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It's birch bolete season!
Sep. 23rd, 2002 01:55 pmLast year was only an okay year for birch boletes. But I just picked a couple of pounds of birch boletes at my favorite patch (the one I picked every other day or so for over two months year before last) and I've see a couple a few other places... so leading indicators are good for this year ;-)
what's a birch bolete?
Birch boletes are probably our most common tasty leccinum. (Leccinums are the branch of the bolete family that has scabrous rather than smooth stalks -- the stalks are light but are covered with narrow veins or scales in black. Think "guy who hasn't shaved in a day or two" and you be on the mark.) The have reddish brownish caps, very domed when young but flattening with age. They don't have gills (no boletes do) and instead have a layey of pores -- imagine a very small celled sponge -- on the underside of the cap. The pores start out ivory, but fade to a buff, with brown bruising. The stalks, aside from being scabrous, tend to be narrow at the top where they connect to the cap, and plumper and rounder need the base.
You tend to find a lot of them under birches.
what do I do if I think I've found a birch bolete?
Call me. They're an easy mushroom to identify, but if mushroom ID isn't your cup to tea, check with someone who has some experience. (Alternatively, you might get in touch with the Puget Sound Mycological Society, or Professor Amirati at the UW.)
In a more general sense... pick it, and examine it for signs of bug or slug infestation. If it's reasonably intact trim the base (slugs can be brushed off if they haven't done much damage, but some flies with lay eggs in the base of the mushroom, so it's a good idea to cut away the base, and look for larva holes) and store it in the refrigerator until it can be positively ID'd.
(In general, with mushroom IDs, you don't want to cut away the base. However, boletes are a fairly easy family to work with, and trimming the base with improve their storability.)
You need to move reasonably quickly with birch boletes, as humans are not the only things with appetites for them.
They cook up really yummy. They also dry well (cut them into slices first), though curiously they turn black when dried.
It's also the begining of the season for several other families of mushrooms. Chantrelles being high on my personal list... but less likely to be found in urban and suburban areas. Shaggy manes should also be appearing soon... these look like tall white, slightly feathery eggs standing on end, usually in grass or among beauty back (at least in the not particularly wild). Another tasty, though very short lived mushroom ... please report sightings here ;-)
what's a birch bolete?
Birch boletes are probably our most common tasty leccinum. (Leccinums are the branch of the bolete family that has scabrous rather than smooth stalks -- the stalks are light but are covered with narrow veins or scales in black. Think "guy who hasn't shaved in a day or two" and you be on the mark.) The have reddish brownish caps, very domed when young but flattening with age. They don't have gills (no boletes do) and instead have a layey of pores -- imagine a very small celled sponge -- on the underside of the cap. The pores start out ivory, but fade to a buff, with brown bruising. The stalks, aside from being scabrous, tend to be narrow at the top where they connect to the cap, and plumper and rounder need the base.
You tend to find a lot of them under birches.
what do I do if I think I've found a birch bolete?
Call me. They're an easy mushroom to identify, but if mushroom ID isn't your cup to tea, check with someone who has some experience. (Alternatively, you might get in touch with the Puget Sound Mycological Society, or Professor Amirati at the UW.)
In a more general sense... pick it, and examine it for signs of bug or slug infestation. If it's reasonably intact trim the base (slugs can be brushed off if they haven't done much damage, but some flies with lay eggs in the base of the mushroom, so it's a good idea to cut away the base, and look for larva holes) and store it in the refrigerator until it can be positively ID'd.
(In general, with mushroom IDs, you don't want to cut away the base. However, boletes are a fairly easy family to work with, and trimming the base with improve their storability.)
You need to move reasonably quickly with birch boletes, as humans are not the only things with appetites for them.
They cook up really yummy. They also dry well (cut them into slices first), though curiously they turn black when dried.
It's also the begining of the season for several other families of mushrooms. Chantrelles being high on my personal list... but less likely to be found in urban and suburban areas. Shaggy manes should also be appearing soon... these look like tall white, slightly feathery eggs standing on end, usually in grass or among beauty back (at least in the not particularly wild). Another tasty, though very short lived mushroom ... please report sightings here ;-)
