Ron LeValley of Fort Bragg, CA hails from just a ways south of our home near Port Orford on the southern Oregon coast. Ron is, quite simply, the best nature photographer I know. His knowledge of all kinds of things - birds, mammals, insects, and yes, mushrooms - borders on the encyclopedic. We own a few of his prints which decorate the walls of our home, and each day, we receive an e-mail from him with a nature photograph; many are spectacular. He offers this free daily service, which he calls "Outside My Window," to anyone who signs up for it, and I highly recommend it; for us, it's a highlight of each day, and we've learned a lot from it.
A few days ago, his "Outside My Window" photo was especially unusual, as it featured a familiar mushroom (or, more properly, group of mushrooms) in a very unusual place: growing from a stump in the middle of a creek! He indicated that they were Honey Mushrooms, and the locale was Russian Gulch State Park in Mendocino County. Ron was using a Canon EOS 7D with Canon 28-135mm zoom lens. He says he's never seen anything like it, and neither have we!
But be carefully if you're considering adding Honey Mushrooms to your table. Error on the side of caution when you think that you've found the much-loved Honey Mushroom.
Proper identification is crucial because it has some poisonous look alikes, and mis-identification can have severe consequences. For example, the deadly poisonous Galerina marginata (syn. G. autumnalis) has recently been confused with the slightly sweet, edible Honey Mushroom (Armillaria mellea) with unpleasant consequences. And, then there is the Naematoloma fasciculare which is probably poisonous and the Gymnopilus spectabilis which is hallucinogenic.
Even with proper identification, the Honey Mushroom is known to cause digestive upsets in some individuals. It's wise to cook the Honey Mushroom (and all wild mushrooms!) thoroughly before eating. And, ingest all wild mushrooms in small quantities if they are new to you. In fact, when it comes to Honey Mushrooms, we've even been advised to parboil them for 1-2 minutes before cooking them in a final preparation with the belief that this will help to prevent gastric issues.
Thanks, Ron, for allowing us to print your wonderful photograph. And, thanks also to the many knowledgeable individuals who share their expertise through the Internet and enable us to better understand our fungal world.