With Labor Day behind us, temperatures are dropping and a new crop of mushrooms can be found in the Maine woods.
As nighttime temperatures dip into the 50s and lower, fall mushrooms start to appear. It’s not just temperature; when mushrooms fruit is also influenced by the species of trees present and rainfall patterns.
That means learning about these factors can help you know where to look and when for the mushrooms you hope to find, said Greg Marley, a midcoast mushroom educator, vice president of the Maine Mycological Association and a mushroom consultant for poison control centers.
Mushrooms have relationships with specific tree species. For example, popular golden chanterelle mushrooms can be found near pine, spruce and fir trees in the summer after a rain.
Maps of individual tree species and forest types are available online from the U.S Forest Service or in forest atlas books. Very broadly, Maine has softwood boreal forests (pine, spruce and fir) in the north and eastern deciduous forests of hardwood species (beech, oak and maple) in the south.
The state also provides a list of ecosystem types and locations throughout Maine.
No matter the tree type, rainy conditions will encourage mushrooms to pop up from their mycelium “roots.” In hotter and drier summers, few might appear until September. In rainy summers, mushrooms may be all over the place in mid-June.
August rainfalls brought some solid summer fruiting in parts of the state, including the Midcoast and western foothills, Marley said. Chanterelles are a common sight in those months, followed by black trumpets if rainfall is heavy.
In September, you are likely to find chicken of the woods, hen of the woods and bolete mushrooms.
Chicken of the woods can be found causing rot in the heartwood of oak or ash trees. It’s large and orange-colored, with a similar taste and texture to real chicken.
It is a different species from hen of the woods. Found mostly on oak trees, hen of the woods is also known as maitake and has an earthy flavor. The gray, clustering mushroom is both an edible and a medicinal that can be sauteed, deep-fried or even turned into powder. They also can be used as a dye.
Boletes mostly have single spongy caps on a stem, and it can be trickier to identify edible ones. Marley doesn’t recommend them for beginners.
As the season wears on, fall oyster mushrooms will start popping up on sugar maple trees.
There’s another easy-to-identify group of mushrooms that grow outside the forest in autumn: the giant puffball and other puffball species, orbs found in grassy fields and livestock paddocks.
Because the mushroom you eat is like the fruit of the plant, foraging doesn’t necessarily mean fewer will grow next year, especially if you wait until it’s mature and has already spread its spores. Common guidelines suggest leaving half or a third of whatever you find for the next person, especially on public land.
Don’t eat any mushrooms you aren’t absolutely sure are safe, or anything you haven’t confidently identified. Here’s a Maine-based guide for learning safe foraging.
One way to strengthen your identification skills is to attend a class or a guided mushroom walk, Marley said. The Maine Mycological Association hosts forays for its members, and an increasing number of similar events are offered by land trusts, groups and individual experts as interest in foraging continues to grow.
