Shiitake – (Lentinula edodes) ABOUT • FEATURES • LOOK-ALIKES • PROFILE • NUTRITION • MEDICINE • PRODUCT COMPARISON • HELPFUL LINKS • RECIPE • MYCOREMEDIATION Shiitake mushrooms are among the easiest and most productive varieties to grow on logs, making them an ideal choice for beginners and cultivators of all skill levels. With their hearty … Read more
Pink Oyster – (Pleurotus djamor) ABOUT • FEATURES • LOOK-ALIKES • PROFILE • NUTRITION • MEDICINE • GROWING INSTRUCTIONS • HELPFUL LINKS • RECIPE • MYCOREMEDIATION This mushroom is a big hit with chefs and market buyers thanks to its stunning pink color and delicious taste that is reminiscent of seafood! Fun Fact: Pink Oyster … Read more
Wood ears are classified as jelly fungi, and are essentially flavorless but used for their blood thinning properties and their crunchy seaweed salad like texture. Wood ears have the ability to completely dry out and rehydrate many times while fruiting, which helps them through periods of drought. The mushrooms can persist for a long time … Read more
Cauliflower mushrooms are unusual looking fungi that create wavy, brain coral like structures that are typically found at the base of dying or injured conifers. They are smooth and most related to corals, and produce white spores when mature. They have the tendency to grow through and around falling objects such as twigs and needles, … Read more
A large, lemon-yellow mushroom that forms huge dense clusters with very large caps, this mushroom contains kava kava like molecules that can ease your inhibition to the point of slight inebriation, definitely a stimulant. Found fruiting all over the southeastern coastal plains, also found in elevations up to 1000 feet around large oaks. Edibility and … Read more
An edible species related to the poisonous Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), this mushroom is very aggressive and prolific, sometimes evicting other mushrooms out of their patches to set up camp. I have seen Brick Tops take over our mulch walking trail turning it into a orange-reddish carpet with wall to wall mushrooms in the winter, … Read more
A cousin of the slimy Nameko (Pholiota nameko) this wonderful clustering, wood loving mushroom forms dense clusters of beautiful, dark orange gilled mushrooms with a slightly shaggy cap, without the slime layer Namekos have. Since they prefer cooler temperatures these mushrooms typically take 2-3 weeks to mature once they start to fruit from baby primordia. … Read more
Turkey Tail mushrooms contain various pigments, including phenols, which give them a range of colors, from browns to deep blues, blacks, and grays. These pigments protect the mushroom from UV radiation and environmental stresses. Fun Fact: The banded pattern and iridescent effect of turkey tails are also a result of structural coloration. The unique arrangement … Read more
A crunchy, nutty native relative to the US and with global distribution, this is a cousin to the widely cultivated Shiitake. it is currently being researched for it’s ease of cultivation, rapid life cycle, and similarity in the flavor to the woodsy Shiitake. Cultivate on hardwood logs outdoors and on supplemented hardwood sawdust blends. Caps … Read more
Shaggy Manes are super easy to identify for beginners, and are typically harvested in the morning, since they literally “melt’ by midday. Shaggies prefer composted livestock manure but can also fruit on composted straw and grasses. Preferring cooler nights, this one can fruit just about anytime of year the temperature drops after a long warm … Read more
Brown Shimeji, with its beautiful watermarked cap, almost cracked or marbled appearance like a tortoise shell, is a crunchy and sweet mushroom that is wonderful sautéed with onions and draped over salads or meat dishes. Related to the Elm Oyster, this mushroom has a true stem and the gills do not descend the stalk. It … Read more
Also known as the “Mushroom of Immortality” or Ling-Chi, there are a few species of Reishi mushrooms native to temperate climates, and this is the prettiest we have found. This mushroom is a very large, beautifully lacquered with brilliant yellow new growth and white tips, like the sun setting perfectly, this mushroom is living art. … Read more