[jerv]

So far this year I have eaten giant Puffball, and a slimy capped yellow to Brownish cap with yellow pore Bolete, with good results, the Bolete despite its texture it had excellent taste, a non-documented subspecies of the Black Hills.



I am currently collecting Red/Orange/Pale Yellow mushrooms, that fruit in extremely dense clusters of 3-12, with caps almost never exceeding 2" diameter. Solid stems. The gills an off white to yellowish fairly wide and they split, Slimy and near red cap coloration when young and rounded, Yellowish Orange can be cracked and dry when caps reach over maturity, with mushroom turning convex/ Chanterelles like. squirrels love the caps. They start as buttons, then turn flat with lighter coloration, then turn convex and even lighter coloration (yellowish/orange) and cracked with drying.

A couple years back, I ran into a merchant selling "Black Hills Chanterelles", here in Spearfish. I did not trust his identification, being familiar with the Chanterelles of Wash/Oregon, and the other variety out East. These supposed Black Hills Chanterelles were 1/4 - 1/2 the size of Chanterelles I was familiar with. But maybe he was onto something.

I am confident this is the mushroom, the merchant was selling (I assume he first ate them)

Is anyone familiar with a Black Hills variety of Chanterelle? or familiar with the species that I have described? I have thoroughly scoured the annals of poisonous/nausea inducing mushrooms, and nothing even slightly resembles this species other than the Jack o' Lantern, due to its orange gills, and habitat/size this is clearly ruled out .

I intend to eat one mushroom thoroughly cooked in a couple days, then 3, 2 days from then assuming no adverse gastro, then more.

Any advice, other than the obvious warnings greatly appreciated.

 

[butchbob]

Jerv - All the king bolete I find in the hills already have the bugs way ahead of me and so they were not worth harvest. There are four known bolete in the hills per Gabel's book, and we only eat kings usually found in Wyoming and typically harvested in September.

As to Chanterelle's in the hills, no my group have never found any true chanterelle. There is a false chanterelle here Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca this is Not edible. For our group we have a moto of if it is red you are dead and so we do not eat any red 'shrooms. mushroomexpert.com is a good online reference that may assist in identifying your finds.

 

[jerv]

Thanks Butch,

Yeah, what I thought were Chantrells were actually Pine Waxy Cap (which are edible) but it just goes to show how long its been since I've seen a Chantrelle. I was not even close.

I did have great luck with King Bolete in the northern Bearlodge, mid june, and I found edible Kings as late as last week between Nemo and Sturgis. These were 90% bug free, assuming of course I was harvesting no over mature, and I often had to trim the stem up.

Along with the Kings" I found many assorted Birch Bolete, these were good, and I am still finding them as late as yesterday, around Nemo. Though not as tasty as the King, still quite palatable.

Great Success with Lobsters, these are a very tasty mushroom as long as you appreciate the crisp texture. Lobsters I usually find on ridge/hill tops, on lower slope typically Rusala/Lactarius prevail.


Butch, you mentioned 4 Bolete. I am aware of King, Birch, and Slippery Jack Bolete. What is the 4th?

--Jerv

 

[jerv]

*edit* I do have Gabels book, this was how I was able to identify the Waxy cap and King/Aspen(not Birch) Bolets. upon perusal I see the 4th Bolete is "Brown's"

What confuses me is the growing season of the "Kings". I found them June 15-20th during a project in the Bearlodge. Then I find them again by nemo July 22-30, and you say you find them in Wyoming in Sept, while Gabel's book states July and August, I have also read many Colorado reports of Aug/Sept. Fly Agaric I have seen fruiting as early as June all the way to mid Sept. But, I am just soo used to the Morel fruiting pattern. Its inconceivable that a mushroom can fruit for more than 30 days.

--Jerv

 

[butchbob]

Jerv: Slippery Jacks in great abundance now, but we do not eat them. King bolete do fruit after huge multiple rainfalls like we've had the past 3-4 weeks...summer rain like that just isn't "normal" here. Consistently, our best King harvests are the last week of August thru first frost when we fill the dehydrators...Yellowstone, Bighorns and Bearlodge all are productive after soaking rains. Early summer Kings like you found in Crook County also can be found in Lawrence County yet the bugs seem to always beat us to them. Have been looking for Blewits of late, but no luck yet.

 

[jerv]

I have found several vibrant purple (Gill, Cap, and Stalk) (2''-4'' caps) while down around Nemo. Stalks while somewhat thick appeared a little stringy while plucking by hand, fruiting from along the edge of down dead pine logs in moist low lying habitat.

These look nothing like the Blewits in Gables book color wise (these are much darker and distinct purple), but very similar to Blewit pictures found on google.

Do Black Hills Blewit come as a distinct Purple? Also are there other distinct Purple mushrooms to be found?

 

[jerv]

Found a Blewit. And very distinct they are. A very pale Lavender. Extremely solitary, I found mine in deep grass north face between Aspen and Pine 8/20.

The Vibrant purple are a separate species altogether.

