Bring Huitlacoche to Your Garden

You are looking at an ear of corn infected with the smut producing fungus Ustilago maydis. Does it look edible to you? Not only is it edible, it is outstanding.

Texas Gourdseed Corn from Southern Exposure Seeds

If you are not in Central Texas, here are links to where we bought the seeds and the liquid culture.

The Central Texas Mycological Society (CTMS) is launching a new experimental crop, huitlacoche or Ustilago maydis. Like many of our mycological friends, huitlacoche straddles the line between a symbol of decay and a delicacy. To the corn farmers of the vast American plains, it is known as corn smut, a common and undesirable crop disease that forms in particularly hot humid summers. To the maize-centric cultures of Central Mexico, huitlacoche is a traditional part of the diet, a prized crop in itself, and a culinary delight. Much the same way that, for example, Chicken of the Woods is the object of many on a foray for a foraging mycologist but, to an arborist, is often a pathogen hollowing out the heartwood of a great old tree now not long for this world. 
Ustilago maydis infects the ears of the corn primarily producing huitlacoche though it can also infect the tassel and stalk. Infection causes the kernels to form into distended darkened galls that are a culinary treasure though a blight to the producers. The majority of the resources referring to huitlacoche for US based institutions are written as profiles on diseases and pathology, for example the pages from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension and the Wisconsin University Horticulture Extension with passing references to its consumption. Such articles are detailed accounts of how to diagnose and avoid Corn Smut infection but, with a slight change in perspective of the reader, they become useful guides in how to induce smut formation.
CTMS has 3 plots of primarily Texas Gourdseed Corn around Central Texas designated for inoculation with huitlacoche liquid culture in 2023 including one test plot at the Zilker Botanical Garden as well as gardens of various members of the society including that of the author. To that end this guide is being compiled as well as a factsheet to facilitate cultivation by members like you. Currently most of this information is speculative and untested by CTMS; it is compiled from various reference sources in anticipation of our first trials and should be taken with a grain of salt, we are enthusiasts not experts in huitlacoche production.
If you want to try huitlacoche before you dive in (though there’s more to the experience of cultivation than just the eating) you can purchase it at a few different Mexican specialty markets and restaurants. Fresh huitlacoche is highly seasonal, coinciding with the corn season,  so calling ahead is recommended before going to either a restaurant or market, however, some import the corn flash frozen and can stock it year round. If you’re in the Central Texas area, CTMS has compiled a map of restaurants that serve huitlacoche or have in the past, if you know of others, please let us know.
Starting in 2024, if you are interested in growing huitlacoche, contact CTMS, we have earmarked a portion of our harvest to be used to produce the spores to be distributed for future cultivation.

What do you need to grow Huitlacoche?

Hot and humid summers
A small area or few pots to grow corn
Liquid culture or spores of U. maydis

Picking your Corn variety

The first step to cultivating huitlacoche is growing corn. Texas Gourdseed was selected for the test plots of CTMS (alongside some other strains), an heirloom variety from Central and South Texas. It is drought and flood tolerant and disease resistant generally though susceptible to smut infection which represents a high probability of successful huitlacoche production Considering our lack of experience and lack of ancestral as well as institutional knowledge of huitlacoche production we have erred on the side of a successful harvest that perhaps may not an ideal one for a culinary experience. 
The variety of corn affects the flavor of the resulting smut and since Texas Gourdseed is primarily a flour corn, the taste of the huitlacoche produced may be less palatable than the Central Mexican originals. Sweet corn and hybrids are often used among American producers and yield a sweeter, less traditional tasting huitlacoche. Varieties marketed as resistant to fungal infection should be avoided, including GMO varieties which are generally resistant.

If you are in Austin area, we are giving away Texas gourd seed corn seeds. Seeds available at the 78702 mushroom block pick-up until gone.

Plant Cultivation

Find a guide with a planting strategy that suits your needs. Fertilize, water, monitor, and generally care for the plants exactly how you would for a regular corn crop with one major exception. Most corn planting strategies are built around pollination, however for huitlacoche we do not actually want our plants to be pollinated. Huitlacoche infection is most effective before pollination occurs. This means that you don’t have to commit to a large corn crop like most of the growing guides will tell you. You can attempt to cultivate huitlacoche in pots, small raised beds, even window boxes if you don’t mind corn stalks blocking your window like prison bars. A surprising step in cultivating huitlacoche, unlike corn, is that you can even detassel the corn plants, preventing pollination. 

