by Chris Kjeldsen

   WILD MUSHROOMS can be found on the menus of local restaurants, in Steppin' Out magazine, and on the menus of tables of France and Italy, paired with wines (which are a product of yeast, also a part of the mushroom kingdom).  Wild and cultivated mushrooms are a delicious and important part of our cuisine.  The north coast of California has had a long tradition of mushroom utilization, which extends from the Native Americans, to emigrants continuing their desire for the delicious fungi as part of their diet.

   Cultures around the world have considered mushrooms to be of importance for more than their culinary attributes, using them as grave guardians, and spiritually in their myths.  The northwest Indians considered "Fungus Man" as the only deity that could steer the canoe for the mystical and revered "Raven."  It is not surprising that our Native Americans recognized the importance of the diversity of mushrooms found in northern California and along the west coast of North America.  The abundance and variety of our mushrooms is found nowhere else in the world.  Much of the native lore on mushrooms has been lost but modern science is now recognizing the importance of fungi and their role in forest ecology and soil fertility.  The Kingdom fungi ranges from yeast to agricultural pathogens and from forest mushrooms to molds that are important as antibiotics.

   Wild mushrooms are as varied in color and diversity as spring wildflowers and they are one of the lovely hidden treasures of the North Coast that are revealed in a fall or winter walk.  The shape and appearance lends excitement to the discovery of one of these marvels of nature.

   The Amanita group of mushrooms is a family that imparts deadly fear as well as gourmet cuisine.  The genus Amanita is world wide in distribution and includes some of the deadliest mushrooms and also some of the most sought after edible mushrooms.  The Amanita mascara has an extensive history of use and plays an important part in the mythology of world cultures.  This wild mushroom is one of our most colorful fungi and is found all around the Northern Hemisphere.  It is commonly used for illustrations in children's books and on Christmas cards.  Gordon Watson has written a book "Soma" on this mushroom.  Northern Europeans have used this mushroom as part of religious rights and yet it is listed as a deadly poisonous mushroom.  There are toxins in this mushroom, but its "cousin" Amanita phalloides is undoubibly one of the most poisonous of mushrooms.  Each year during the mushroom season several deaths will occur due to mistaken identify of this mushroom with the delectable and highly prized Amanita calyptrata, a common look alike known by local mushroom hunters as coccora or coccoli.  The rule of "old bold mushroom" hunters is to be absolutely positive of your identification or get verification by an expert.

   Any walk in the woods will reveal numerous wonders of the fungus world, but eating any of these is not advised unless you are able to positively identify those that you may choose to eat.  There are mushroom clubs in Sonoma and Humboldt Counties that will assist you if you do intend to eat wild delicious and de lovely mushrooms.