Colorado Mushroom Pickers
- Thread starter Yodaweed
- Start date
Lotus minded
Well-Known Member
I have seen quite a few fly agaric's in my time hiking around, colorado's only wild psychedelic mushroom, those are the only ones I've really "identified".. i remember borders book store having a laminated fold out guide all about identifying mushrooms that grow in Colorado.
P.S. Don't eat anything you find without a second opinion from someone with mycology experience. Colorado isnt ammune to deadly specimens.
P.S. Don't eat anything you find without a second opinion from someone with mycology experience. Colorado isnt ammune to deadly specimens.
WestDenverPioneer
Well-Known Member
Some of the Nat'l Forest Ranger stations have books for sale. There are a few in there I want. One is on mushrooms and wild food known to be in the area.
When it comes to wild mushrooms - I don't even touch them.
I have a friend that is Native American. He will eat anything for $20.00 but all I do is laugh and remind him how far away the hospitals are from the trail.
When it comes to wild mushrooms - I don't even touch them.
I have a friend that is Native American. He will eat anything for $20.00 but all I do is laugh and remind him how far away the hospitals are from the trail.
turnip brain
Active Member
Ha Ha! How to REALLY become a Colorado Patient!
I took a two weekend mycology class years ago. The intro to the class was that one of the teacher's closest colleagues just landed in the hospital a few days before with liver failure due to eating mushrooms that he mis-identified... in Colorado. He was still in intensive care when the seminar finished the following weekend. It was dubious whether he'd survive. The two of them were the experts that the Poison control center calls when they have mushroom poisonings that they need extra help.
The seminar's main messages were:
-If you want to eat wild mushrooms, the best thing to do is to learn a few that grow plentifully that are relatively east to identify, learn to ID them, and stick to only those varieties to gather and eat.
-There are many that are mildly toxic and will make you sick, but probably not dead,
-Some of the deadly ones do not make you sick fast, some of the less deadly ones will make you throw up fast, but if you are ill at all after eating wild mushrooms get help immediately.
-There are enough that will kill you that you should not ever eat something you don't absolutely know.
-Even the experts make deadly mistakes
-There are no blanket rules for ruling out poison mushrooms. There are poison mushrooms with pores, there are poison mushrooms with gills, there are poison mushrooms that grow in the forest, there are poison mushrooms that grow in the fields, there are poison mushrooms that turn water blue when cooked there are poison mushrooms that don't... and so on.
I learned a few and stuck with them. Only one that grows around my house was any good, Boletus, and there aren't many of them. The rest, suillis, inky caps, lactarius all taste like shit to me. I wanted more tasty ones, and bought several reference books, studied online, and contacted the teacher with a few questions after the class. Even just looking for Boletus, I mis-identified Leccinum as Boletus, but they didn't taste like the Boletus I had before. I didn't swallow them and contacted the teacher. Most Leccinum are OK, won;t hurt you, but there are some Leccinum that grow with aspen in Colorado that will make you sick. I am glad I spit them out.
I also remember part of ID'ing mushrooms involves making spore prints. With the books, I thought I had a couple pegged until i did the spore prints and found the spores entirely different than what they should have been.
People have mistaken young Amanita which hadn't yet emerged enough to see the stalk for young puffballs.
Do you know how to tell Chantrelles apart from false chantrelles?
To you and your Native American friend. I really hope it's a joke, not a dare. The hospital can't help you if you eat the really wrong one.
I took a two weekend mycology class years ago. The intro to the class was that one of the teacher's closest colleagues just landed in the hospital a few days before with liver failure due to eating mushrooms that he mis-identified... in Colorado. He was still in intensive care when the seminar finished the following weekend. It was dubious whether he'd survive. The two of them were the experts that the Poison control center calls when they have mushroom poisonings that they need extra help.
The seminar's main messages were:
-If you want to eat wild mushrooms, the best thing to do is to learn a few that grow plentifully that are relatively east to identify, learn to ID them, and stick to only those varieties to gather and eat.
-There are many that are mildly toxic and will make you sick, but probably not dead,
-Some of the deadly ones do not make you sick fast, some of the less deadly ones will make you throw up fast, but if you are ill at all after eating wild mushrooms get help immediately.
-There are enough that will kill you that you should not ever eat something you don't absolutely know.
-Even the experts make deadly mistakes
-There are no blanket rules for ruling out poison mushrooms. There are poison mushrooms with pores, there are poison mushrooms with gills, there are poison mushrooms that grow in the forest, there are poison mushrooms that grow in the fields, there are poison mushrooms that turn water blue when cooked there are poison mushrooms that don't... and so on.
I learned a few and stuck with them. Only one that grows around my house was any good, Boletus, and there aren't many of them. The rest, suillis, inky caps, lactarius all taste like shit to me. I wanted more tasty ones, and bought several reference books, studied online, and contacted the teacher with a few questions after the class. Even just looking for Boletus, I mis-identified Leccinum as Boletus, but they didn't taste like the Boletus I had before. I didn't swallow them and contacted the teacher. Most Leccinum are OK, won;t hurt you, but there are some Leccinum that grow with aspen in Colorado that will make you sick. I am glad I spit them out.
I also remember part of ID'ing mushrooms involves making spore prints. With the books, I thought I had a couple pegged until i did the spore prints and found the spores entirely different than what they should have been.
People have mistaken young Amanita which hadn't yet emerged enough to see the stalk for young puffballs.
Do you know how to tell Chantrelles apart from false chantrelles?
To you and your Native American friend. I really hope it's a joke, not a dare. The hospital can't help you if you eat the really wrong one.
Last edited:
Joedank
Well-Known Member
just ate some dried chantrelles today
we just go to the same patches for years ... aspen boletus is not a dig deal ... but a jack o lantern(deadly) or amanita will turn you upside down ....even a hawks wing not soaked in milk can make me feel strange / off for DAYS... i stick to ONLY king boletus and chantrelles from the telluride area / above 10k ..
turnip brain
Active Member
Envy.just ate some dried chantrelles today
we just go to the same patches for years ...
Joedank
Well-Known Member
come on down next fall