Minnesota Summertime Edibles 2022

tundraking said:

There doesn't seem to be rock hard info on this. This is what wikipedia says:

Entoloma abortivum, commonly known as the aborted entoloma[2] or shrimp of the woods, is an edible mushroom in the Entolomataceae family of fungi. Caution should be used in identifying the species before eating[3] (similar species such as Entoloma sinuatum being poisonous).[4] First named Clitopilus abortivus by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis, it was given its current name by the Dutch mycologist Marinus Anton Donk in 1949.[5]
It was believed that the honey mushroom, Armillaria mellea, was parasitizing the entoloma. But research[6] has indicated that the inverse may be true—the entoloma may be parasitizing the honey mushroom. There is still some disagreement by mushroom collectors about this since it is common to see both the aborted and unaborted forms of the entoloma on wood and in leaf litter, whereas Armillaria generally only fruits on wood. Both versions of the entoloma have also been observed when there are no Armillaria fruiting.

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The way I read that article, which matches with my understanding, is that you may find both the “aborted” variety of E. abortivum that looks like a shrimp, and the mushroom variety of E. abortivum itself that looks like a typical stem and cap mushroom. If you find the aborted version, you know that the species you are looking at is E. abortivum (but which has infected a honey mushroom). If you find the stem-and-cap E. abortivum, it looks like a pretty standard entoloma mushroom, which are a genus that is notoriously difficult to identify to species. So if you attempt to eat the stem and cap version, you should know what you’re doing! I haven’t heard of issues with the aborted varieties themselves, but these things change all the time

I don’t eat a ton of these, but I do eat a few every year. Like any other mushroom, you get a feel for when they’re at their best stage, and these do get “styrofoamy” after a while and can get destroyed by bugs too.

Mason said:

Not seeing a lot of post's. I hope im not the only one finding the luck!

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In the east metro at least, I I’ve had pretty slim luck. There’s been one spot producing some chants, but not as many as usual and everywhere else I try has zero sign of any mushroom, edible or not. Feels a lot like last year did.