The tassel is the male pollen producing portion of the corn plant. It grows at the very top of the plant and showers pollen upon the ears of corn below that take in the pollen via the silk that extends beyond the end of the ears. Detasseling is a common procedure to artificially select for corn plant genetics. By planting two varieties of corn side by side and detasseling one of them, you can assure hybridization in that corn as they must have been fertilized by the other tasseled variety. Detasseling is not required but it is an effective way to increase huitlacoche yield especially if you do not care about having a corn harvest. Which is an important caveat, if you choose to detassel your corn you will have no fully formed ears of corn. If you are trying to produce both, you simply need to be vigilant in your inoculation and make sure you are intervening early before the ears are pollinated.
If you want to try a mixed crop of corn and huitlacoche (or if you have a neighbor growing corn nearby that would expose your corn to tassels) shoot bags can be used to prevent pollination of some ears while leaving others available to produce corn. There are specialized shoot bags for corn as well as other crops that emphasize hybridization like cannabis production that are permeable to particles smaller than the size of the particular plants pollen allowing maximum ventilation for the plant. However this can be done with simple paper bags, waxed if there is rain or heavy dew in the forecast. We purchased our shoot bags from Seed Savers Exchange. Simply place the bag over the ear before the silk has emerged and pinch off a little to draw it tight to the stalk below the ear and secure it with a staple or paper clip in the loose flap of paper. You can even inoculate the ear by piercing the syringe through the bag if you want without risking exposing it to pollen in the open air.

Liquid culture

As is typical of many fungi, the individual galls of huitlacoche produce prodigious amounts of spores. Much like a common puffball mushroom, nearly the entire mass of the fruiting body (in this case, the galls on the ears) converts to spores so not many ears need to be reserved as seed.
There are many online guides for the production of Liquid culture (LC) that the reader can follow. We will link a few at the bottom of this article. For the purposes of the experiment, a 5% corn syrup (other sugars are perfectly acceptable) solution was sterilized in a pressure cooker and injected with LC syringes purchased from online vendors such as Miracle Farms and Mycelium Emporium. Although successful cultivation of Huitlacoche is a difficult endeavor, it is a good first experiment for those inexperienced in LC production as perfect sanitization is not required. 
Typical mycelial cultivation which is done with sterilized jars or bags of cooked grain or wood pellet substrate, where the contents are dead and a perfect growing environment for any manner of infection that is introduced through the thin barrier separating the vulnerable substrate from the outside world, teeming with eager bacteria and spores. However, for huitlacoche, the substrate is a living ear of corn. Live corn has an intact innate immune system which offers partial protection against infection from poorly suited would-be invaders such as bacteria and molds. Secondly the manner of injection is inherently unsanitary as it will be performed in the garden, outdoors, exposed to the rich ecosystem of microorganisms of soil ecology and airborne spores and bacteria. This means that some basic, limited contamination of the LC reservoirs, while not ideal, does not render the LC useless as the corn can resist some infection.

Inoculation

When the ears of corn are approximately cigar sized around the time that the silk has emerged from the top of the ear they are ready for inoculation. You can do a simple test on a sample ear to ensure they have not been fertilized. This is not strictly necessary especially if you can ensure that there has been no exposure to tasseled corn within approximately ¼ mile.
Most huitlacoche grown in the US in small quantities is produced via liquid culture unlike in Central Mexico where spores are used. The most traditional method, employed since pre-columbian times is to take a sharp knife and successively dip it in a thick solution of spores and water and nick through the husks of unfertilized young ears of maize to produce infection. Modern producers in Central Mexico typically use syringes attached by hose to a reservoir of spore solution made with spores from previous harvests. Most producers in Mexico inject inoculant into the ears twice, a couple of inches from the top and bottom of the ears as seen in this video. 
With liquid culture in the United States most small producers inject 5-10 ml of LC into the ear at the top, inserting the needle along the silk inline with the ear (silk channel inoculation)  instead of through the side of the husk. For subsequent planting, the spores saved from previous harvests are generally used though some producers do continue to use LC.
The most important part of inoculation is that you want the spores or liquid culture to reach the entire ear top to bottom, for this reason multiple injections is recommended.

