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Western Matsutake (Tricholoma murrillianum). Photo by Hugh Smith
At the first stop, three feet into the forest, Richard found the first cluster of mushrooms and he called Dawn to come from the car, to pick them. Unfortunately the cluster was a group of Russula and Lactarius, not matsies, and the spot was almost empty.
Sergiy finally got 3 matsutake and I found 2 (one big, ID’d by Richard, and then a button). Back at the cars Dawn, looking at my button, asked how I could be sure that is a matsutake.
At the next spot I found a few more matsutake and then we moved to a chanterelle spot. Having a good Santa Cruz chanterelle spot, I wasn’t too much into picking chanterelles so I started picking hedgehogs. Then I stepped on the Black Trumpets (Craterellus cornucopioides) and in no time my basket was full with blacks, even if it wasn’t their season. I learned later that this location is a known blacks spot by others, but none had thought to check it.
Back at the Field Station I sorted and cleaned the mushrooms, but I still had a doubt about those two matsutakes. I asked Debbie Viess if she would take a look at my first pair of matsutakes and, as always, the answer was “Yes, I’d be glad to”.
I took my first-picked matsutake from the bag and showed it to her. The answer was “yes it is a Matsie”, but when I showed her the second one, even with that button still in my hand, the answer was immediately “now that is a bad Amanita - Amanita silvicola”. Then she and David explained to me, and a few other people around, the differences between matsutakes and Amanita and what to check for. A lesson I will never forget.
Thank you to Debbie and to all FFSC club leaders. The organized forays are the best way to really learn mushrooms, and believe me with an Amanita in your
basket by mistake, the lesson has much more weight.
Learn more about these mushrooms:
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