My wife, Elaine, and I are enthusiastic pursuers of wild edibles throughout the year. These natural foods are healthy, tasty, and, well, free. What’s more, gathering nature’s bounty is a way to enjoy the outdoors and reap the benefits of exercise. However, there’s a serious downside of wild foods; some have look-alikes that flaunt a harsh taste or are even poisonous. Spot the differences between these plants and mushrooms to stay safe while foraging.
Summer Mushrooms: The Heavenly and the Hellish
Summer is prime time to forage for choice edible mushrooms, such as chicken of the woods and smooth chanterelles. Unfortunately, these two delicious mushrooms have a rogue lookalike: the infamous and poisonous jack-o’-lantern mushroom. Let’s take a closer look at these three fungi.
( species complex) is our favorite mushroom, regardless of the time of year. Last summer, for example, our son Mark and I were on our way to gather blackberries when I espied a dead oak covered with chicken of the woods mushrooms. For the next several minutes, I used a knife to sever some two dozen COWs — what
