Is This Edible Mushroom Toxic On Certain Trees?

Greetings,

Before I share a brand new video, I’d like to remind you that Trees In All Seasons is currently open for enrollment until Monday, May 22.

This online course teaches you how to confidently identify over 100 trees in every season — spring, summer, fall, and winter. When you enroll, you gain immediate and unlimited access to over 75 exclusive videos that lay the groundwork for successful tree identification.

You can register and learn more about the course here.

Tree identification is an excellent skill to learn if you are interested in foraging mushrooms. Many edible mushrooms grow in association with trees. When you learn the basics of tree identification, your understanding of fungal ecology improves.

One popular mushroom that grows in association with trees is chicken of the woods. Despite its popularity, chicken of the woods sometimes has a questionable reputation. When this mushroom grows on certain trees (e.g., angiosperms), foragers praise it and consider it undeniably edible. When this mushroom grows on other trees (e.g., conifers), some foragers vilify it and consider it suspect.

I recently spent some time in a conifer-rich woodland and decided to film a video in which I share my thoughts on this controversy.

Is there any truth to the claim that conifer-derived chicken mushrooms are potentially toxic?

You can watch the new video here.

Thanks for reading and watching. If you’d like to improve your foraging skills by learning how to identify trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons by Monday, May 22.

—Adam Haritan

Foraging The Most Inconspicuous Edible Wildflower

A typical walk in nature can be slow. From an outsider’s perspective, it can be painfully slow. A 1-mile walk might take a naturalist 4 hours to complete — a pace 12 times slower than the average walking speed.

While it’s true that a turtle could probably outpace a botanist walking through a flowering floodplain, the point of any nature excursion isn’t momentum.

It’s observation, education, and integration.

On several walks this year, I’ve halted my pace in order to observe a particular wildflower. Known as false mermaidweed, this plant grows in floodplain forests along rivers and streams.

False mermaidweed is unlike other plants for a few reasons, one of which is the size of its flower. Only a few millimeters wide, this flower is among the smallest of any wildflower in nature. It’s rarely seen by people walking through the woods, which is why even a slow pace isn’t recommended for proper observation.

Rather, complete stillness is.

Despite its small size, false mermaidweed offers immense value. Its stems, leaves, and flowers are edible and can be harvested during the spring season.

To learn more about this inconspicuous edible plant, check out the brand new video!

Speaking of edible plants, Sam Thayer is releasing his 4th book on edible plants of North America. Sam is a renowned author, forager, and teacher who travels the continent in search of wild food. His brand new field guide features over 650 edible species and 1,700 color photos, as well as an innovative system for identifying plants during their edible stages. Anything that Sam publishes is brilliant, and this book will be no different. You can pre-order your copy here.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!

-Adam Haritan

Roses for Beauty, Flavor, and Fragrance

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Beth Schreibman Gehring

Harvest Day of Roses at the Western Reserve Herb Society Gardens From as early as I can remember, I have been completely smitten by the beauty and versatility of roses. As I have mentioned before, my father was a passionate gardener who loved heirloom roses. Being a trained biologist, he knew the value of gardening organically, and he promoted the benefits of mycorrhizal fungi in the late 70s to strengthen the roots of his garden plants. Instead of using fungicides and pesticides, he planted fragrant herbs among the roses, knowing that many common rose pests would be deterred by the essential oils that they released. He would always tell me, “Remember Beth Ann, feed the roots first and forget about the flowers, because if you feed the roots, the flowers will always be healthy and beautiful.” This is a piece of advice I have followed to this day with real success.

Rosa 'Zepherine Drouhin' Like many artists for centuries before…

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Ancestral Spring Greens: “Viva La Italia”! — Gather Victoria

I am passionate about ancestral foods and none are more ancient than the wild greens known today as weeds. So in honor of International Women’s Day, I’ve decided to share these spring recipes from Gather Victoria Patreon, Wild Green “Erbazzone” Pies, and Wild Green Pancotto Soup. What, you may ask, do wild weedy greens such…
Ancestral Spring Greens: “Viva La Italia”! — Gather Victoria

What Field Guides Don’t Tell You About Mushrooms

Gary Lincoff said something interesting to me 8 years ago.

We were sitting at a picnic table during a mushroom foray in Pennsylvania. He just finished giving a presentation on edible mushrooms and agreed to sit down for an interview.

My plan was to ask him several questions about his life as a mycologist. The interview turned into a monologue instead. I asked Gary two questions and he spoke for 30 minutes. I didn’t mind. Almost everything he said was quote-worthy.

One statement in particular really caught my attention.

“Just to name mushrooms… after a while it gets boring.”

This surprised me. Gary was the author of one of the greatest mushroom field guides of all time. He must’ve thought that mushroom identification deserved at least some recognition. He led mushroom identification walks. He taught mushroom identification classes. He had a name for almost every mushroom he saw.

Yet there he was, admitting to me that names become boring after a while.

Before I could ask Gary to elaborate on his statement, he was already talking about the connections between plants and mushrooms, how he liked finding things that puzzled him, and how he really wanted to know the roles of organisms in the forest.

Collecting names, I realized, wasn’t Gary’s goal. It wasn’t mine either, and as I listened to his picnic table sermon, I was oddly reassured. Gary preached ecological literacy. His words were confirmation that humans are capable of connecting with nature in more fulfilling ways.

In a brand new video, I show you all the amazing things a single mushroom can teach you when ecological literacy is your goal.

You can watch the video here.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!

-Adam Haritan

Lost in the Sods

When I was pre-teen, I’d go with my grandparents to Dolly Sods to harvest huckleberries.

