Edible Mushrooms in Utah

Mushrooms are not only delicious, they’re also a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Learn to identify mushrooms and gather them in a sustainable manner. Consider attending mushroom identification workshops or joining a group foraging foray to ensure you’re harvesting the right fungi.

Avoid wild mushroom species that resemble deadly amanitas (death caps) as they can cause fatal poisoning.

Beech Mushrooms

Mushrooms are found in every culture and are prize for their distinctive flavor, aroma and texture. Some varieties are common around the world, like chanterelle and morel, while others are rare, elusive or difficult to grow.

Donna Davis thought she had hit the mushroom jackpot when she and her boyfriend gathered chanterelles, matsutakes and hedgehog mushrooms in Northern California’s forest. But she ended up in the hospital after eating a deadly variety known as death cap.

To avoid misidentifications, learn to recognize mushrooms by reading a field guide, joining a group of experienced foragers and attending workshops and mushroom forays. And never eat a wild mushroom unless you are positive it’s safe to do so. The toxins of the death cap can be fatal, even with modern medical care.

Black Trumpet Mushrooms

People move to Lenoir for the clean mountain air, year round mild weather and outdoor activities, but they often discover that it is also mushroom country. Wild mushrooms (not to be confuse with “toxin-producing” poisonous ones) provide complex, earthy flavors and healthful nutrients.

But it’s important to be very careful. Foraging for mushrooms requires a great deal of knowledge and skill, including learning to identify potential toxic species. Attending workshops or joining guided forays are helpful. One mistake can be deadly. The death cap, for example, can cause hallucinations and paralysis. It’s been responsible for several fatalities in the United States.

Bluefoot Mushrooms

Rikki Longino (they/them) is a gardener, seed-keeper, community organizer and mycelial advocate. They run a mushroom identification workshop at the Salt Lake City Public Library, and collaborate with the Mobile Moon Co-op, a femme and queer-led collective herb farm and apothecary.

While hunting mushrooms is a common pastime for residents of Lenoir NC and nearby mountain towns, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Joining mushroom identification workshops or guided forays can greatly enhance your skill set, reducing the risk of misidentifying potentially toxic species. It’s also important to only gather mushrooms in a sustainable way, leaving enough for others and the ecosystem to thrive.

Oyster Mushrooms

While the Lenoir area has a variety of edible mushroom species, it’s important to prioritize safety and education before going out hunting. Carry a field guide, participate in guided mushroom forays and attend workshops and lectures to ensure you’re identifying mushrooms correctly and avoiding toxic look-alikes.

A mushroom aficionado can learn to identify different species by studying their habitat, cap and stem structure and coloration, as well as their gills. Spore prints are also helpful for verifying the identification of a mushroom.

While some people are able to distinguish between death caps and hedgehog mushrooms, others have been killed by the deadly poisonous greenish-gray mushrooms that grow in clusters under coastal live oaks and pines. Death caps have rounded yellowish-green caps and do not have gills, while hedgehog mushrooms have ribs under the caps that can be easily mistaken for gills.

Parasol Mushrooms

Unlike most mushrooms, parasol mushrooms do not have stems. Instead, their spores are store in their body and are releas when they break open. This results in a puff of spores, hence their name. They found in woodlands with lots of grass and dirt, usually close to trees. They eaten cooked or raw. They are firm and can be quickly sauteed or grilled. They make a tasty addition to salads, egg scrambles and omelets.

Foraging for mushrooms can be a dangerous endeavor. Death caps, a toxic variety of Amanita mushroom, are responsible for most of the mushroom poisonings around the world. They often look similar to chanterelles, matsutakes and hedgehog mushrooms—which are all edible species.