FORESTS FULL OF WILD MUSHROOM GEMS NOW

Treasures sprout from forest floors in autumn. Now is when soil temperatures and moisture levels are just right.

Like gems, with a rainbow array of colors, wild mushrooms rise up from rich damp earth, pushing through blankets of moss and fallen leaves near the bases of trees - mostly pine and oak.

Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of underground fungi. They exist to decompose organic waste matter and make it easier for trees to obtain minerals from the earth. Trees provide nutrients for the mushrooms which lack the power of photosynthesis.

Many mushrooms are edible and many are not -- some can kill you. As they say in Russian, “You can eat all mushrooms, but some only once.”

To hunt like a pro, you’ll need a sharp knife to slice the shrooms from their roots (aka mycelium), which you will want to leave growing underground so they can keep producing. You’ll want to gather your fragile harvest in baskets to allow their spores to fall to the ground and spread the wealth. Finally, a brush is handy to remove clinging soil.

Autumn mushrooms make beautiful subjects for macro photography, as their colors and textures come into fuller view.

Some forests offer a consistent bounty and are wonderful places to go mushroom hunting. We are sharing a few of our favorites below.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST -- OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON

Forests in the Pacific Northwest are perfectly suited for mushrooms and other fungi. Olympia and Capital Forest…  The range of mushrooms and fungi found here is especially diverse. There are thousands of fungi species growing here.

Look under the mature Douglas fir trees growing here to find gorgeous golden chanterelles and bright red lobster mushrooms. 

You can also hunt for exquisitely flavored deeply fluted morels, meaty boletes, delicate oyster mushrooms, Agaricus agustus, and shaggy manes, to name a few more. Young puffballs make tasty treats too.

While they’re pretty, don’t bite into the death caps, deadly parasols, fly agarics, poison pies, destroying angels, amd sweat-causing clitocybes that you are also likely to find.

You might join the South Sound Mushroom Club, which sets out on wild mushroom hunts each autumn.

ESTONIA

Forests in Estonia are riddled with Ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and fungi. Ectomycorrhiza is a coating that grows to form of symbiotic relationship between the mushroom or fungus and the roots of various plant species. Think truffles!

Estonian forests have the greatest varieties of mycorrhiza mushrooms. The oldest trees, such as pines, firs, and larches live in symbiosis with ectomycorrhizal mushrooms.

POLAND

Forests in Poland are mushroom wonderlands. Mushroom hunting is a big thing here -- it’s known as the “silent hunt.”

There’s plenty of ground to cover -- about 70% of the country is covered with forest. While you’re mushroom hunting, you’ll have the opportunity for a photo safari, as the forests are also home to protected wolves, bison, and other beautiful wildlife.

Check out the Siekarów Landscaped Park, nicknamed “The Land of 100 Lakes,” is a great place to start. The Puszcza Notecka Forest, with its vast swaths of pine, is another vast mushroom hunting ground.

Another great place to forage for mushrooms is Białowieża Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain, it spans almost 550 sq mi (1,418.85 km2), straddling the border between Poland and Belarus.

Hike Ventures offers wonderful guided mushroom hunts in Poland. They know just where to find the best and most edible out there.

Read more about Beautiful Autumn Gems in The Biggest, Brightest, Most Beautiful Treasures In The Skies Are Happening Now, Autumn Blooms Are Beautiful Treasures Now, We Need Beautiful Nuts Now and Diamond Nights Are Beautiful Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Paulina Ołowska. Courtesy of USTA Magazyn. Untilted. Wild mushrooms & fungi. Poland.
2. Image: by Patrick Schifferli. “The ousted pretender.” Geneva, Switzerland.
3. Image: by JJ Harrison. “Amanita muscaria, Tasmania, Australia.”
4. Image: by Karl Ander Adami. Untitled. Wild mushrooms.Estonia.
5. Image: by vlod007. “Mushrooms.” Białowieża Forest, Poland.
6. Image: Courtesy of Outdoor Gourmet Blogspot. “Chanterelles (cantharellus cibarius).” Olympia, WA.
7. Image: Courtesy of Exotichikes. “The Greens of Olympic National Park.” Olympia, WA.
8. Image: by Michael G. Halle. “Chanterelle.” Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon.
9. Image: by Penn State. “Branched Oyster Mushroom.”
10. Image: by Ken-ichi Ueda. “Bunches of big, beautiful blewits out there.” Clayton, CA.
11. Image: by Stephen Downes. “Tallinn.” Estonia.
12. Image: by Matthijs Quaijtaal. “Mushrooms.” Estonia.
13. Image: by HikeVentures. “Hiking in Poland.” Poland.
14. Image: by Robert Powroznik. “Autumn in Forest.” Poland.
15. Image: by Tomasz Przywecki. “Puszcza Wkrzańska.” Puszcza Wkrzańska Forest. Poland.
16. Image: by Benjamin. “Pilze im Wald von Białowieża.”  Poland.
17. Image: by tomasz przechlewski. Untitled. Wild mushrooms. Poland.
18. Image: John Rensten, of Forage London. Untitled. Wild mushrooms. England, UK.
19. Image: by Zach Taiji. “Dungeness River, Washington.” WA.
20. Image: by BN App - Download now!
21. Image: by Ryane Snow. “Sarcoscypha coccinea.” Tomales Bay. Heart’s Desire Beach Woods.  Marin County, CA.