I went for a short walk on a new trail near me last week. I had my eyes open for mushrooms.
The trail goes through several different types of woodland.
The trail is in southern Addison County, Vermont or more generally central, western Vermont.
I am a rookie forager and rookie fungi lover.
These mushrooms looked a bit more promising.
A bit past their prime but these appear to be oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus).
I gathered a few and started back. Since I don't have much experience foraging, I took them by an experience forager friend. He confirmed they were oyster. I also have read about using spore print to help identify mushrooms.
To create a spore print, you need to collect the spore on a surface with good contrast. I used black construction paper. Next place the mushroom spore side down and cover. I used a glass dish over the mushroom. Now just wait. Recommended wait is from 2 hours to 24 hours. I was a bit impatient and only waited 2 hours. You can read about making a spore print at this site.
https://namyco.org/how_to_spore_prints.php#:~:text=Put%20a%20drop%20of%20water,making%20a%20spore%20print%20pattern.
The mushroom is flipped over in the photos so you can compare the print to the gills. Obviously it is gill side down to collect the spores 馃槉 The spore print should be white to lilac-gray for oyster mushrooms.
These photos also give a better look at the gills. "Oyster mushrooms have decurrent gills. This means they鈥檙e attached to the stem and run most of the way down it." - https://grocycle.com/oyster-mushrooms-guide
We sauteed a few of the younger mushrooms and made a nice omelete. Thats kind of a tradition for us when trying out our first batch of a new type of foraged mushrooms.
I had a fun time making my first spore print. Hope you enjoyed my post 馃崉