Don’t see a 2026 thread for mushrooms, so I thought I’d start one.
This winter has been an amazing season for chanterelles in CA, but somehow I haven’t found more than a couple until yesterday. These are Cantharellus californicus, or the California golden chanterelle, our state mushroom (yes, we have one). They’re affectionately called “mud puppies” by some people since they grow half buried in the dirt and tend to get a little waterlogged, but their size makes up for the extra work needed to clean them.
Also found this Amanita that I am pretty sure is a spring coccora, but it’s too uncomfortably close in appearance to A. ocreata for me to want to eat it.
