Black trumpet mushrooms herald the fall on the forest floor: Nature News
I love the idea of foraging for wild edibles. I try not to do it too much though because, unless they are invasive or grow in overwhelming abundance, humans are having such a negative impact on species diversity through habitat destruction and overharvesting that it is better for the planet to leave native plants alone. For me, just the thought that I could scrounge some food from the forest in an emergency makes me feel, in a good way, more like the animal I am rather than a thing apart from nature.
This is the time of year when many foragers' thoughts turn to mushrooms. Every time it rains, mushrooms pop up with wild abandon. I am very fearful of foraging wild mushrooms, I’ve heard too many stories of accidental poisoning. However, a mushroom-expert friend brought black trumpets, winter chanterelles, chicken-of-the-woods and fall oysters to the table after just a quick foray in their back woods, inspiring me to get out there and look. My favorite mushroom to forage is the black trumpet, I know where to look for them and they have absolutely no poisonous look-alikes.
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Black trumpets are funnel-shaped and range in color from brown to gray to black. The edges of their caps roll outwards and are wavy—a lot like a chanterelle, to which they are closely related. Unlike a chanterelle, they don’t have gills or other obvious spore-bearing structures; the undersides of their caps are, instead, smooth to slightly wrinkled.
Black trumpets are prized for their odor, both fruity (like apricots) and woodsy at the same time. Tom Volk (TomVolkFungi.net) recommends drying them: “It dries very well and adds a great flavor to eggs cooked in the middle of winter, when we here in the north are craving for something other than snow!” I dried mine for the first time this year and will probably only do this in the future - drying concentrated the flavor, conjuring up that truffle smell (these are sometimes called ‘poor man’s truffles’) that I love so much.
In this area, black trumpets are most often associated with beech and oak forests. Mushrooms are the reproductive part of a fungus, the "body" of which lives underground or in rotting logs as a network of cells (called mycelium) which feed off of tree roots and/or rotting material and just as often form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees that benefit both the tree and the fungus. When conditions are ripe for reproduction (like now when it is warm and wet), the mycelium forms the above-ground mushroom which releases spores that develop into new mycelia. Imagine sheet-like organisms blanketing the roots of forest plants – fed by autumn rains, they press up through the soil, emerging in wondrous constellations of odor and color and savory delight.
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My worry with foraging mushrooms, like anything else, is how much is too much? Luckily there are sustainable ways to harvest wild mushrooms. Because mushrooms are the fruiting body of a much larger organism it is possible to take mushrooms without harm. You just need to remember that these are reproductive structures, leave enough for the fungus to reproduce. I love this advice from The Mushroom Huntress (www.mushroomhuntress.com).
“Treat mushroom patches like the finite resources they are; treasure them and treat them well and they will return riches.” She lists the Three Tenets of Sustainable Mushroom Foraging: “1. Only harvest 1/2 of any patch of any mushroom. Leave 1/2 behind on the tree or forest floor to reach maturity and spread their spores far and wide. 2. When you do harvest, take the older ones, if possible – ones that have already released their spores. 3. Tread lightly. Trampling through patches disrupts fragile ecosystems, kills young mushrooms and symbiotic plants, and may inhibit the abundance of future growth.”
These are great rules to follow in general. Trampling can also kill other native wild plants. Always pay attention to where you step! But, get out there. There is so much going on in the woods right now. The forecast calls for another dry week. While this can be great for fall colors, let's hope for more rain and with it, mushrooms.
Susan Pike, a researcher and an environmental sciences and biology teacher at Dover High School, welcomes your ideas for future column topics. Send your photos and observations to spike3116@gmail.com. Read more of her Nature News columns online at Seacoastonline.com and pikes-hikes.com, and follow her on Instagram @pikeshikes.