PNW edibles
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My favorite edible mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest
Information provided, i.e. for habitat and seasonality apply to the Pacific Northwest from a Seattle perspective.
[Please do not solely rely on my descriptions and my photos for identification. In case you are not familiar with a mushroom, ask somebody who has survived his or her fungal forays and is familiar with the species you are intending to consume.]
A virtual misidentification can have real consequences....
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Suburban Mushrooms
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Shaggy Parasols
In the Pacific Northwest grow three tall, edible Chlorophyllum species: Ch. rachodes, Ch. brunneum and Ch. olivieri.
In the past these three were all identified as Macrolepiota and clustered under M. rachodes. However, DNA analyses has shown (Vellinga 2002/2003) that these fungi are more closely related Ch. molybdites than to Macrolepiota procera.
Some people have very unpleasant allergic reactions to eating these superb mushroom.
That's why it is not available in trade. Best is to start out with a few bites to see how your organism relates to the ingestion of this organism, and if everything is fine to really enjoy the shaggy parasols the next day.
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Chlorophyllum olivieri (Barla) Vellinga Olivier's Shaggy Parasol
(= Macrolepiota / Lepiota olivieri)
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 Most striking of this big, beautiful and very tasty mushroom is the scaly cap, which it is named for "Shaggy Parasol". The mushroom starts out as a "drumstick", which will open to an umbrella, hence "parasol", the French name coined for its big and more famous cousin Lepiota procera, which has not immigrated to the PNW yet. Drumsticks can be turned magically into umbrellas by inserting the stipe in a water-filled glass of after collection. Umbrellas are easier to fry.
You can find the Shaggy Parasol in spring and fall in nearly all forested parks and many back yards in the suburban PNW. This patch is in my yard under a Douglas fir, another one under a true cedar.
I hold the Shaggy Parasol as the PNW most abundant and tasty backyard mushroom.
 A spring fruiting of the Brown Shaggy Parasol - Chlorophyllum brunneum in St. Edwards Park, Bothel WA. Photo: April 22, 2006
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 Fall fruiting of Brown Shaggy Parasols - Chlorophyllum olivieri in my back yard under a Douglas fir, Kirkland WA. Photo: 9-9-2008
The flesh of Shaggy parasols stains quickly orange-red when bruised (see scratched area on stem on the pulled specimen to the left). The orange-red will fade to brown after awhile. The slender stem [length 10-20cm / 4-8 in.] is hollow and has a ring that can be moved around once the mushroom is older and dryish. The stem base of the Shaggy parasols is bulbous [and in the case of Ch. brunneum abrupt]. Usually such wide stem bases should ring your alarm bells, since it is typical for the Amanita genus, which contains some of the deadliest mushrooms. In addition, this Chlorophyllum is white-spored, just like the Amanitas are. However, these deadly Amanitas do not stain orange red, nor are they scaly. There are three tall [15-25 cm / 6-10 in], edible Chlorophyllum species, such as Ch. rachodes, Ch. brunneum and Ch. olivieri. In the past these three were all identified as Macrolepiota and clustered under M. rachodes. However, DNA analyses has shown (Vellinga 2002/2003) that these fungi are more closely related Ch. molybdites than to Macrolepiota procera.
Chlorophyllum [Ch. molybdites growing in Hawaii] is a very similar, tall, light-green spored species that causes many extremely unpleasant, but at least non-lethal poisonings in warmer climates. So far the green-spored shaggy parasol has not been reported in the PNW, but be very careful collecting shaggy parasols in warmer areas.
Also, be aware that there are similar looking small [height and cap diameter below 10 cm/4 in.], Lepiotas, some of them even deadly.
If you have identified this mushroom positively and you know that you will not react adversely as a few people do, you can enjoy a nice meal. Like most mushrooms, they need to be cooked thoroughly before consumption. I love to fry them gills down in butter until they turn light brown, flip them shortly and then put them on a toast with herb butter and a thin slice of parmiggiano. They can be used in many other preparations, they have a strong, gamy taste, very umami [=savory]. They can stand up to a generous amount of garlic. In Slovenia I learned to use them as a pizza base, yummy!
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Chlorophyllum olivieri (Barla) Vellinga
Chlorophyllum Macrolepiota rachodes (Vittad.) Vellinga = Macrolepiota rachodes (Vittad.)
