Learn wild, edible mushrooms fruiting in Central Texas after rain. WATCH ONLINE CLASS Comes with download of a Wild Edible Mushroom Calendar. CHANTERELLE Cantharellus DESCRIPTION: Red, orange, yellow to white, meaty and funnel-shaped and can be found in clusters or individual mushrooms. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, most species have rounded, forked folds that run almost all the way down the stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. SPORE COLOR: White Yellowish HABITAT: Symbiotic and found around 5-30 feet of mature live and red oaks after a lot of rain. Chantere ..read more

REGISTER By: Daniel Reyes, co-founder of CTMS and founder of Myco Alliance Join us online for a class with Daniel about Applied Mycology. Back in 2013, while working as a hydrogeologist in the oil and gas industry, I reached out to my friend Mike Wolfert for advice on mushroom cultivation. Little did I know, this simple conversation would spark a massive change in the course of my career. Mike Wolfert, known for his work in regenerative agriculture and permaculture through organizations like Symbiosis TX (formerly One World Permaculture), became a key figure in my journey. Over the ..read more

The April mushroom of the month is ???????? ?????????, the The blood red bracket! Scroll to learn about this fascinating mushroom! Congrats to Dr. Carole for naming that mushroom correctly and becoming the 1,319th member of Central Texas Mycology! blood red bracket, Common Cinnabar Polypore This vibrant white rot saprobic fungus was first identified on Guana Island (part of the Virgin Islands) but occurs throughout the tropics, usually growing on dead hardwoods in the form of a thin dry conk with a lateral attachment to its substrate. Bright orange on all surfaces with concentric zonat ..read more

Learn wild, edible mushrooms fruiting in Central Texas after rain. Shoehorn Oyster Mushrooms Hohenbuehelia petaloides Pale to brown funnel-shaped caps with decurrent gills Fruits after rain in mulch or woody debris Considered carnivorous because it traps nematodes with “sticky knobs” in the mycelium to obtain nitrogen and grow. Edible when cooked but can be tough and mealy 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 ..read more

The March mushroom of the month is ???????? ???????, the Shaggy Ink Cap!. ? to Jeff for naming that mushroom correctly and becoming the 1,293th member of Central Texas Mycology! Become a supporting member to stay dialed-in with events & discover next month’s mystery mushroom. About the Shaggy INK CAP aka Shaggy Mane, Lawyer’s Wig This common, saprophytic mushroom grows throughout North America and the UK, and has been introduced to Australia and Iceland. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are ..read more

The February mushroom of the month is Schizophyllum commune, the splitgill mushroom. ? to @elizabethoh for naming that mushroom correctly and becoming the 1,274th member of Central Texas Mycology! Become a supporting member to stay dialed-in with events & discover next month’s mystery mushroom. What IS it? It is edible and delicious! The splitgill is a highly nutritious and delightfully tasty mushroom that is an important food source in communities throughout the world, although not so much in North America. For example, in the state of Manipur, India, the splitgill is called Kangla ..read more

Learn wild, edible mushrooms fruiting in Central Texas after rain. White Morel Morchella americana Honeycomb cap with a off-white, bulbous, wrinkly stem. Hollow on inside and 1–4" tall Fruits after rain while soil temps are 45-50° Found along creeks near cottonwoods, dying elms, and ash. Edible when cooked and toxic when raw As the dewberries blossom, the choice edible morel, starts to fruit in Central Texas. These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with pits composing their caps. I'm already thinking about how to preserve morels so I can pai ..read more

One of my favorite recipes to bring to Central Texas Mycology events are chocolate-dipped candied wood ears. Aricularia is one of the mushrooms that we have been seeing out on our walks and is in our forage forecast and you can learn more about how and when to find them and correctly identify them. Wood ear mushrooms have a lot of amazing benefits medicinally like thinning the blood and providing UV protection. It looks like they my have aphrodisiac effects as well. Wood ears also soak up a lot of flavor and you can use many types of juices and teas and for this recipe I used Mush Love: Reishi ..read more

WOOD BLEWIT: As the weather stays cool, look out for the edible Wood Blewit, Collybia nuda or tarda species (formerly Lepista and Clitocybe.) This distinct lavender-colored mushroom is found from fall through spring and fruiting in hardwood leaf duff which is decomposes. 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. Be warned because there are deadly ..read more

Yesterday, I checked a few spots for the distinct, lavender colored Wood Blewit, Clitocybe nuda, which are an good edible mushroom. Wood blewits can be confused with a purple species of the genus Cortinarius, which includes several poisonous species that grow in the same habitat. Just yesterday I found the two mushrooms growing in same habitat. Here’s a few tips for distinguishing the two. identifying EDIBLE WOOD BLEWITS When Wood Blewit Flush Blewits can be found naturally fruiting during the fall and winter months in Central Texas. I have found them as late as June when we have a rainy year ..read more