Mushroom hunting , mushrooming , mushroom picking , and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating. This is popular in most of Europe, including the Nordic, Baltic, and Slavic countries and the Mediterranean Basin, as well as in Japan, Korea, Canada, and the northwestern and Appalachian United States.
Identifying mushrooms
A large number of mushroom species are favored for eating by mushroom hunters. The king bolete is a popular delicacy. Sulphur shelf (also known as Chicken Mushroom or Chicken of the Woods) is often gathered because it occurs in bulk, recurs year after year, is easily identified, and has a wide variety of culinary uses. Chanterelles, morels, Shaggy Manes (in genus Coprinus), and Puffballs are among the most popular types of mushrooms to gather, most of these being relatively hard to misidentify by anyone with practice. Only experts, however, collect from dangerous groups, such as Amanita , which include some of the most toxic mushrooms in existence.
Naturally, there are abundant mushroom guides, i.e. field guides on mushrooms available, but especially in the Slavic countries the ability to identify and prepare edible mushrooms is usually passed down through generations.
Identification is not the only element of mushroom hunting that takes practice — knowing where to search does as well. Most mushroom species require very specific conditions—some will only grow at the base of a certain type of tree, for example. Finding a desired species that is known to grow in a certain region can be a challenge.
Safety issues
For more details on this topic, see Mushroom poisoning.Some mushrooms are deadly or extremely hazardous when consumed; see List of deadly fungi. Others, while not deadly, can nevertheless cause permanent organ damage. In the literature, people are generally strongly advised:
- Only to gather mushrooms which they have themselves identified positively.
- To identify the mushrooms a second time during preparation, and to prepare them properly (only very few species can be eaten raw). It is considered unwise for collectors to combine the mushrooms they have collected.
- To inform oneself about deadly mushrooms, and the deadly look-alikes of edible ones. The second varies across world regions, so it is important to take into account regional variation.
- Not to gather mushrooms that are difficult to identify, unless one has an expert knowledge. This applies especially to the mushrooms of the genus Amanita or Cortinarius and "little brown mushrooms".
- Only to consume a small amount of the mushroom the first time one tries a certain species. People react differently to different mushrooms, and all mushroom species can cause adverse reaction in a few individuals, even the common champignon.
Literature and picking guides also frequently offer reminders to always cut a mushroom with a blade when gathering, rather than pulling it out, and to avoid kicking or otherwise destroying mushrooms one does not want, to preserve the forest ecosystem.
"Little brown mushrooms"
A "little brown mushroom" or LBM refers to any of a large number of small, dull-coloured agaric species, with few macromorphological characters that readily distinguish one species from another. As a result, LBMs typically range from difficult to impossible for mushroom hunters to identify. Experienced mushroomers may discern more subtle identifying traits that will help narrow the mushroom down to a particular genus or group of species, but exact identification of LBMs often requires close examination of microscopic characteristics plus a certain degree of familiarity or specialization in that particular group.
For mycologists, LBMs are the equivalent of LGBs ("little grey birds") and DYCs ("damned yellow composite") that are the bane of ornithologists and botanists, respectively.
The acronym BWM, "big white mushroom" is also sometimes used to describe groups of difficult to identify larger and paler agarics, many of which are in the genus Clitocybe.
Psychotropics
For more details on this topic, see Psilocybin mushrooms.The Amanita muscaria' s psychotropic properties have been traditionally used by shamans in Siberia in their rituals. However, its use for such purposes today is very rare, despite the mushroom's abundance. Instead, the Psilocybe semilanceata , being the only psilocybin-containing mushroom common in Slavic countries, is sought after for its hallucinogenic properties, the latter being more desirable with fewer side effects than those of A. muscaria . The use of P. semilanceata is however significantly hindered by its small size, requiring larger quantities and being hard to spot. Other Psilocybe species are abundant in the American south and west, as well as Mexico, where they have been used by traditional shamans for centuries. In the west, one can often find mushroom pickers in cow pastures in a stereotypical stoop looking in the grass for Psilocybes. This can be quite dangerous, as many species grow in pastures and amateurs often misidentify Psilocybes.
- Amanita muscaria (Мухомор Красный - Red Fly-Killer; Fly Agaric, Toadstool )
- Psilocybe semilanceata (Псилоциба Сосочковидная - Nipple-Like Psylocybe; Liberty Cap )
Regional importance
- In the United States mushroom picking is particularly popular in the Appalachian areas of the United States and on the west coast from the San Francisco Bay Area northward along the Pacific Coast, in northern California, Oregon and Washington, and in many other regions.
- British enthusiasts today enjoy an extended average picking season of 75 days compared to just 33 in the 1950s.
- In Slavic countries, such as Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic also in Lithuania, mushroom picking is a common family activity. After a heavy rain during mushroom season whole families often venture into the nearest forest, picking bucketfuls of mushrooms, which are cooked and eaten for dinner upon return or alternatively dried or marinated for later consumption.
- In the Iberian Peninsula mushroom hunting is a popular activity in many regions including Castile and Leon, the Basque Country, and Catalonia, where a mushroom hunter is called boletaire . Spanish mushroom hunters often keep their picking location secret in order to avoid less enthusiastic pickers from pillaging the area for monetary gain.
Much like secret fishing spots, mushroom picking areas (which vary from season to season) are only shared with close friends. As a matter of fact, friendships are known to have been broken on account of picking spots being revealed by unreliable partners or a picker being spotted on a week day at a location disclosed to him by a senior picker. In order to understand what is considered appropriate etiquette one should know, as in the previous case, that an amateur picker will not become the primary hunter in an area he has recently been introduced to by a senior picker.
Many such unspoken rules apply to the socially-complex art of mushroom picking and thus, for example, a senior picker expects that an amateur will not scout an area he has been revealed to be prolific unless the amateur picker is accompanied by his senior counterpart. Spaniards often hunt for mushrooms, as well as, for example, snails or wild asparagus over the weekend. These activities are enjoyed among extended family or also, especially among males, as a way for friends to bond and enjoy nature. Sometimes Spaniards will even plan a short field trip over the week in order to go mushroom hunting to a nearby location and have brunch (almuerzo) at a town or city of special gastronomic interest. The social nature of this activity can be realized by the fact that mushroom pickers, like their snail- and asparagus-hunting counterparts, are often joined by amateurs in order to, not as much pick mushrooms, but rather share a nice meal with good friends in the outdoors.
As soon as the first showers of rain arrive in the Fall, pickers start to discretely scout areas they know to be prolific in mushrooms while keeping their ears open in the hope that some unknowing subject (an "incauto") will reveal valuable information regarding a picking location. Once again, it should be noted that gathering intelligence in order to find out a secret source of mushrooms is not considered inappropriate among Spaniards since it is part of the innate sense of competition that permeates Spanish society. The intelligence to be gathered by a fellow picker (specially one who hasn't had as much success as he would expect) may come from the most unexpected sources. For example a picker's wife could be talking about her friends and how one of them was running late at a Seville-style dance class ("clase de sevillanas") since her husband had taken her car to go to Segovia. The picker, aware of his wife's friend's husband being a picker, may well decide to go out
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