April Foraging Forecast

WOOD BLEWIT: Keep a look out for the edible Wood Blewit, Clitocybe Nuda. They also fruit after a freeze. This distinct lavender-colored mushroom is found in hardwood leaf litter and is a great decomposer. Be warned because there are deadly, poisonous look-alikes in the Cortinarius family that grow in similar conditions. It's important to do a spore print AND also confirm the ID with an expert. The spores of the wood blewit are light pink to white and the spores of Cortinarius mushrooms are rust colored. I wrote up a blog post with lots of photos and details to help you identify this mushroom.

Fresh wood blewits are great with eggs in breakfast tacos. As they get older they become more tan and iridescent colored on the cap and taste bitter. I throw the older wood blewits my compost leaf pile because they are such great decomposers and will colonize and grow in hardwood leaf litter.

SHOEHORN OYSTER: Shoehorn Oyster Mushrooms, Hohenbuehelia petaloides is distinctively shaped; its "petaloid" habit often makes it look like a shoehorn with gills, or a rolled-up funnel. Other identifying features include its fairly crowded whitish gills, a white spore print, mealy odor and taste—and, under the microscope, gorgeous "metuloids" (thick-walled pleurocystidia). It often appears in clusters in urban, semi-urban, or even household settings, and is frequently associated with woody debris (though it does not usually grow directly from dead wood) or cultivated soil. However, it can be found in woodland settings, too, where it tends to grow alone or in small groups.

TURKEY TAIL: The medicinal mushroom Turkey Tail, Trametes versicolor will also flush after rain on downed hardwood logs, stumps and, occasionally, on conifer wood. Make sure the underside is porous and white because it can look a lot like False turkey tail. Mushroom Expert has a useful check list to determine if it is true medicinal turkey tail.

WOOD EAR: Auricularia americana, 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 is 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.

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.