WELL HELLO FRIENDS. WHAT TO EXPECT.
October 7, 2022
OLD MANS BEARD (USNEA)
August 7, 2023Hey Friends, I thought the best way to start my blog would be with what I am currently foraging as this could help you find and identify and even use what you have found. So its October 6th 2021 and today on my Tiktok account I made a video about Coprinus Comatus or Shaggy Mane Mushrooms. This mushroom like many is known by several names, the lawyers wig because it looks like those ridiculous fluffy things they wear in Supreme Court in England (yea pretty sure its still a thing). Its also known as a shaggy ink cap. This mushroom is a favourite among foragers because not only is it a delicious edible but it has zero dangerous look alikes.
This mushroom can look suspicious if you come across an older one as they start dripping a black goo as they auto digest themselves, hence the name ink cap. The one look alike this mushroom does have is the Alcohol Inky. The alcohol inky is also edible when young and also parasols out and then eats itself into a black goo. The major difference is the Alcohol Inky isn’t shaggy and if you do consume it and then drink alcohol it will make the mushroom act as a poison. If you drink Alcohol within 3 hours of eating the Alcohol Inky it can cause something called “disulfiram syndrome” This includes face reddening, nausea, vomiting, palpatations, tingling in limbs, and even heart attack in cases where the person continues to consume alcohol. For this reason it has been studied as an aid to end alcoholism. If you do by accident eat the wrong one and drink, stop drinking and the symptoms should subside in a few hours, but you may not be able to have a drink for up to a couple days without feeling ill. Which could be a problem if you were foraging on your camping trip with your buddies.
Shaggy Mane grows in Europe and North America and has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. It sometimes grows in the spring but mostly in the early fall. They can often be found in grasslands and meadows, disturbed roadways, or in my yard in the dirt in front of the fort. When they first emerge they are small white cylinders, then they grow to be like the first picture posted, then they open up and quickly turn black and disintegrate.
HOW TO IDENTIFY SHAGGY MANE:
First let me start by saying that when Identifying mushrooms your mushroom must match all criteria mentioned or you may be misidentifying. This is not horseshoes or hand grenades. Close is NOT FUCKING CLOSE ENOUGH!.That being said, Shaggy Manes are considered one of the “fool proof four” along with Puffballs, Chicken of the woods and Morels.
Here are your criteria:
- conical cap with shaggy bits
- shaggy bits are usually Moore grey, tan or reddish brown which makes them clearly visible
- the flesh of the cap is brittle and easily broken or damaged
- the gills start out white but as they age the quickly become black and inky
- gills are free of the stalk and tightly crowded
- the spores themselves are a deep black as is the spore print
- stems are fibrous and hollow
- the stems start wider at the ground and narrow slightly at the cap
- the whole mushroom is usually not more than 20cm cm tall and up to about 5cm thick
- stems often reach 5-20cm and at 1-2cm thick
- often grow in tight groups with other groups near by.
So you think you have found a shaggy mane. Now what do you do with it? Well you never should eat forest mushrooms raw, so it will need to be cooked thoroughly to be consumed. These will not last long fresh as they start to self digest. I have heard if you put the stems in ice water you can keep them and extra day or so. I say the best bet is to cook them right away. Once they are cooked you can freeze them and use them whenever you need, or you can sauté them in some sort of fat and maybe with some onions or make them into a soup for dinner!. They are delicious.
Not only are they delicious they are also medicinal and nutritious.
A water extract of his mushroom has been found to contain potent anti tumour properties fro breast cancer. Apparently there is currently no therapy for something called estrogen-independent breast cancer and these findings are highly significant (1). It has also been shown to inhibit gastric tumour growth and inhibit the ability for the cancer cells to colonize.
C.comatus also contains powerful anti oxidants, anti-microbial, fatty acids, protein, B vitamins, C vitamins, and Polysaccharides making the mushroom very beneficial for your immune system and overall health.
Many studies have shown that consumption can regulate blood sugar levels and halt unwanted weight gain.
So if you are a little afraid to forage mushrooms this may be a great place to start!. Don’t ever hesitate to ask questions about this blog or leave a suggestion for something you would like me to cover in more detail. Always remember….
Do your research, know your stuff, and they probably won’t kill you.
1* healing-mushrooms.net/coprinus-comatus
