I found some really nice mushrooms in my yard yesterday when I was out mowing. I looked over by my fir tree and saw out the corner of my eye something growing by it. When I was done mowing I looked closely at it and got pretty excited because it seemed like an edible Boletus.
This one had been eaten on top by a rabbit or something:
A mushroom growing by my fir tree – click for viewing full screen
There were several more just popping up all around the base of the fir tree. They varied in size and were around 4” to 5” in diameter.
Mushroom just popping up through fir needles – click for viewing full screen
I didn’t want to just break it off since the caps are how the mushrooms reproduce and if it was a good edible species I wanted to encourage it to reproduce. I stuck the camera up under the cap and got this mushroom selfie. (The picture turned out all blurry, but I included it because I liked the way the color of the tree turned out.)
A mushroom selfie – click for viewing full screen
I looked around and found an older mushroom that was picked apart more. The mushrooms definitely had pores and not gills. The color of the pores looks to be yellowish but it is a bit hard to tell on this older mushroom because it is turning brown from age.
Mushroom pores – click for viewing full screen
Most of the Boletus mushrooms are very good eating. I will need to identify it better before I get up enough courage to try it though. It sure looks good. This smaller mushroom would make a nice size for an omelet.
A new small mushroom – click for viewing full screen
I’m going to keep my eye on them and see what they look like as they get older and mature more. A nice patch of mushrooms like this could provide very good eating for many years. It is really nice to have it in my yard. I have often seen these types of mushrooms growing the forest but in many areas you are not supposed to harvest them. In my yard I’m sure it would be fine if I didn’t take too many.
Mushrooms have been known to be medicinal. Some studies have indicated that certain varieties have cancer fighting qualities. I enjoy eating them - hopefully the ones in my yard will be choice eating. If nothing else, I think they are helping the fir tree out, it is very healthy and growing very fast.
Posting under #fungifriday by @ewkaw
Thanks for reading! I always value your support and comments. The pictures were taken by me with my Galaxy S9+. Text and graphics copyright 10/4/2018 steemit.com/@lightsplasher & weku/@litesplasher.