Identifying Gabriola’s mushrooms
In the Gabriola forest I see more mushroom varieties than I ever could have imagined. What are they? Which mushrooms are edible? Which are poisonous? I spent a lot of time wondering about this, so last year I decided to learn about mushrooms and figure it out. And I did.
Now I get it: I know how to identify mushrooms. That doesn’t mean I can name every mushroom on sight, but it does mean that if have all the information I need, I can do pretty well at figuring out what that beautiful red mushroom is at the edge of our property, or what that orange mushroom in the forest might be.
Here’s mushroom identification tip number one: it’s not all about looks. If you really want to figure out what that mushroom is, you’ll need more than a photo. You’ll need to observe all kinds of things about that mushroom, and then check through several good mushroom books or websites for a match.
Interested in more? Leave a comment if you want more information on identifying Gabriola’s mushrooms. If there’s interest, I’ll put together some tips for you.
Filed in Gabriola Island,mushrooms 3 Comments so far
3 Responses to “Identifying Gabriola’s mushrooms”
Mike on 26 Nov 2009 at 7:40 am #
Looking forward to mushroom tips. Hopefully before I eat the wrong mushroom …. :^)
Moongazer on 26 Nov 2009 at 8:52 pm #
Would love some tips. I’ve identified some & feel pretty confident that they’re edible but I can’t seem to trust enough to eat yet. Not sure how I’ll get over this hurdle without having someone confirm my pick.
Andrea on 29 Nov 2009 at 3:44 am #
Shaggy manes and puffballs are pretty safe ones to start with – I doubt there’s anything toxic you could confuse them with. For many of the others if you’re only “pretty confident” that they’re ok, then definitely wait until some knowledgeable person can confirm the id.