Shoal Creek Fungi Tour

Thanks for coming out to the @shoalcreekconservancy Fungi Tour with us yesterday! The choice edible mushroom, Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus was roosting high in many of the heritage live oak trees that make Shoal Creek such a beautiful place.

Since this mushroom is parasitic in Central Texas, we made sure to harvest it and knock it out of trees.

We observed several other decomposers including Favolus brasiliensis and Phellinus gilvus. Decomposer or Saprophytic fungi recycle nutrients back into the forest and are a huge part of the reason we all have a surface to walk on.

Learn more about Chicken-of-the-woods of Central Texas.

October Forage Forecast

Chicken-of the-Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus

As temperatures are starting to cool and trees start to loose their leaves, keep a look out for the orange polypores known as Chicken-of the-Woods (COTW) Laetiporus sulphureus. They grow on older Texas Live Oaks that have been trimmed and have their heartwood exposed. Spores are everywhere and carry a lot of genetic information. Once a two matching spores land in the right place, the fungus will slowly colonizes and eat the heartwood of Texas Live Oaks or Quercus fusiformis. If you see a hollow Live Oak, it is likely due to a fungus parasitizing it. Once you see the fruiting mushroom, there is nothing that will save the tree from slowly decomposing and returning its nutrients back to the soil. Many times it’s not the fungi that is at fault. Human disruption, cutting down tree, and trimming trees for roads and buildings, opens the tree up to the spores that are floating everywhere and waiting for the right opportunity to have dinner. On the plus side, what they spit out is a delicious choice edible mushroom that contains, proteins, fat, fiber and tastes just like chicken!

Turkey Tail, Trametes versicolor

The medicinal mushroom Turkey Tail, Trametes versicolor is also flushing after rain. Make sure the underside is white because it looks a lot like False turkey tail.

Oysters, Pleurotus ostreatus

We found some Oysters, Pleurotus ostreatus flushing on dead black willows as well so keep a look out for this choice edible

REISHI, Ganoderma Sessile

Look for Ganoderma, the "Mushroom of Immortality" on dying or dead hardwood trees or stumps. Golden Reishi grows with conifers like lobloli pines in central texas

If the top of the shelf looks red and varnished and the underside is still white, it is still good to harvest for medicinal purposes. The species shown above is more likely to be found in East Texas and in Bastrop area.

Wood Ear Mushroom, Auricularia

Auricularia or wood ear an edible jelly fungus pops up on downed hardwood limbs a few days after a good rain. Wood ear mushrooms are a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes such as hot and sour soup, and are also used in Chinese medicine. It is also used in Ghana as a blood tonic. Modern research into possible medical applications has variously concluded that wood ear has anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, anticoagulant and cholesterol-lowering properties.

Ringless Honey Mushroom, Desarmillaria caespitosa

Ringless Honey Mushroom, Desarmillaria caespitosa have also been popping up all over Austin in large clusters at the bases of trees (when the clusters appear to be terrestrial they are actually growing from underground wood) in late summer and fall. This parasitic fungus is part of a genus that is the largest living organism ever found on this planet.

As always, if you are trying a new mushroom, confirm the ID with an expert, then try a small amount to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. Texas Mushroom Identification Facebook group is great for quick responses and ID help. Also, don't forget to add your finds on the Mushrooms of Texas project on iNaturalist.

Follow my foraging adventures @forage.atx.

It's Chicken of the Woods Season

Forage.atx made this sizzle reel compiling clips from the last few COTW seasons in Central Texas.

We will be doing more small mushroom ID walks this fall, so if you haven't already, sign-up to become a member and get first pick at ticket for our events. Members also get discounted tickets. If you are a student DM us for our membership discount code.

ABOUT COTW
As temperatures start to cool and trees start to drop their leaves, keep a look out for the orange polypores known as Chicken-of the-Woods (COTW) Laetiporus. They grow on older Texas Live Oaks that have been trimmed and have their heartwood exposed. Spores are everywhere and carry a lot of genetic information. Once two matching spores land in the right place, the fungus will slowly colonize and eat the heartwood of Texas Live Oaks or Quercus fusiformis. If you see a hollow Live Oak, it is likely due to a fungus parasitizing it. Unlike other parts of the country where COTW is a decomposer on dead hardwood, in Central Texas the fungus is a parasite because the trees are still living.