Harvest

Ears should be harvested once the galls have developed but before sporulation has occurred. Various time frames are given for this in different sources as local environmental effects as well as inoculation techniques can change the length of time necessary for development. LC develops faster than spores. Warm temperatures and higher humidities increase the speed of growth. Recommendations vary from 14-16 days to others stating 12-14 days is already too late. The essential point is to harvest before the galls have turned powdery inside. Once the spores have fully developed in a gall and began to turn powdery, consumption of that gall can cause considerable gastrointestinal upset. 
The galls can be peeled or cut from the cob and refrigerated separately or on the cob for shorter periods. If you’re blessed by the maize gods with a successful crop of huitlacoche, there are some great recipes to try out. The most common is a huitlacoche quesadilla with sauteed huitlacoche, diced onions, and epazote inside. Simple and delicious. There’s no wrong way to enjoy it. From soups to tacos to traditional Mexican crepes even, so invite some friends over and get to cooking.

Mush Love: Hibiscus, Reishi & Ginger Tea

Enjoy this favorite society bevvy from @forage.atx.

Servings: 32 cups  |  Serving Size: 1 cup   |   Recipe Size: 2 gallons

Ingredients:

1 cup of hibiscus 

¼ cup of powdered reishi (Use twice as much if reishi is in chunks or fluffy.)

¼ cup of ginger root

⅛ cup of sugar or honey (add it to taste)

Instructions:

The instructions below will show you how to make a concentrated tea. I like to make the concentrate and then add it to the larger container or add it to single 1 cup servings mixed with sparkling water. Like a shrub.

1. Bring water to a boil in kettle or in large pot

2. While water is coming to boil, peel ginger with spoon and grind up in blender

3. Pour hot water over reishi, ginger, and hibiscus in a large french press to steep for 10 minutes. If you don’t have french press, put ingredients in a medium sized pot. After 10 minutes, use a sieve to strain out matter into another bowl or pot.

4. Repeat steps 2 more times with more water. You can do 2-3 extractions to get flavors out of the ingredients. 

5. Add concentrated tea into a two gallon serving container. Fill with water and add more sugar to taste while warm. Add hot water if you want tea to be warm. Add ice if you want it to be cold.

PART 7: Composting with Recycled Mushroom Blocks

In this video we show you how to make premium compost for your garden using recycled mushroom blocks. It's a great way to build hi-quality soil in just 6 months by diverting all types of organic matter from the waste stream. We are joined by Megan Lowder from Efficient Earthling at Gardopia Gardens in San Antonio.

Mushroom blocks are made from sawdust and grains and organic matter that make a great amendment to soil and compost. They are what many mushroom farms use to cultivate culinary mushrooms on. After they fruit a few times and are considered spent, they can be used in many ways as we demonstrate in this video.

Follow along in the video, in 6 easy steps you will be feeding the entire soil web and the plants in your garden, healthy compost. Make sure to watch through the end. Megan gives tips on the compost food chain and how to diagnose your soil for good health and take care of all the insects that gives our soil life and healthy plants.

If you are in Austin, you can sign up to get recycled mushroom blocks for your garden.

If you are not from Austin, find a mushroom farm in your area.

STEPS:

1. After choosing a shady spot for your compost pile, break up one recycled mushroom block. (Brown)

2. Add layer of fruit and vegetable compost from kitchen or pulp from a juice bar. (Green)

3. Add layer coffee grounds from your local coffee shop. (Green)

4. Add eggshells. They add calcium and potassium minerals to the soil.

5. Add brown matter such as leaves, grass clippings, or straw. (Brown)

6. Repeat layers until you have a nice pile that can be turned.

Turn every two weeks and water if your compost starts to get dry. Six months later you will have black gold to feed your plants!

RELATED videos in the series:

Part 1: How Fungi Benefits the Soil

Part 2: Grow Mushrooms on Wood Chips in The Garden

Part 3: Grow Mushrooms in a Straw Bale

Part 4: Grow Mushrooms in Containers

Part 5: Grow Mushrooms on Logs

Part 6: Grow Mushrooms using Trench Composting Method

Part 7: Composting with Mushroom Blocks

Part 8: Sheet Mulching with Mushroom Mycelium Blocks

Mycoforms: Using Fungi in Design and Architecture

Fungi offer a range of design and architectural applications from furniture and product packaging to insulation and regenerative building material. In this talk learn more about how to leverage the wisdom and materiality of fungi to create forms, sculptures and practical designs from a variety of substrates inoculated with fungal spores and nutrients in a mold. Given several days to grow, the mycelium—the threadlike root structure of the fungi—expands, increasing the substrate’s density and rigidity. Designer and educator Christopher Kennedy will share a protocol for using an accessible kit available from Ecovative, as well as DIY methods to experiment with fungi as both sculpture form and building material. No previous experience needed.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Christopher Kennedy is the assistant director at the Urban Systems Lab, The New School and lecturer in the Parsons School of Design. Kennedy’s research focuses on understanding the socio-ecological benefits of spontaneous urban plant communities in NYC, and the role of civic engagement in developing new approaches to environmental stewardship and nature-based resilience. As an artist and designer Kennedy creates site-specific projects that examine conventional notions of “nature,” interspecies agency, and biocultural collaboration.

