These guys showed up in my greenhouse and I'd very much like to now what they are.
My little Golden Nature Guide to Non-Flowering Plants leads me to think they could be Meadow Mushrooms. But I don't know.
And no way would I be tempted to try one even if some expert out there tells me they're edible,
I wish I knew more though. The only fungi I trust myself to identify are the shitakes and oysters we have grown and the occasional rare find of a morel. I know there are probably many edible mushrooms in our woods but I need to see an expert identify, cook, and eat one before I'm ready to try.
And even then, I'll wait a day or two to make sure the expert survived.
4 comments:
I once knew a woman who worked on a mushroom farm...all these trays of dirt stacked in a damp warehouse! I never visited, but it sounded pretty depressing. (She worked in the office.) Just thinking of it makes me think twice before biting into a mushroom...even the ones in those little boxes.
The only mushrooms I will pick and eat are morels. I have given some thought of getting one of those spore logs to grow my own, but it seems simpler to pick them up at the grocery. Like most folks in our county, we have tons of mushrooms growing in our woods. Despite my usually inquiring mind, I've never been interested in identifying them. I do love seeing the various types, some of which are gorgeous.
My volume of the Natl. Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms tells me that it looks like a Volvate Amanita, a white mushroom with cottony or scaly, radially lined cap and thick, sheathing saclike cup at stalk base. Its season is July-October and grows from Quebec all the way down to Florida. It's not poisonous, but nevertheless, should not be eaten.
I'm a fledgling member of the Asheville Mushroom Club, but am literally "just a babe in the woods" when it comes to identifying those little critters! Hope this helps.
Thanks, Nan!
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