Chlorophyllum brunneum (Farl. & Burt) Vellinga Brown Shaggy Parasol
Images will be added soon
[a key to differentiate these three similar shaggy parasols can be found at http://www.svims.ca/council/Chloro.htm]
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Agaricus augustus Fries The Prince
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 Lilith introducing a charming young Prince to her father. Everybody loves his rich aroma of marzipan [=almond].
Kirkland WA, June 20, 2008 © Daniel Winkler
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 That's how suburban Princes present themselves in their prime. Full 25cm (10in) across! Not a single worm! The still pinkish gills, which soon will turn dark brown just were exposed. The skirt-like partial veils clearly visible. Also very typical is the scaly, reddish brown cap
Redmond WA, October 5, 2008 © Daniel Winkler
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The prince is definitely one of the best edible mushrooms. The almond aroma is just awesome and it makes it easy to identify this Agaricus, supposing one knows how to recognize the genus. Many other Agaricus species are really hard to identify to species level.
For years I searched without success for the prince, since I was clueless about its fruiting season. I looked for the prince during the fungal fall flush. However, the prince likes it warm and needs a bit of rain. So, in western Washington it fruits between May and September. Most patches fruit twice a year, in late spring or early summer before the typical summer draught and late summer or early fall, before it gets too cold. I never found it out in the woods, only in man-made environments. It is actually quite abundant in suburbia, but you have to beat the worms to it. So once I find one I check my other patches. Often it grows in sterile landscaped areas, like barked beds and areas under conifers, preferably in apartment building complexes.
Most of my dozen or so patches in Kirkland I have spotted driving by - "I break for mushrooms". Its big size, caps can reach 12 in (30cm) across, really helps for "remote detection".
 A basket full of princes, Kirkland WA, September 2004
© Daniel Winkler
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I like to eat the prince raw in a salad or just with a bit of balsamico and parmiggiano, very tasty. But frying them up works just fine too. When the gills get too dark in mature specimen, the dish will look better when the gills are being scratched off with a knife blade before frying [Gills from all Agaricus species typically turn from pale white and light pink to dark brown with the maturing of the spores.]
After all this praise comes the bummer. Agaricus-species are specialists in concentrating heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, a well known capacity in myco-remediation [mushrooms used to clean up toxic sites by concentrating toxic pollutants]. Now, suburban princes can easily have their share of lead, especially collected along a road. Remember the days when lead was used in gas. Research from the 1970s in Germany showed that mushrooms on regular soils can reach cadmium concentrations a multiple of cadmium polluted sea food. A recommendation from the German Mycological Society (see the DGfM advisory) suggest to limit consumption of wild mushrooms to a half a pound per week. However, recently I came across a reference that suggested heavy metals in fungi are not really soluble and thus toxicity would not be this great an issue. Got to find the science behind that assuring statement. If anyone has any references, please let me know.
 Looking under the "kilt" of the Prince. The partial veil is about to rip. Once separated from the edge of the cap it hangs skirt-like down from the stipe. Also, note the pink gills and the scaly stem; all important characteristics of the prince. Kirkland WA, October 5, 2008
© Daniel Winkler
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Leccinum scabrum (Bull.) Gray Birch Bolete
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 A birch bolete growing next to the birch tree in our yard. It seems like every suburban birch (Betula sp.) has its birch boletes. October is the prime month for picking suburban birch boletes. Size matters, you want to pick the smaller mushrooms. When they are still young and firm they are quite excellent. Once they get older, they become too mushy for my taste, but they still would improve soups or could be dried. The old pores are better removed and placed under another birch. Who knows? It might spread the mycelium. © Daniel Winkler, Kirkland WA 9-29-2009
Birch boletes are easy to identify. First find your neighborhood birches, then look for fungal activity around them. The dingy brownish bald cap, white pores, which turn brownish grayish when old and especially that scaly white stem are important features. The black sabers on the stem gave this bolete-relative its name, the genus Leccinum is recognized by its scaly stipe. There are not many mushrooms to confuse it with when one picks a white pored, brown capped, blacked scaled stemmed bolete under a birch tree. However, under aspen and maroons are other species of Leccinum, some of them causing digestive upset.
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 Two prime young birch boletes (Leccinum scabrum). Note the dense scales and the white pores. © Daniel Winkler, Bothel WA, Oct. 17, 2008.
 © Daniel Winkler, Kirkland 10-17-2008
A collection of birch boletes from a few yards in Finhill laid out around the root of a birch.
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Marasmius oreades (Bolton: Fr.) Fr. Fairy Ring mushroom
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 Marasmius oreades, the fairy ring mushroom is distributed in lawns all over the northern hemisphere (North America & Eurasia). It is a choice edible. It is not the easiest mushroom to identify in the beginning being, since it is one of the informal and infamous group known as LBMs, little brown mushrooms.
