- Joined
- Feb 8, 2006
- Messages
- 65,043
Thanks man. 
That means a lot coming from you. If I recall, when I looked it up on wiki, it does grow across the US. It's very distinctive-looking. One really important thing to note is that if it's growing on a coniferous tree (evergreens like pines, etc), it is mildly poisonous because of something it draws out of those trees. But if it's growing on a deciduous tree (that drops its leaves every year), it's good. Either way I do not believe it's badly poisonous, but it's the one thing to make sure about when it comes to them.
My girl's friend makes a living foraging wild mushrooms and selling them to restaurants and stuff, and he's taught us a lot. I still am too nervous to eat most mushrooms I think I've found, but chicken of the woods is an exception. A couple of weeks ago I found what I am 99% sure were chanterelles, a lot of them, too. But I chickened out and didn't end up eating them because there is a somewhat poisonous mushroom that looks similar.
My girl and I always at least passively forage on hikes, there is a lot of good stuff. Chestnuts, paw-paws, blueberries, raspberries of various kinds, and less common stuff like ramps (a native sort of cross between garlic and onion), indian cucumbers (a white root that has a consistency and character of water chestnut, but tastes much lighter and sweeter), and various mushrooms, including one sort of polypore I have not tried but that my girl's friend says is the best mushroom in the world, that tastes like a buttery perfectly cooked steak. And morels, too. And for greens, you can cook nettles, stinging nettles or even better, wood nettles (they sting, but less, and are more tender).
That means a lot coming from you. If I recall, when I looked it up on wiki, it does grow across the US. It's very distinctive-looking. One really important thing to note is that if it's growing on a coniferous tree (evergreens like pines, etc), it is mildly poisonous because of something it draws out of those trees. But if it's growing on a deciduous tree (that drops its leaves every year), it's good. Either way I do not believe it's badly poisonous, but it's the one thing to make sure about when it comes to them.My girl's friend makes a living foraging wild mushrooms and selling them to restaurants and stuff, and he's taught us a lot. I still am too nervous to eat most mushrooms I think I've found, but chicken of the woods is an exception. A couple of weeks ago I found what I am 99% sure were chanterelles, a lot of them, too. But I chickened out and didn't end up eating them because there is a somewhat poisonous mushroom that looks similar.
My girl and I always at least passively forage on hikes, there is a lot of good stuff. Chestnuts, paw-paws, blueberries, raspberries of various kinds, and less common stuff like ramps (a native sort of cross between garlic and onion), indian cucumbers (a white root that has a consistency and character of water chestnut, but tastes much lighter and sweeter), and various mushrooms, including one sort of polypore I have not tried but that my girl's friend says is the best mushroom in the world, that tastes like a buttery perfectly cooked steak. And morels, too. And for greens, you can cook nettles, stinging nettles or even better, wood nettles (they sting, but less, and are more tender).
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