Before I share a brand-new video with you, I’d like to mention that my newest online course, Exploring Wild Ecosystems, will reopen for registration on Monday, September 23.
This online course is designed to strengthen your relationship to wild places by introducing you to fascinating terrestrial and wetland ecosystems. With a focus on the connections and communities that bind nature together, Exploring Wild Ecosystems will help you gain important ecological skills.
Speaking of connections, forests are teeming with connections of all kinds. Nothing in a forest exists in isolation.
Take the cauliflower mushroom, for instance.
This edible mushroom grows in association with certain trees. To find the cauliflower mushroom, it only makes sense to explore ecosystems where these trees grow.
During a recent hike, I discovered a cauliflower mushroom growing near a mature red oak. Sensing the connection, I started checking every oak in the forest. Within 30 minutes, I found two more cauliflower mushrooms — one of which I harvested and turned into a delicious meal.
Fortunately, I brought my camera along to document the experience. To learn more about this lovely edible mushroom, check out the brand-new video.
Thanks for reading and watching! If you want to develop ecological literacy and see how all the components within nature are connected, consider enrolling in Exploring Wild Ecosystems on Monday.
This question constantly runs through the forager’s mind.
As it turns out, the answer isn’t always a simple yes or no, particularly regarding wild mushrooms.
Some mushrooms are choice edibles. Some mushrooms are toxic raw. Some mushrooms are toxic no matter how thoroughly you cook them.
But there’s another category of mushrooms: those that are no longer recommended for consumption even though field guides once listed them as edible.
Included in that latter category is a mushroom that grows in hemlock forests. This lilac-colored mushroom causes unpleasant symptoms in many people who consume it.
But not everyone experiences unpleasant symptoms, and in some cultures, this mushroom is considered undeniably edible.
Why is this the case? How can a mushroom poison some people and nourish others?
“Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear.”
To the best of my knowledge, Lao Tzu wasn’t a mycologist, but his famous text — the Tao Te Ching — could be considered a treatise on how to find morel mushrooms.
Reading the quote above, we are reminded that our desperation to find morels can complicate our search. A desperate mind, after all, is a muddied mind. A calm mind, on the other hand, is a clarified mind that can see what’s directly in front of it (in this case, a morel mushroom).
Here’s another quote from chapter 55: “The master never expects results; thus the master is never disappointed.”
Disappointment afflicts many foragers who struggle to find morels. Such disappointment can lead to sadness, anger, and frustration. It’s better to appreciate the sunshine, fresh air, and singing birds than to feel like the morel gods have cursed us.
Lao Tzu was a wise man. His words were very powerful. My words will never be as eloquent as his, but I still feel obligated to share some of my own advice on finding morel mushrooms.
What skills must we develop? Where do we look? How do we deal with FOMO (the fear of missing out)?
And in case you missed the announcement, I’m releasing a new online course in May. Exploring Wild Ecosystems is designed to improve your knowledge of ecology by introducing you to fascinating ecosystems — including alvars, barrens, bogs, dunes, fens, glades, savannas, vernal pools, and others!
There’s a hidden benefit to joining nature clubs that few people discuss. Once gained, this benefit can be wasted if you don’t take action on it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain.
Early on, I realized that an easy way to learn mushrooms is to join a mushroom club. An easy way to learn plants is to join a botanical club. This is true for nearly any skill that can be taught. Join an organization and participate in its activities.
This sounds pretty obvious, but what is the hidden benefit that I mentioned earlier?
The hidden benefit is this: Nature clubs often take you to places that you’ve never been to before. A botanical club might botanize a rare northern white-cedar fen. A mushroom club might explore a remote red spruce forest.
The reason I call it a “hidden” benefit is this: many nature clubs never mention it. In fact, some nature clubs never draw attention to the place itself. Instead, they devote their attention solely to an isolated group of organisms that inhabit the place.
Now of course, organisms are vital components of a place, and we must learn them. But the place itself, and the relationships that build the place, are things we also must learn if we are to improve our ecological literacy.
What is this place? Why does it look like this? Who is responsible for its existence? How is this place any different from other places with similar names?
If we don’t ask these questions, we fail to see how any of its organisms are connected. If we don’t see the connections, we don’t see the place. If we don’t see the place, we act in strange ways — almost like hungry people who taste only ingredients, but not the meal itself.
All this to say, I decided to bring awareness to this issue by creating a new online course devoted to this topic. Exploring Wild Ecosystems is an educational resource I spent all of 2023 creating. I am excited to announce that it will be released in May.
If you want to improve your ecological literacy while studying fascinating ecosystems (alvars, barrens, bogs, glades, prairies, swamps, and more), consider joining the notification list.
I’ll have more information to share in the upcoming weeks.
Paths I Walk 
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