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Chrissy Moore

I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads: “I’d rather be lost in the Sods than found in the city.” A friend introduced me to the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area in West Virginia back when I was in college (and back when few people ever ventured that far outside of Washington, DC), and I have been hiking in the West Virginia mountains ever since. They are truly special in so many respects.

One of the main reasons I consider the WV mountains so special is because of the abundant, and often unique, native plants found on the mountain tops and down in the hollers. I am one of those plant nerds that can’t stop hunting for plants, even while on vacation. (What can I say? It becomes an obsession after a while.) Identifying plants in the wild is entertaining enough, but as an herb gardener…

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A Winter Tip To Help You Find Morel Mushrooms

Nature is full of signs.

Tracks, pellets, and clouds reveal information to the astute observer who pays attention. Nothing is meaningless when awareness is practiced. Every track, tree, and titmouse means something.

So it goes with mushrooms. Every mushroom relays information to the person who pays attention.

As an example, consider velvet foot (Flammulina velutipes) — a cold-loving mushroom that provides food and medicine. This mushroom reveals something that field guides and educators rarely mention:

Velvet foot can easily help us find morel mushrooms.

How so? In this brand new video, I explain the connection.

I’d also like to mention that today is the last day to receive $100 off your purchase of Foraging Wild Mushrooms. This online course is designed to help you safely and successfully harvest wild mushrooms from the forest, from the field, and from your own backyard — even during the winter season!

You can register here.

Thank you for your continued support.

— Adam Haritan

6 Tips To Help You Find More Edible Mushrooms This Winter

Winter might not seem like an ideal time to find wild edible mushrooms, but let me assure you: edible mushrooms can be found during the coldest months of the year.

Many fungi are psychrophilic (“cold” + “loving”). They require cold temperatures to grow. Examples of habitats that support psychrophilic fungi include permafrost, glacial ice, and off-shore polar waters.

Fortunately, local forests also support cold-loving mushrooms, so while it might be fun to look for fungi on icebergs this winter season, we can simply hunt our local woods instead.

To help you find more edible mushrooms this winter season, I created a video in which I share 6 tips that will greatly improve your harvest. (The 6th tip in particular sounds counterintuitive but is quite effective when you implement it.)

You can watch the video here.

I’d also like to mention that the video is one of over 80 exclusive videos featured in Foraging Wild Mushrooms — a four-season online course designed to help you successfully forage wild mushrooms.

The online course is currently open for enrollment and on sale ($100 off) until Monday, December 19. To get a sneak peek into the kinds of content found within the course, check out the video.

*Please note that this video is publicly available until Monday, December 19. It will only be available to registered students afterwards.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support.

—Adam Haritan

Improve Your Tree Identification Skills This Autumn

Years ago, I didn’t have much of an appreciation for the months of October and November.

Becoming a devout student of trees changed that.

In my early days of tree identification, I placed too much emphasis on the spring and summer seasons. Everything was lively and green, I reasoned. What more did I need?

As time went on, I inevitably ran into problems whose solutions would only be found in the autumn season.

I remember seeing an oak in the summer season whose leaves contained deep sinuses. Scarlet oak and pin oak were two candidates, but my beginner’s mind required more information. Once autumn arrived, I easily identified the tree based on its acorns. (Scarlet oak acorns contain concentric rings.)

I also remember seeing an ash tree but being unable to determine its exact identity. Once autumn arrived, I easily identified the tree based on its color. (White ash foliage turns yellow to purplish; green ash foliage turns yellowish-brown.)

I could share more examples of how the autumn season provided answers to my most pressing questions. Suffice to say, I now rank the months of October and November as among the most important for honing tree identification skills.

To help you hone your tree identification skills this autumn season, I am opening up registration for my online course next week.

Trees In All Seasons is a four-season online video course designed to help you successfully identify over 100 trees in every season — spring, summer, fall, and winter.

This course is presented entirely online and it features over 75 exclusive videos that lay the groundwork for successful tree identification. If you are interested in identifying trees but are finding it difficult to learn through field guides and apps, consider enrolling as a student in Trees In All Seasons.

Please note: Trees In All Seasons will be open for registration for one week only from Monday, October 17th to Monday, October 24th. Upon registration, you have immediate access to all course content and you can watch the videos at your own pace.

To register for Trees In All Seasons, mark your calendar for Monday, October 17th and visit this link.

All additional information (including course structure, outline, and cost) will be posted on Monday.

I look forward to seeing you then!
— Adam Haritan

Foraging The Elusive Mayapple

Tropical fruit flavors are not commonly detected in my neck of the woods. When they are, the experience is unforgettable.

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) is an eastern North American plant whose ripe fruit tastes like a mix between pineapple and Starburst candy. All other parts of the plant (e.g., rhizomes, leaves, stems, and unripe fruits) are considered toxic.

My first encounter with a ripe mayapple fruit was unforgettable. I actually smelled the fruit before I saw it. Within seconds of harvesting, I indulged in what little edible material was available. The taste was ambrosial — almost too good to be true — and from that day forward I became a devout seeker of ripe mayapple fruits.

As it turns out, conditions this year have been very good for mayapple fruits. Foragers in many locations have been reporting bountiful harvests. Because conditions have been fruitful, I decided to film a video in which I discuss key tips for improving your yield.

If you are interested in becoming a devout seeker of ripe mayapple fruits, check out the video!

Foraging Wild Mushrooms is an online course that is currently open for enrollment until September 2nd. This go-at-your-own-pace video course is perfect for beginners who are looking to develop their skills. If you are eager to harvest wild mushrooms but don’t know where to start or where to go, Foraging Wild Mushrooms will equip you with the necessary skills to ensure that your harvests are safe and rewarding. You can learn more by clicking this link.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thank you for your continued support!

-Adam Haritan