Bolete Bonanza! Bay Boletes, And Weeping Milk Cap Mushrooms!

Well,  Cheryl got her wish for a Bumper crop of Boletes!   I got my wish for at least one really really LARGE Bolete.   And the Deer got their wish as for being the first ones to taste the new mushrooms as they emerged.   Win, Win WIN!

So how to begin....  There were simply a LOT of Boletes today.   In fact, we pretty much focused on those exclusively.    There were a few others in small numbers:  A few chanterelles, a handful of Field Boletes, and quite a few Gyroporus purpurinus   I was afraid we would only find the small ones in our usual Bolete place. 




My fears were confirmed when Cheryl found a large Bolete that had already succumbed to the Bolete Destroyer fungus.  I was afraid we might have missed out chance to cash in on a big harvest.

But a few moments later... We found THIS:





It was HUGE!   Ok, Not as big as some other Boletes we found in the past... Or as large as ones found in South America or Europe.  However,  this was the largest, Bolete we have ever found that was still fresh! 

And then the flood gates opened!   We began finding small ones, medium ones, half eaten ones, and even some fairly large ones.   There were so many that were still fresh...I dare say this was our greatest haul to date.   Cheryl filled her bag and My Basket was overflowing.  I felt kind of bad that the Brittle Gills and Gyroporus purpurinus were being crushed my those monsters.

Lobster... Complete with a
Slug inside!

Cheryl finds another... Check out
how full the bag is!

We did manage to find a few Lobster mushrooms along the way.  However,   many of the Lobster mushrooms were consumed by slugs or "kicked" by the deer...  I can't really explain it any other way.

  We found numerous Boletes as well that has chomps taken out of them, were scattered all around the forest floor.   I can almost see the deer pawing them up and eating the good parts. 

Cheryl after...

Cheryl Before.....

After an hour or so of Mushroom hunting, Cheryl turns from Rambo to "Princess Fainting Flower".  We had to Hurry up to check out this last section of trail before she turned into a pumpkin...  or some other heavy, dead weight.   

More Golden Oysters! 

Several Clusters Of Black Staining
polypore. 

We found several logs of Golden Oyster mushrooms and a very large cluster of Black Staining Polypore.   We first thought it was a Miatake, but those happen later in the year.   Still, it was pretty exciting for a second there.   And if it HAD been actual Miatake...we would have had more Mushrooms than we would have known what to do with! 

Black Staining Polypore.  HUGE! You Can eat it... But just because it is not poisonous does
 not mean you'll want to...( It turns everything it's mixed with black!) 

Each Cluster was Massive!

Weeping Milk Cap!

Wonder why it is called that? 

And our last mushroom just happened to be a new one.  I found it on the way back to the car.  I first thought it was a Bolete, but I flipped it over and found gills.   Then....  It began to leak white latex. 

False Saffron Milk Cap. 
Tastes like Pepper! 
Slugs Don't Mind the Taste!

There are LOTS of Saffron Milk caps in these woods, but I have never found one that was edible ( Ok, I hear Saffron Milk caps may be edible.. but they are very hot and peppery tasting!)  Turns out this is the "Weeping Milk Cap".  Also known as "Lactarius volemus"   

Besides the Color, Dripping Latex, and Brown color bruising...  it also has an additional identifying characteristic... It smells like FISH!   ( And it really DOES!)   Having been around fish for many years, it is a pleasant smell for me.  It reminds me of Bluegill or Walleye flesh that has been cleaned. (Or the Trout Hatchery back in Grand Haven)  Cheryl confirmed the smell.    They are edible and I already cooked it up and tested it.  I hope we can find more in the future.  Probably the best part of this find was that I actually knew what it was before I got it home and keyed it out.  Very rewarding!

And I should also mention that we discovered another Bolete species.   ( Species?  Family?   Who knows..  a Different Bolete!)   The Imleria badia!  Also known as the Bay Bolete. But don't let the Name Fool ya! (Badia?  Bad?  As in Bad Tasting...)   It was about the same size as the Pennybun Bolete, equally as desirable for the table. We found it right next to the Pennybun  in the same area.  So what would make us think it was something different?

Well, the pores are Yellow/brown!   The cap was more red than purple and the stem was yellow with reticulations.   But the BIG indicator was... Does it turn Blue? 

But will it Turn Blue when Sliced?

Hmm...  Looks like it. 

Similar to the Field Bolete,  if you damage or bruise the mushroom, it turns blue as the chemicals within oxidize. However, I have never found a mushroom of this size that turned blue..  Cheryl put it to the test! 

Whoa!   Now that IS BLUE!

I wish I had taken a picture of the drying rack with all the slices lined up.   It looked like we were drying the Blue Indigo milk cap mushroom! 

Indigo Milk cap!

 Unfortunately ( or fortunately...  depending on how you feel about BLUE!) The color fades as you cook it.   So you will not have to be grossed out ( or enchanted!) by the blue color of your food.   Still wish I had taken that picture... but hopefully these will give you an idea. 




So when everything is said and done,  we managed to find another haul of mushroom.   We found a few new ones.. which is always exciting.   And we managed to fine the Target species without having to share too much with the deer and the slugs.   I have to admit,  the slugs are kind of gross as they eat up your prized finds. 

Slug emerging from a Stem!
Like a Horror Movie!

And slugs don't mind the Deadly Toxic 
mushrooms, either!

 Normally I find them kind of cool as their slime is pretty unique and amazing.   But having one crawl out of the stem of your mushroom as you clean it is something out of a nightmare.  (Or really bad SyFy Movie.)   However, I would rather deal with slugs than Mushroom Beetles or Mushroom Mites.  Thankful

A Pile of Penny Buns!

ly,  drying seems to get ride of them all! 

Thanks for stopping in!