wild mushroom foraging in new jersey — Healthy Simple Living

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First I remember David Wolfe talking about it. Then Daniel Vitalis. Followed by several rawies facebooking about their wild mushroom finds. The benefits of medicinal mushrooms has become a growing topic of conversation in the raw food circle. Huge chunks of chaga that can retail for $65/lb (wow!) have been found right in people’s “backyard.” So, inspired by all the ’shroom chatter and some of the many benefits listed here…

Extreme Anti-Oxidant
High ORAC levels
Abundance of B Vitamins
Strengthens Immune System
Improves Resistance to Diseases
Supports Immune Function
Anti-Aging
Eliminates the Effects of Stress

…I decided to go for a mushroom hunt a few weeks ago when the weather was a positively “balmy” 40F. A field guide would have been a good idea but nah, I just went for it! So this is what I found:

1) From looking at pictures and descriptions on the web, I think this one is “stereum ostrea” or false turkey tail. It was very thin, had a smooth surface and was growing on a dead log.

False Turkey Tail?

2) Next up was this guy which was growing on a tree. It was thicker than the specimen above with visible pores and really hard to get off the tree. I have no idea what this one is!

????

3) Last one was big black clump growing on the side of a tree. When I saw it, I thought I had seriously hit a motherload of chaga! It looked like the pictures I had seen on the web but when I took it home, I read online that chaga (a) is orange/gold on the inside (mine wasn’t) and (2) it grows on birch trees ( I didn’t take note of the tree, but I don’t think it was birch.)

Not Chaga

So that was my first mushroom expedition in Northern NJ. I obviously need to do more research and become better informed – lol. “Wildman” Steve Brill runs foraging tours in Central Park. Sounds like a good place to start this Spring. Also, the website Mushroom Experts has some good info too. In the meantime, if anyone can identify these pics, I would love to learn more.

Here’s a bit from Dr. Andrew Weil:

Weil, pointing out that, “mushrooms have little to do with the sun,” has speculated that wild mushrooms contain “lunar energy”, the consumption of which may “stimulate imagination and intuition.”

Interesting!

Tagged as: health, wild mushrooms

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/deaths_of_550_000_confirm Randy K

Your post vividly reminds me of a recent article in The Onion.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/dea...
http://www.HealthySimpleLiving.com/ Kali Lilla

LOL.Yes I saw that too. That's why I tossed them! Need to make sure first so
I don't become statistic 550,001.
Kyle_89

where in nj did you get those?
http://www.HealthySimpleLiving.com/ Kali Lilla

South Mountain Reservation.