Marasmius oreades is light brown, the umbonate central disc of the cap is a bit darker brown when young, and turning paler when aging. The edge of the cap tends to be undulate when the cap expands. The photo above shows the change through the different development stages nicely. It is white spored and its gills are fairly well-spaced and broad while being white to pale tan. A very helpful ID tool is its pliable stem. When I am unsure if it is a fairy ring mushroom, I first check the stem pliability. If it breaks easily, there is no point in pursuing further identification. Also helpful is the fact that the fairy ring mushroom is limited to lawn habitats and that it reoccurs on the same site year after year.
Just make sure that the lawns have plant diversity including weeds and moss. A lawn without weeds often indicates,application of chemicals, which very well might be concentrated in the mushroom and you better don't eat them. Some people manage to confuse this mushroom with the "Sweater", Clitocybe dealbata, which is a poisonous muscarine-containing mushroom that will give you amongst other symptoms nasty sweats. Usually the Sweater is white, funnel-shaped and has fully decurrent gills.
© Photo Daniel Winkler, June 3, 2006, Kirkland WA
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 A small basketful of fairy ring mushrooms. Marasmius oreades pops up in my lawn several times a year. It fruits as early as April, again during summer, if there is enough water and as late as November. The grass where my Marasmius grow is the only lawn in my yard that I water. The lawn is clearly disturbed where the mycelium grows, but the mushrooms taste much better than the grass.
Although it is a bit tedious to pick, since it is quite small and usually plentiful, it is absolutely worth it. I always have to go on my knees armed with scissors before lawn mowing.
It is has a rich nutty taste and dries easily and is reconstitutes quickly. If I only pick a few mushrooms I dry them and add them to the jar full of dried Marasmius. They are perfect to add into sauces without needing long reconstitution time. The could be explained with the unusual capacity of Marasmius to fully revive when there is moisture available again after having dried out completely.
Also, I love to caramelize them by frying them in butter and sugar and then using these fairy caramel caps by sprinkling them on salads.
© Photo Daniel Winkler, June 3, 2006, Kirkland WA
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Sparassis crispa (Wulfen) Fr. The Cauliflower Mushroom
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Sparassis crispa, the cauliflower mushroom, is one of the easiest mushrooms to identify [not that this would mean that people who don't bother to really check, wouldn't manage to confuse this mushroom with a coral fungus or a pile of egg noodles].
Sparassis crispa grows near the base of a host conifer tree, often Douglas firs. It is connected to the root system by a single underground stalk. There are not too many individuals out in the woods, but when one is lucky enough to find one, that will be good for several meals. The cauliflower mushrooms fruits in the same location for many years with one individual in late fall. Joe Ammirati suggests to leave the base when collecting for food, so that it will fruit the next year.
They are easy to spot once you find the host tree again, however I seem not often to find the host trees again or rather get beaten to it by someone else.
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 Bridal Trails State Park, Bellevue WA - Oct.4, 2005 © Daniel Winkler
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Cantharellus formosus Corner Pacific Golden Chanterelle
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 What a haul! Collecting all these chanterelles was the easy part. It only took 3 hours. However, cleaning all these chantis and cooking them in order to freeze them kept us busy on many evenings the following two weeks. We really learned we do not need to pick all the chanterelles we can gather, only because they are out there. It is fine to leave many behind.
Eastern King County WA, Oct. 2004
 A patch of smallish chanterelles (probably Cantharellus cibarius var. roseocanus) in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We should have keyed them out before frying them up! 9-17-2008 © Daniel Winkler
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 A giant specimen of Cantharellus formosus on the side of a small chanterelle. Compare the size of this chanterelle to the hemlock and Doug fir needles or the leaves of Salal (Gaultheria shallon). Eastern King County, WA, Oct.24, 2007 © Daniel Winkler
 Lily is showing some good-sized chanterelles. The chanty in her left displays that strange frizzed look some chanties fall for. Oct. 2004 © Daniel Winkler
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A Gathering of the PNW Chanterelles at Breitenbush Hot Springs
Cantharellus subalbidus Cantharellus cibarius var. roseocanus
 A picture from the ID table at the 2008 mushroom conference at Breitenbush Hot Springs, near Detroit, Oregon.
