Stalking the Wild Mushroom - Richard D. Moll (Rundelania)

Mushrooming, or picking wild mushrooms for the table, is a cultural phenomenon.  To collect or not collect is embedded deep in the psyche of a nation or people. An edible mushroom called the black trumpet, depending on local lore, may be called either the trumpet of death or the horn of plenty.  In many Eastern European countries, mushrooming is a national pastime.  It is said that the Polish labor leader, Lech Walesa learned he had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 while listening to a portable radio when he was out picking mushrooms with friends.

In most of the US, wild mushrooms are simply called toadstools. Toadstools of course are considered poisonous, hence our taboo against picking and eating wild mushrooms. The beautiful but poisonous fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, is one of them. Ironically, it is probably one of the best-known mushrooms in the world, appearing in paintings and drawings, especially in children’s books. Its spectacular bright red cap is adorned with irregular fluffy white spots which are the remnants of a part of the mushroom called the universal veil. In the wild it can be found under a variety of trees including pine, spruce and oak. It is immediately recognizable on the forest floor springing out of the brown duff of pine needles or oak leaves. If one stops to look, one can see that underneath the cap are beautiful pure white gills. The cap is supported by a long white stem. There is a ring or skirt about a quarter way down the stem which becomes swollen or bulbous at the base. It is a striking looking mushroom...Rundelania