Not Agaricus Augustus or smithii, but Agaricus subrufescens
This is a new one for me here. Also called The Prince.Possibly A.smithii, but the season is wrong and the stem (stipe) does not bulge at the base. It seems to have features of both A.agustus and A.smithii so I'll guess at A.Augustus. Now id'd as Agaricus subrufescens. Found today (5/25/2013) under a sequoia by the bridge on our driveway. This is what those little button mushrooms you buy in the store aspire to be, but they will never get near as tasty.We've positively identified around 135 different fungi here, but only a handful are edible and fewer still are really delicious. This is one of the winners even with an unsure i.d.. The cap is about 23cm's wide. This will give you a better feel for it's size:
Those are regular paper dinner plates. (white for the spore print)
Which was dark chocolate brown.
I'll cook them up now.
The sample was very tasty
I know very little about which ones are safe and which are poisonous. Ifeel fairly safe when I know they come out of a can from the store.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's the ones from the can that can get people sick. I have educated myself for years now, and I know (am familiar with by experience) many that are edible, and which things to avoid. It is not as mysterious as everyone makes it out to be. Yes, you have to be careful. And experience and familiarity from careful observation (not only visual information, but using tactile information, smell, taste etc. {using all that is available to us}) can make it possible to be not only afraid of mushrooms but intrigued by how interesting they can really be, in the whole scheme of things. Talking to people with lifelong experience such as someone from a local Mycological Society, is not a bad thing either. It can be a deeply enriching experience to involve yourself with the study of fungi.
DeleteThe destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) and the death cap (Amanita phalloides) cause the majority of deaths caused by mushrooms. They are beautiful, and are said to be delicious by those that have eaten them for their last meal. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to identify.
DeleteWhile the majority of them are safe, a handful will make you wish you hadn't eaten them, and a couple will kill you. Best to play it really safe. I don't ever rely solely on my own I.D., do the research on something new, and first eat a small sample and wait for the effects.
ReplyDeleteHow about just tasting a small sample, and spitting out?
DeleteAnonymous: Some very poisonous mushrooms are said to be very tasty especially when cooked. Best to be sure of your identification, then just eat a small sample as some people can have bad or uncomfortable reactions to even some of the most common edible varieties.
DeleteBy the way, they were delicious and there were two nice fruitings.
DeleteI agree with the other reply. Spit and taste only. Do not eat, and wait for effects. Bad idea. ID your mushroom fully before you make a decision to ingest it.
Delete" ID your mushroom fully before you make a decision to ingest it."
DeleteWhich if you read what I wrote, is what I said. At some point, you need to eat a small amount and wait for effects if any. This applies to all mushrooms, even those sold in the market. Some people have reactions to some common edibles while others don't.