 

[eksophia]

Greetings from NW Wisconsin! I am wondering if I can ask for some advice... I lie somewhere in the intermediate category of mushrooming/general foraging. Been interested since early childhood and in the last few years have taken it more seriously-I'm not an expert but forage nearly every day in season (and I dream about it at least twice a week now in the winter, oh I miss it, ha ha!). My folks moved to a place just outside Custer, SD and while I've been there as a kid and now this winter, I'm not familiar with the edibles-mushrooms in particular-there. I'm trying to plan a trip out there which would be about a week long. Would anyone be willing to share advice as to when I should go, where I should look, what I should look for, etc? I do understand that not everyone wants to give away hard-earned secrets, and I'm definitely conservation-minded. I'd just really like to experience what's out there and make a nice meal or two for them Thank you so much in advance!

 

[butchbob]

Eksophia - Good that you can vaca in SoDak. Memorial Day or the week prior could be good for morel, oyster and puffball...maybe some bolete all depending upon rainfall. Custer is on granite and schist, you'll do best on sandstone and limestone west and NW of Custer. Bring your fishing pole as trout go well w/shrooms. Asparagus also starting to pop then and turkey season is then open. Aspen and dead/dying pine would be your primary target trees along with short juniper bushes and intermixed spruce while after morels. Aspen and cottonwood have the oysters. Good elk and deer shed antler hunting NW of Custer as well.

 

[eksophia]

Thank you so much for the wonderful information, wow!! Unfortunately, I really don't think I'll be able to make it until mid-late June this year (I actually work at a state park and that time frame is off-limits for vacation this year). Bummer, that all sounds so fantastic! You can bet, though, that I will plan on it for 2015 If not mid-late June I was thinking some time in August. From what I've gathered so far it seems like the things to look for would be boletes, oysters, puffballs, chanterelles, and maybe entolomas? Thanks again, butchbob, if you're ever in my neck of the woods I'd be glad to share some trail tips!

 

[eksophia]

Hello all! I will be in Custer next week and I'm wondering if anyone would mind telling me what kind of edibles I might be able to find at that time? I'm guessing the chicken of the woods (sulphur shelf) are out right now? I will be visiting my folks out there and would like to show them how fun it can be to harvest wild food and make a meal for them. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[butchbob]

E - Puffball are up, but starting to dry. A few bolete are up. I've not found chickens in the Black Hills. Possible to still find a few oysters on aspen in deepest draws. Catails along lakes and some watercress at the headwaters of the cleanest streams and at springs. Bring your fish pole as we have plenty of trout. Of course dandylion greens always in abundance! A few wild onion and very small indian turnips out on the plains last week. Raspberry, thimbleberry, serviceberry and chokecherry were still in bloom this week at 6,000' elevation SW of Spearfish. Enjoy your vacation.

 

[eksophia]

butchbob- such great info once again, thanks so much! Ok, I had it wrong, I thought chicken were out there, whoops! Maybe still some oysters, eh? Yum! Giant puffball? If so, much earlier than here. Berries, dandelions, and cress are about same as here it sounds like. I've never tried the indian turnips, but I've wanted to, cool! King bolete just found today around here and hoping for more! Will do, I can't wait!

 

[eksophia]

Hey all! I'm in the Black Hills finally and have found what I think may be Boletus barrowsii.. Would that make sense? It's quite large with a very bulbous stem. Cap is off white/very light tan, pore surface is yellowish-I get the feeling that the color is perhaps due to it's age. It is right on the brink of being too old to eat, I think. Any thoughts?

 

[butchbob]

E - I could be wrong, but it sounds like you have an Aspen Bolete - Leccinum insigne. It is the only bolete we have (that I know of) that has a whitish or tan cap. Did the stem turn purple when cut? If so then it is an aspen.

 

[butchbob]

Edit - I'm told Aspen bolete stems turn grey or black when cut - they look purplish to me.

 

[eksophia]

That was what I first thought, but...so many things said no. They were all growing (I ended up finding more) under what was almost entirely pine-pretty sure ponderosas-, they were quite a bit larger and more squat with an almost bulb-like stem, and they didn't stain at all. There are a number of other characteristics that makes me think it is B. barrowsii, too. Nothing I've read so far lists them as being in that area, but I really don't know what the heck else it would be. Also, the others I found made it clear that the darkening(yellowing) of the pore surface was, in fact, due to age.

 

[eksophia]

I don't know exactly where you live, but if you are in that area and want to look for yourself I found them in two spots in Custer State Park. They popped in one of the spots almost overnight after a rain.
Boy, the trip was FAR too short, but it was absolutely beautiful while I was there!! This wet year has everything so lush and green.

 

[butchbob]

Aspen Bolete and a single Aspen Oyster only edible 'shrooms found this weekend. Very few fungi of any sort at 5,500 to 6,000 foot elevation where we searched. With a few timely rains we could get the king bolete and lobster's up the next few weeks. Serviceberry crop a bust, chokecherry still green, but thimbleberry and raspberry worth the effort. Quite a few poisionous baneberry, both white and red are ripe so know what you are picking.

 

[eksophia]

I miss it there already! Hope you all have some good rains and even better harvests coming up!