The Pacific Golden Chanterelle Cantharellus formosus (lower left next to the purple pig's ear - Gomphus clavatus ), Cantharellus cascadensis (folds of the hymenium, the spore producing surface, are even lighter in fresher specimen and the cap bright yellow, here a fresher sample from Michael Beug), Cantharellus cibarius var. roseocanus - the rainbow chanterelle, sporting the deepest yellow folds and Cantharellus subalbidus, the white chanterelle. On the lower left Craterellus tubaeformis aka yellow foot. There was also a blue chanterelle Polyozellus multiplex found in Breitenbush (see below). Judy Rogers and Susan Libonati were in charge of the ID table. Judy talked on Sunday about the PNW chanterelle diversity and I hope I did not misrepresent any of her statements here. Please note that all these specimen had been handled by many people and thus color changes are possible. 10-26-2008 © Daniel Winkler
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| Craterellus tubaeformis (Fr.) Quel. Winter or Funnel Chanterelle |
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 © Daniel Winkler, Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County CA, Jan.19, 2008
The small size of this good edible mushroom is usually compensated by the fact that winter chanterelles occur in big numbers. However, one needs patience harvesting yellow feet. Jürgen from Mission BC introduced me to the use of scissors when collecting winter chanterelles.
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Polyozellus multiplex (Underw.) Murrill The Blue Chanterelle
 Breitenbush Hot Springs, near Detroit, Oregon 10-26-2008 © Daniel Winkler |
The blue chanterelle is much rarer than the Pacific chanterelle. In my very limited experience it is an higher altitude species often associated with spruce and true fir in the Pacific Northwest. It is also reported from Japan and SW China. The folds under the cap start out just as dark purple-blue as the cap, but can become paler with age and when dried.
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Verpa bohemica (Krombh.) J. Schroet. Early Morel or Early False Morel
[synon. Ptychoverpa bohemica (Krombh.) Boud]
 © Daniel Winkler, Kirkland WA, April 19, 2008
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I have been eating Verpas since many years and always enjoyed them without any ill effects.
Please note some people get unpleasant reactions, such as gastro-intestinal upset or muscular discoordination after eating Verpa bohemica. Thorough cooking is absolutely necessary, some people parboil them before consuming. Overindulging seems to be a bad idea.
 © Daniel Winkler, Kirkland, King County WA, April 19, 2008
 A nest of Verpas on the base of a black cotton wood in Redmond Watershed Park. © Daniel Winkler, Redmond, King County WA, April 23, 2008
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 In the Pacific Northwest Verpa bohemica often grows in symbioses with Black cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa or P. balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa). It is easy to time the fruiting of Verpas since it coincides with the flowering of North America's biggest deciduous tree, the Black cottonwood. Its flowering is widely advertised by its sweet smell. Below the stem of the left, leaning Verpa are fallen catkins and bud leaves, which are covered by an aromatic and sticky gum, which had many traditional uses by native people.
 Spring morels (Verpa bohemica) are easily distinguished from true morels (Morchella spp.). The cap of spring morels hangs completely free of the stem. It is only attached at the top, hence another common name "thimble morel". The stem of true morels is completely fused with the cap; the whole mushroom is hollow. Also the stem of spring morels has a cottony stuffing, which is absent in morels.
 A Puget Sound garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii) sun bathing on an otherwise cool spring day (thanks Bonnie for identifying this Garter snake).
© Daniel Winkler, Redmond, King County WA, April 23, 2008
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Morchella elata Fr.: Fr. group Arora Black Morel
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The best and safest way to learn about edible mushrooms is to learn from people who have applied their knowledge successfully and survived their fungal foraging. A great way is to join a local mushroom club or mycological society. I have many of them listed on my Fungal Links. These clubs offer mushroom identification, forays, meetings, wild mushroom exhibitions, cooking events and fungal camaraderie, a great way to learn about mushrooms and nature.
However, if you would like me to join you on a personal mushroom walk to explore your local edible mushrooms or have me take you on a hunt, send me an email:
 The mushroom knife with hardwood handle and animal bristles for sale.
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- under construction
A black morel that popped up in our yard in Kirkland, Washington, last week of March, 2007. Interestingly, the fruiting body grew on top of card box material that was laid out to suppress weed growth. There is still a layer of card board visible at the base of the morel.
Sources:
McKenny, M.; Stuntz, D.E.; Ammirati, J.F. 1987. The new savory wild mushroom. Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon. 250 pp.
Gibson, Ian & Eli; Kendrick, Bryce 2008. MatchMaker- Gilled Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest 1.31 - awesome software, nearly free!