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Carnonos
The Horned Wanderer

Registered: 02/05/23
Posts: 55
Loc: Terra
Last seen: 17 days, 16 hours
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Did I do it?
#28441172 - 08/20/23 11:08 PM (5 months, 5 days ago) |
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After trudging through hundreds of acres over the past month, I think I might have found my first wild "shroom" - a Gymnopilus  Habitat: Southern New England, Zone 5b - mixed hardwood/conifer forest in a river valley, on a shaded slope underneath hemlock, pine and oak. Mushrooms emerging from partially decayed and soggy hardwood, possibly maple or beech (lack of bark and state of decay made it hard to ID exact tree species).

Once I walked within 5 feet of this log, I could smell a sweet spice aroma in the air. Unfortunately there was only one large decaying fruitbody that had been ravaged by insects, but it gave off a strong odor what I would describe as a combo of sweet basil, mint, honeysuckle, and chai spiced black tea. Stipe was tough and fibrous 1.25 cm x 8cm but easily pulled apart like string-cheese. Flesh inside had a silky sheen to it which reminded me of osage orange wood in appearance. Cap was 8-8.5 cm across with fine fiber or faint orange feathering and an ever so slight raised "umbo" in the center. Yellow to yellow-orange overall. Taste was definitely bitter, more than dogfish 90min IPA, but not nearly as strong as a tincture of wormwood. Gills were heavily damaged but still showed a rusty orange color. There were a few good gills still intact so I thought it would be worth a try to get a spore print, which ended up being a rusty cinnamon-brown color.
I then revisited this same site two days later to check the progress of the pins and smaller fruitbody I had seen before. It was already emitting that same spice aroma as the larger cap, and was starting to show the same orange feathering on top. Unfortunately this one as well was beginning to be destroyed by a small species of black beetle burrowing into the flesh, so I removed the cap and tore the remaining cortina on the undamaged secton of cap which revealed yellow-orange gills on this younger specimen. I also noticed the sections of cap and gills damaged by said beetles had bruised the flesh a light greenish tint. Looking over the remaining pins, I noticed a couple aborts which were also showing signs of greenish bruising. To test the speed in which they bruised I pinched the cap hard with my thumbnail and checked on it regularly. After an hour had passed there was faint but noticeable color change around the damage.

So what do you guys and gals think? I wish I had a decent enough microscope to confirm some warty spores, but given all the other macroscopic and sensory characteristics I'm putting a solid guess on Gymnopilus luteus.
-------------------- All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited by Carnonos (09/16/23 06:59 PM)
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Icyurmt
Strange


Registered: 04/02/20
Posts: 1,625
Loc: 5a
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Looks like you got them, I would call those Gymnopilus luteus. Congrats on your first find!
-------------------- đī¸ đ why you are empty. Hunt for the habitat not the mushroom.
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Lucis
Nutritional Yeast

Registered: 03/28/15
Posts: 15,622
Last seen: 1 month, 28 days
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I think Luteus as well, some of those are past their prime so I wouldn't eat the mature one, looks gnar.
-------------------- Šī¸
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Carnonos
The Horned Wanderer

Registered: 02/05/23
Posts: 55
Loc: Terra
Last seen: 17 days, 16 hours
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Re: Did I do it? [Re: Lucis]
#28441288 - 08/21/23 06:28 AM (5 months, 5 days ago) |
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Quote:
Lucis said: I wouldn't eat the mature one, looks gnar.
I totally agree, and since it seems the bugs in these woods are hell bent on making sure I don't get a pristine specimen I cut open the stipe on the fresher of the two to see if there was any unaffected tissue I could use to clone - but alas, completely worm eaten on the inside. My only shot is if these fruit again at cooler temps when bugs might not be so active. I'm just happy that I've actually found them my first season of mushroom hunting.
-------------------- All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. J.R.R. Tolkien
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