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.
Checked on my hedgehog spots and got a nice haul. These are Hydnum repandum, the larger of the two species commonly found here, and they grow with bishop pine in our coastal forests.
That is me too.. I really enjoy the early spring walks in the woods.
I see many old friends every time I go… the dogwoods blooming scattered thru the forest.. the largest red oak on my property.. … trillium… sweet william.. Devils urn.. wild violets.. purple wood sorrel. Memories of many deer and squirrel hunts with my son.
Finding morels is nice but not required to have a great trip.
I have found that a good rain in April or early May is a strict requirement for me to get morels. They really do need a good amount of water, especially non fire morels. Luckily the season is stretched out a bit because they fruit at low elevation first and move upward over a few weeks as warm temperatures start to reach higher.
I plugged some oak logs last spring with shiitake spawn. I got quite a few mushrooms last fall. This spring I have had a couple of these grow from my logs. I haven’t eaten any since I’m cautious.
Are these an odd shiitake or is this something else? I don’t recall ever seeing any in “the wild” that resemble them.