LINKS FROM VIDEO

https://ecovativedesign.com/

https://boltthreads.com/technology/mylo/

https://danielletrofe.com/

https://neffa.nl/mycotex/

https://www.aivan.fi/portfolio/korvaa...

https://www.biofaber.com/

https://grow.bio/

https://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJ...

Below is a PDF of a Mycelium Foam Step by Step Protocol.

December Forage Forecast

Lion’s Mane, Hericium erinaceus

Lion’s mane is a choice edible mushroom that rarely grows in the wild in Central Texas. I have seen it growing on post oaks. It is also cultivated by several local mushroom farms and available at farmers markets. It's even available at HEB across Texas. You can also pick them up at various locations in Central Texas with our mushroom block giveaway program. For a complete list of Texas mushroom companies, check the community section of our website.

Not only does this mushroom taste delicious, it’s good for you. Lion’s mane mushrooms contain bioactive substances that have beneficial effects on the body, especially the brain, heart and gut. Scientific studies have found this mushroom may:

✨ Reduce Inflammation
✨ Relieve Depression and Anxiety
✨ Protect against dementia and Alzheimer's
✨ Protect Against Ulcers in the Digestive Tract
✨ Reduce Heart Disease Risk
✨ Help Manage Diabetes Symptoms
✨ Cancer Fighting Properties

Where to Buy

@hifimyco at farmers markets
@marysolsmushroom at Farmstands
@SmallHold at HEB, Central Market, Whole Foods
@southtexasseasonals in San Antonio Area

Go here for a complete list of Texas mushroom companies.

Chicken-of the-Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus

Early December is the last chance to look 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.

November Forage Forecast

Lion’s Mane, Hericium erinaceus

Lion’s mane is a choice edible mushroom that rarely grows in the wild in Central Texas. I have seen it growing on post oaks. It is also cultivated by several local mushroom farms and available at farmers markets. It's even available at HEB across Texas. You can also pick them up at various locations in Central Texas with our mushroom block giveaway program. For a complete list of Texas mushroom companies, check the community section of our website.

Not only does this mushroom taste delicious, it’s good for you. Lion’s mane mushrooms contain bioactive substances that have beneficial effects on the body, especially the brain, heart and gut. Scientific studies have found this mushroom may:

✨ Reduce Inflammation
✨ Relieve Depression and Anxiety
✨ Protect against dementia and Alzheimer's
✨ Protect Against Ulcers in the Digestive Tract
✨ Reduce Heart Disease Risk
✨ Help Manage Diabetes Symptoms
✨ Cancer Fighting Properties

Where to Buy

@hifimyco at farmers markets
@marysolsmushroom at Farmstands
@SmallHold at HEB, Central Market, Whole Foods
@southtexasseasonals in San Antonio Area

Go here for a complete list of Texas mushroom companies.

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.

Mushroom Walk SATX

We got a taste of the fungal diversity of San Antonio yesterday! Thanks to South Texas Seasonals and Jared McRae for putting together such an amazing walk. Y'all turned out! 50+ fungi fanatics and so did the fruiting bodies. One of the beautiful Chicken Of The Woods specimens we foraged will be flown to DC and prepared by chef's from Sichuan Dashi who will be representing San Antonio in a culinary event.

Myco Happy Hour at Jester King

Ok, myco happy hour this past Friday was the G.O.A.T. Farmer Peppy gave us the pep talk we needed to dunk 8,000 lbs of recycled mushroom blocks in the soil rather than the trash! Ali @funkyfungifriends didn't realize her dunking moves are metaphorical.

With the help of the direct application of goat manure, the inaugural berm at Jester King is now inoculated, myceliating and breaking down carbon and sequestering it for fall crops!

We can't wait to do it again because 8,000 lbs is only a half weeks of mycelium waste from one mushroom farm! We need everyone to keep dunking recycling blocks in the soil rather than the waste stream.

More photos on our Facebook page.

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.