Hawaiian Mushroom Reprise

Some mushrooms just call out to have their photos taken.  Popping up between other plants....odd little mycelium stools for wandering toads.  And, what a pretty net skirt, and strange brain-like head. My goodness.

It's supposed to be edible, when in this early stage.  But, anything called an orange-netted stinkhorn is not something I want to put in my mouth.  Especially with a notation in Mushrooms of Hawaii that reads:  "Odor strongly fetid."  I do want to cultivate some known, tasty, edible mushroom, since my great shitake experiment was a total failure.  Not one of the little plugs produced anything.  However, I did read today (whilst trying to identify some of these) that oyster mushrooms are the easiest to cultivate.....so......we shall try.

Now this one is harder to identify. I'm working on it.  Indoors, we can do a spore print, look at the gills and annulus or lack of, etc.  There are some little nibbles out of one.  Apparently the snails think it's tasty.  Even with the book, I'm not sure here.

Another odd fellow.  He's a sort of a black coral guy.  Can't find him in either of my books, but for now will call it Black Coral Fungus.  The photo doesn't really do them justice.  They are definitely black, with lighter tips, but I need a better camera, looks like.  If any of you can identify this sort, leave a comment.  Growing in mulch under a Wi Apple seedling.

These are the mushrooms that did grow, on the logs into which I carefully stuck shitake plugs. Turkey-tail Polypore.  Very seasonal.  They are beautiful, as a bright side to the story.  And a variety now known to be an immune system enhancer.  Has been used in China to treat various types of cancer. The little fallen blossoms are cacao.

More Mushrooms

Oh no, there she goes again, with those "edibility unknown" mushrooms. But, I just can't resist. They tasted fine, and as mentioned previously, I didn't die. They're growing right outside, by the new galangal bed, and in the wood chips mulch by the orange tree, begging to be used. Though, Bob informed me he didn't want to eat any mushrooms that weren't bought in a store. Period. So, either I eat them all myself or find a more infallible source of information on this variety.

I just finished a fantastic book, The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones. I got a bit ahead of myself reading for the Cook the Books event, but do you see where this is leading? If I can just find an authentic Chinese chef, from China, I'm betting he (or she) would know these by sight. It's a possibility. So I'm putting in a call to Dora, a friend of ours who escaped from China during a difficult period there, to see if maybe she knows someone. She's also a very good cook, but I think I should invite her out for lunch. To discuss. And, I think we need to go to Honolulu. There's probably nothing suitable here in little old Hilo. I want to try the lotus leaf wrapped pork ribs mentioned in Mones' book (the recipe is on the above referenced web site.) I'll keep you posted.

I Didn't Die

I thought I was being the original foraging, frugal gourmet, when someone I trusted identified my find as Almond Portobellos, or Agaricus subrufescens. He thought he detected the signature almond scent. I didn't but thought it must just be very faint. Oh goodie! Reassured with a quick glance at a reference book, I immediately sauteed them up with herbs, a few leftover veggies, and butter, topped some pasta with it, and voila, lunch. They were quite good, though no almond taste either, I thought, while reading further in my Mushrooms of Hawaii book. Funny, they also didn't meet a few other criteria. No annulus near the apex, no yellow bruising on lower half of the stalk when touched. Oh Boy. Dum de dum dum...

No, I didn't die. Or get sick, force myself to throw them up, or even have indigestion later.

Further reading in the mushroom identification guide leads me to believe what I ate was Agrocybe procera. They seem to have all the qualifications. I'm presently doing a spore print, which should help. Thing is, the book says, Edibility: unknown. Maybe I'm contributing to mycology here. Using myself as a guinea pig. I don't recommend this technique.


If anyone else wants to contribute their professional or amateur gourmet opinion, feel free. Another quote from the book which sort of worries me: "Although we are unable to identify this species with certainty, it is very similar to Agrocybe procera, described from Chile."


They were growing in wood chips compost, by the way.


Also, the gills turn brown with more maturity. I wonder, should I eat the ones I picked this morning?

Monday afternoon update: I visited the charming Dr. Don Hemmes, Mycologist and co-author of the above referenced mushroom identification guide, at the University this morning, with my spore print and some sample mushrooms. He confirmed their tentative species as the Agrocybe procera, and had a good story of the only (aside from me) other eating experience he'd heard of. He was called to the emergency room at Hilo Hospital to examine some mushrooms the parents of a 5 yr. old child brought in with the the little girl, who had apparently ingested a large quantity of them. When they were asked about why she did this, her two older brothers were observed to be sheepishly studying the floor. They had given her some story as to why she should eat those magic mushrooms. Well, she didn't turn into a fairy, or get sick either. I didn't even have the excuse of thinking they were magical. Just edible.

Fungal Fascination

Mushrooms are amazing. Actually, their Creator is the truly awesome and amazing One who designed our ecosystem, incorporating such a diversity of insect and fungal life, with everything in balance to protect and preserve life on planet earth. Scientists are today only scratching the surface of understanding how it all works. Insect kinds have been estimated at between 4 to 6 million species and fungi somewhere between 1 and 2 million (many of which are actually DNA variations of fewer kinds).

Sometimes I take pictures of mushrooms in our gardens, and attempt to find them in my identification guide, Mushrooms of Hawaii. At present, we're working on a small shitake cultivation. I've also been dipping into a fascinating book, with the mythical title, Mycelium Running, How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, by Paul Stamets. He reports that various types of fungi, acting as filters, are able to remediate toxins in the soil and environment, to accumulate them for removal, or to indicate where toxic metals exist. Sort of biological bottom feeders of the earth. They can and are being used intentionally to convert waste sites.


This one was growing underneath the tangerine tree at our office - a large, strangely sponge-like fungi. Bob took a few photos. At home, and based on his emailed picture, I was looking for it in the mushroom book, trying to identify the species. I phoned and asked my granddaughter to go out to take some measurements (she's at the office today). Kealani just called back to inform me that it is the fruit-picker sponge. Yes folks, it must have fallen out whilst someone (Bob) was picking tangerines. Just goes to show you - the instructions to examine also gills, stem, & etc. as well as the cap, have a point. More than face value is involved. Is there a parable in this?