels grow in temperate latitudes around the world, in both conifer and hardwood forests. In North America they usually emerge first along the West coast in Early Spring and later in much of the forested East, from the Appalacians up through the Great Lakes region, with scattered harvests into Summer and Fall months.

Majority of harvest offered for commercial sale typically comes from Washington and Oregon with limited availability from Great Lakes and eastern states locations. end quote: 

I guess morels come out in the Spring starting in California Forests. The people searching for mushrooms are probably looking for other varieties of mushrooms that are ready now.