Flew the Coop, the Chickens are in the Woods!

It’s late summer in Vermont, and the Chickens have flew the coop. Out in force, the number of Chicken of the Woods mushroom sightings is steadily growing. Right up there with Chanterelles, the Chicken Mushrooms are impossible to miss. This bright orange and yellow mushroom is often found in vast quantities colonizing an old tree stump.

Widely regarded as one of the best choice mushrooms, and with a unique flavor and texture (kind of reminds you of chicken), chicken-of-the-woods is a treat to find here in the Green Mountains by any measure. You can check out the I.D. page here, and a recipe idea here. Enjoy, and happy hunting!

Chicken of the woods mushrooms Vermont
Chickens behind barbwire

Introducing the Russula

Here in Vermont, it’s that time of year again where regular walks through the forest begin to show signs (of what I consider) to be one of the most classic looking mushrooms beginning to pop out everywhere. I am talking about the extremely large and prevalent genus known as Russula. These mushrooms, with their bright red caps, white stems, and brittle gills are, in my opinion, the quintessential toadstool.

Although some of these Russula are edible, most notably the Shrimp Russula in North America, it can be quite difficult to tell these apart from others in the same genus. And because throughout the world, this family is often referred to as “the sickener”, I find it best to sat away from Russula’s all together.

To learn more about the Russula family of mushrooms, and how to identify the edible shrimp Russula here in the Green Mountains of Vermont, check out the new page here.

red capped mushroom with white stem vermont
That classic Russula look…

PSA – False Hellebore – The Ramp/Wild Leek Look-A-Like

False Hellebore or Indian Poke
Not a Ramp!

It’s Ramp season here in Vermont. Ramps, or Wild Leeks are a wonderfully delicious food to forage from the New England forests come spring. They are the first of all the “choice” wild foods that can be foraged each year. While the experienced forager tends to classify Ramps as one of the easier wild edibles to identify, there is one notable look-a-like that anyone who is not experienced at identifying ramps should pay attention to.

I am speaking of False Hellebore. This New England perennial just so happens to spring up at almost the exact same time as the Wild Leek. While to the trained eye, it is noticeably different, the plant is quite toxic, and was actually used by some Native Americans as a method of suicide. Increasingly, every year more people are sent to the hospital due to this look-a-like plant. You can read all about the false hellebore ramp look-a-like here. You can also watch this little video I made that shows the difference between the two plants below.


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