Story, Photos, and Multimedia by Lacey Jarrell
It’s 8 a.m. in Oregon’s Coast Range. The forest is quiet except for the gentle chirp of waking birds and the occasional crackling of a falling branch. The dense fog hangs in the air like a heavy blanket, enveloping the tree tops and cloaking the morning sky. Tom LoCascio’s eyes quickly scan the wet needle-covered ground as he pushes forward, every step meeting a soft cushioned resistance. LoCascio wonders what the first one he spots will look like. Will it be brown? White? Flat? Round? Tall? Short? And then, just like that, his eyes come to rest on their elusive target: the fruiting body of a Pacific golden chanterelle.
The Pacific golden chanterelle, Oregon’s state mushroom, is just one species of a wide array of edible fungi LoCascio may find while on a mushroom foray. Every autumn after a much needed rain, king and queen boletes, hedgehogs, and cauliflower mushrooms, just to name a few, all make their way to dinner tables across the state as mushroom pickers set about foraging for this seasonal cuisine.
“There are so many edible and choice mushrooms that grow in the Pacific Northwest, that once you get a taste of them, it’s a delight every time the rainy season sets in,” says LoCascio, who has been picking mushrooms for more than twenty years.
Described as a delicacy by some, wild mushrooms are cherished for their versatility and rich flavors. Hearty chanterelle soups, thick morel gravies, and flavorful mixed sautés infused with this fresh local fare can make even the most finicky eater’s mouth water. Cory Brader, who is the executive chef at Café Zenon in Eugene, says this is because the distinctive flavors of seasonal wild mushrooms offer a deliciously nuanced approach to cuisine, much more so than common button mushrooms and portabellas, both of which can be bought year-round at grocery stores.
“Pretty much any mushroom store bought … they’re one note,” Brader says. “They are bred or farmed for certain qualities besides flavor. [Wild mushrooms] have nice earthy flavors and tones to them; they offer very different flavors and textures.” A specialty of Braden’s at the café, a savory pudding made with local chanterelles, boletes, and Oregon white truffle oil, is but one of many unique dishes he creates every year during the much anticipated mushroom season.
“Whenever mushroom season comes around, I like to take advantage of what it has to offer,” says Brader, whose kitchen thrives on diversity and changes the menu regularly.
However, aside from being a savory seasonal treat, mushrooms also play an important role in the natural world. “Mushrooms are interesting in a lot of ways,” explains Chris Melotti, a co-founder and board member of the Cascade Mycological Society. “The more you learn, the more you realize what a lynchpin role they play in almost all ecosystems.”
Fungi often provide life-supporting services to trees and plants by supplying them with much needed minerals and water. It’s a partnership that usually occurs at the host organism’s roots, and it creates what is known as a mycorrhizal relationship (“myco” meaning fungal and “rhizal” meaning “roots,” in Latin), which is beneficial to both organisms. “Almost every conifer tree species has underground fungi partners that help the tree attain resources they wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” says Melotti, who advises looking for chanterelle mushrooms in coniferous forests about thirty to sixty years old.
Regrettably, not every mushroom is helpful to its host. The edible honey mushroom, or Armillaria solidipes, is well known for its black rhizomorphs, or underground root-like strands. The strands make up the larger mycelium mass, or the collective subsurface living and growing part of a fungal body. One honey mushroom mycelium mass found in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest is believed to span an estimated 2,200 acres, making it one of the largest organisms on earth.
But despite its considerable notoriety, the honey mushroom is also well-known for something else—its deadly behavior. Although many humans relish the flavorful honey mushroom, it exhibits a pathogenic behavior that is lethal to trees. Acting first as a parasite, Armillaria solidipes infiltrates the roots of trees and shrubs and leeches vital nutrients, until it ultimately drains its host to death. After the host is killed, the fungus acts as a decomposer by chemically breaking down and sapping what nutrition it can get from the decaying organism. As an endemic species to the Pacific Northwest, the honey mushroom’s fatal cycle has ravaged thousands of evergreens throughout the years.
Complementary to the underground mycelium, the above-ground mushroom, or fruiting body, of some fungal species is the part of the organism that is prized for its culinary virtues. The meaty body, which acts merely as a repository for reproductive spores, can be found in any number of color, shape, and size combinations, making mushroom variations delightfully infinite. But because of this limitless variegation, mushrooms are often discreetly camouflaged against a forest backdrop. Their seemingly elusive behavior can fascinate even the most experienced mushroom picker.
“Mushrooms can be very mysterious,” LoCascio says. “There could be bare ground one night and a beautiful fruiting body the next morning.”
Almost 100,000 fungal species have been discovered worldwide, and of those Melotti estimates there are about 5,000 described species in Oregon, twenty to fifty of which are edible and produce well enough to be a viable food source. Several edible mushrooms, such as chanterelles, are relatively easy to recognize by their fluted bodies and long interwoven vein-like gills, while others such as edible boletes can be trickier to identify. Many mushrooms have lookalike species that are deadly poisonous, but Melotti says he doesn’t want that to stop anyone from picking—it’s just important to be wise about your choices.
“The only way you can poison yourself with a mushroom is to not correctly identify it and put it in your mouth,” he says.
When on a foray, along with a basket, pruning knife, water, and snacks, LoCascio recommends that people carry at least one identification guide, such as David Arora’s All That the Rain Promises, and More. When in doubt, LoCascio says, ask an expert. Most areas, such as BLM and Forest Service land, require mushroom picking permits, which can be acquired for free when gathering for personal use only. Forest Service maps that come with the permit will indicate areas open for harvest. Even while some areas are restricted, LoCascio notes prime mushroom foraging areas can be found throughout the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains. He believes Oregonians are blessed not only with a wondrous natural resource in native fungi, but also simply, with breathtaking flora:
“Even when I’m not successful in finding mushrooms, and you’re not always, it’s always a wonderful day in the forest.”
 

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The Wild Hunt