23 October 2008

Identification, please.


mushrooms_again
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen
Anyone out there know how to ID mushrooms? Actually, I need to find someone local who could poke about our backyard which, on inspection, seems to be a happy home to many varieties of fungus.

This particular variety (pictured) was found growing in the shade of one of the large Douglas Firs neighbouring our property. I think they are a Russula of some sort, though the gills are more grey than any I've seen illustrated.

I would be very excited to find out if any of the varieties are edible; I'd also be happy to hear from anyone who has successfully cultivated mushrooms at home (I believe oyster mushrooms and can be grown with some success).

2 comments:

Mrs Robot said...

Your local museum may be a source of information. Our state museum has an identification service where you can drop something off and come back later once an expert has had a chance to look it over. Could be worth a call to see if the BC museum offers something similar.

Unknown said...

I'm sure the RBCM does; I also had the thought of canvasing the campus for a mushroom expert.