| Learning What Mushrooms Are All About |
| We are a small group of people who are interested in mushrooms - hunting (forays), growing, eating them. And there are some who love to photograph mushrooms of all kinds. We meet on the third Thursday of each month at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens from 6:30pm to 8:00pm Visitors and new members are welcome. Each month we publish a newsletter with information about our upcoming forays, pertinent information, and recipes. If you are interested, we have a place for you. Welcome one and all - we look forward to seeing you. Neal Doby - President ndoby@knology.net 256-882-9851 |
| Huntsville Botanical Gardens 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue Huntsville, AL 35805 |
| Contact Information |
| Email : |
| The North Alabama Mushroom Society |
| Address : |
| KING BOLETE |
| POLY PORES |
BOOKS FOR MUSHROOMS HUNTERS
| The number one rule for hunting mushrooms is to never, ever eat anything you cannot identify beyond the shadow of a doubt. A solid understanding of mushrooms, a good guidebook with clear pictures, reliable information, along with a person or persons of experience is absolutely essential. Again: NEVER eat any mushroom you cannot positively identify. From our i.d. committee chair Nannette Schwartz I highly recommend use of the following new book Roody, William C. Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians (2003, The University Press of Kentucky). It is up-to-date, has keys, is easy to use, and specializes in the mushrooms that might be found hereabouts. |
| Mushroom Identification Characteristics North Alabama Mushroom Society |
Giant Puffball & NAMS Member
| !! IMPORTANT NOTICE !! IF IN DOUBT, THROW THE MUSHROOM OUT! Hurriedly comparing wild mushroom specimens to photographs of known edible wild mushrooms hoping to determine if they are indeed the edible species can readily be FATAL! |
Upon locating a mushroom, first take note of:
- Season of the year
- Location (where did you find the mushroom)
- Substrate (what is the mushroom growing out of, i.e. log, compost, dead tree)
1) Cap and its Skin:
- Is it viscid (wet and sticky)
- Dry (dull, or wet from natural conditions)
- Size
- Shape (See Characteristics)
- Margin (See Characteristics)
- Color and color changes (does it bruise blue)
- Surface characteristics (smooth, warty, scaly, etc.)
- Odor when crushed
- Taste ( DO NOT Swallow)
2) Gills or Pores
- How are they attached to the stalk (see characteristics)
- Spacing
- Thickness
- Color (immature and mature specimen)
3) Spores (materials through which mushrooms reproduce)
- What color are the spores (take a spore print by placing the cap, gill or pore side down
on glass or aluminum foil for several hours).
4) Stalk (Stipe)
- Size
- Color and color changes
- Shape (see characteristics)
- Position (see characteristics)
- Presence of an annulus or volva (see below)
5) Veil (a layer of tissue that protects the mushroom while it develops. Not all mushrooms
have veils.
Sometimes they appear covering he gills, sometimes covering the entire mushrooms.
- Is there a veil present
6) Annulus (Ring on stalk formed by the veil)
- Shape (collar-like, skirt-like)
- Position
7) Volva (Cup from which mushroom grows)
- Does the mushroom seem to grow from a cup
- Does the mushroom have warts on the cap (volva remnants)
- Season of the year
- Location (where did you find the mushroom)
- Substrate (what is the mushroom growing out of, i.e. log, compost, dead tree)
1) Cap and its Skin:
- Is it viscid (wet and sticky)
- Dry (dull, or wet from natural conditions)
- Size
- Shape (See Characteristics)
- Margin (See Characteristics)
- Color and color changes (does it bruise blue)
- Surface characteristics (smooth, warty, scaly, etc.)
- Odor when crushed
- Taste ( DO NOT Swallow)
2) Gills or Pores
- How are they attached to the stalk (see characteristics)
- Spacing
- Thickness
- Color (immature and mature specimen)
3) Spores (materials through which mushrooms reproduce)
- What color are the spores (take a spore print by placing the cap, gill or pore side down
on glass or aluminum foil for several hours).
4) Stalk (Stipe)
- Size
- Color and color changes
- Shape (see characteristics)
- Position (see characteristics)
- Presence of an annulus or volva (see below)
5) Veil (a layer of tissue that protects the mushroom while it develops. Not all mushrooms
have veils.
Sometimes they appear covering he gills, sometimes covering the entire mushrooms.
- Is there a veil present
6) Annulus (Ring on stalk formed by the veil)
- Shape (collar-like, skirt-like)
- Position
7) Volva (Cup from which mushroom grows)
- Does the mushroom seem to grow from a cup
- Does the mushroom have warts on the cap (volva remnants)
Shaggy Stalk Boletes
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