Once you see the fruiting mushroom, there is nothing that will save the tree from slowly decomposing and returning its nutrients back to the soil. Many times it’s not the fungi that is at fault. Human disruption, cutting down trees, and trimming trees for roads and buildings, opens the tree up to the spores that are floating everywhere and waiting for the right opportunity to find a home to feed.

On the plus side, what they spit out is a delicious edible mushroom that contains proteins, fat, fiber and tastes just like chicken! They are also medicinal and rich in antioxidant compounds like chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin. It's also packed with lanostanoids – potent anti-carcinogenic compounds.

Mycology Happy Hour at Live Oak Brewing

A few images from the Mycology Happy Hour at @liveoakbrewing. We are happy to report that there were no chicken-of-the-woods #Laetiporussulphureus found on any of the beautiful, heritage Live Oaks at the brewery. Thanks tree guy! @theymightbemonkeys and thanks @fredlabia for the tour and for going deep on sugar fungus knowledge!

Everyone had a chance to try a nugget of coconut chicken of the woods made by @forage.atx. Consensus... Tastes like chicken. 🐔

Of course, we did spot other fungal activity while running around the disc golf course... because we are fungi freaks of nature. A #sawgill #Lentinuscrinitus and maybe some old #Oakbracket. Whatever it was it smelled like petrol.

@swamppenwolf new to the leadership circle is fitting right into Austin in a hollowed out Eastern cedar... his subtle way of saying he misses Houston. His cute pup is even into fungus and was gnawing on some #hexagoniahydnoides.

Thanks @curlymyco for bringing all the recycled mushroom blocks for everyone to take home.

We are planning to do our October outdoor HH at @jesterkingbrewery because we want to try this new @txsakeco colab mushroom beer #LIGRA and also myceliate with @farmerpeppy and his goats.

🍄💗🍄💗🍄💗

September Forage Forecast

ABOVE: COTW that was "car-vested" by @forage.atx. It was spotted as she was driving 80MPH on the interstate just South of San Antonio.

As temperatures start to cool, keep a look out for the orange polypores known as Chicken-of the-Woods (COTW) Laetiporus species. This brown-rot, polypore mushroom fruits on older Texas Live Oaks that have been trimmed and have their heartwood exposed. Spores are everywhere and carry a lot of genetic information. Once a two matching spores land in the right place, the fungus will slowly colonizes and eat the heartwood of Texas Live Oaks or Quercus fusiformis. If you see a hollow Live Oak, it is likely due to a fungus parasitizing it. Once you see the fruiting mushroom, there is nothing that will save the tree from slowly decomposing and returning its nutrients back to the soil. Many times it’s not the fungi that is at fault. Human disruption, cutting down tree, and trimming trees for roads and buildings, opens the tree up to the spores that are floating everywhere and waiting for the right opportunity to have dinner. On the plus side, what they spit out is a delicious choice edible mushroom that contains, proteins, fat, fiber and tastes just like chicken!

Look for Ganoderma, the "Mushroom of Immortality" on dying or dead Pecan trees or stumps. If the top of the shelf looks red and varnished and the underside is still white, it is still good to harvest for medicinal purposes. The species shown above is more likely to be found in East Texas and in Bastrop area.

Auricularia or wood ear an edible jelly fungus pops up on downed hardwood limbs a few days after a good rain. Wood ear mushrooms are a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes such as hot and sour soup, and are also used in Chinese medicine. It is also used in Ghana as a blood tonic. Modern research into possible medical applications has variously concluded that wood ear has anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, anticoagulant and cholesterol-lowering properties.

Favolus, or honeycomb fungus, is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The fruit bodies of Favolus species are fleshy with radially arranged pores on the underside of the cap that are angular and deeply pitted, somewhat resembling a honeycomb. I tried a new recipe recently that has the taste and texture of chicharrones or pig's ears. I also discovered a new paper about its edibility. You can read more about it on our blog.

As always, if you are trying a new mushroom, confirm the ID with an expert, then try a small amount to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. Texas Mushroom Identification Facebook group is great for quick responses and ID help. Also, don't forget to add your finds on the Mushrooms of Texas project on iNaturalist.

Follow my foraging adventures @forage.atx.