It has all the marks of being an abundant mushroom season this year, thanks in no small part to the alternating days of gentle rains followed by days of sunshine and warmth. And, our several mushroom forays have matched our expectations; we've been greeted by golden and white chanterelles scattered on the forest floor since mid-September. It's certainly not an early season by any means - sometimes our mushrooming can start as early as late July or August - but it holds the promise of a fruitful fall, unlike last year which was characterized by skimpy pickings.
Chroogomphus Vinicolor.
Our most interesting find in the woods this past Friday was the pine spike, chroogomphus vinicolor. It's not found in abundance in our area and maybe that's why it catches our attention when we do encounter it. It's easy to key out, especially when starting with Kit Scates, "Easy Key to Common Gilled Mushrooms" which is an invaluable guide for mushroomers. From Kit's key we went to The New Savory Wild Mushroom (authored by Margaret McKenny and Daniel E. Stuntz and revised and enlarged by Joseph F. Ammirati - our personal favorite field guide). Finally we turned to the definative mushroom guide, David Arora's Mushrooms Demystified, to verify the identification of our colorful mushroom.
Chroogomphus are an attractive find. The flesh and caps can vary from ohraceous to orange, salmon, buff, or reddish. The spores are smoky-olive. The mushrooms, according to Arora, have a lean, clean look about them. Arora considers them to be edible and highly distinctive, and therefore an excellent genus for beginners. However, be forwarned: chroogomphus are not only rather insipid when cooked fresh but also turn purple (!) during the cooking process so it's best to dry them for future use in red or dark colored sauces such as spaghetti.
Our pine spike, with its rich wine-colored cap, was indeed a lovely example of a chroogomphus. When we cut it lengthwise, starting at the cap and running down to the end of the stem, we were rewarded with the pale orange-yellow interior that you can detect in the photograph above.
We'll be on the lookout for more chroogomphus this fall...not for eating fresh but for drying!
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