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An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

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Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#71

Post by 83 »

3yr-i-frew-up wrote: post #27
Pine_Mushroom wrote: post #8

I had a mushroom farm in Northern Michigan some years ago and we grew Golden Oysters, among other species. I think our winters are too cold for them to really establish themselves, but I was hearing reports of them 'going native' in Southern Michigan as long ago as 15 years. Like the farmer in the article, I also wondered about the apparent lack of effort in growing native species. My area has a wonderful native oyst…

I've been thinking about farming in Michigan. If global warming takes off, we should have a nice environment and plenty of water to grow... I just can't imagine doing agriculture in 2026. I have a masters in Mechanical Engineering and 2 decades of experience. It just seems like something for uneducated people.

Modern farming is much closer to science and engineering than most realize. Rowcropping in particular is heavily reliant on gps, soil chemistry, and genetics to put the right seed, in the right soil, with the right nutrients to maximize output.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#72

Post by Pine_Mushroom »

IAmBroom wrote: post #62
Pine_Mushroom wrote: post #8

I had a mushroom farm in Northern Michigan some years ago and we grew Golden Oysters, among other species. I think our winters are too cold for them to really establish themselves, but I was hearing reports of them 'going native' in Southern Michigan as long ago as 15 years. Like the farmer in the article, I also wondered about the apparent lack of effort in growing native species. My area has a wonderful native oyst…

The reason they're growing the golden oysters is simple: they're prettier by far than gray, native oysters. They both cook down to a boring beige, but package of yellow food will always outsell gray food.

They were a hot seller for us, but they had some notable downsides compared to other oyster varieties. Their self life in particular is quite short, and they tended to bruise black, which really kills the aesthetic value.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#73

Post by Pine_Mushroom »

83 wrote: post #71
3yr-i-frew-up wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been thinking about farming in Michigan. If global warming takes off, we should have a nice environment and plenty of water to grow... I just can't imagine doing agriculture in 2026. I have a masters in Mechanical Engineering and 2 decades of experience. It just seems like something for uneducated people.

Modern farming is much closer to science and engineering than most realize. Rowcropping in particular is heavily reliant on gps, soil chemistry, and genetics to put the right seed, in the right soil, with the right nutrients to maximize output.

One big reason I got out of mushroom farming was a great big mushroom 'factory' was set up not too far from me. They produced literal tons more than we could have ever dreamed, at a much lower cost. They are a highly technical, industrial enterprise. For a while one of their selling points was: 'mushrooms never touched by human hands', to emphasize how automated their system was. I felt like John Henry against the steam shovel.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#74

Post by whicks »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #59
whicks wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious, source for this? > ~0.1% of southern forestland), which is a fraction of worse invasives: Japanese honeysuckle (4.4%) and Asian privet (1.4%). Sample size of 1 here (I know), but I've spent a meaningful portion of my life outdoors in the south and I have _never_ seen swaths of the landscape covered with Japanese Honeysuckle or Asian Privet like I have Kudzu. It absolutely dominates _everything_ in…

You won't see swaths of honeysuckle or privet because it grows in the understory throughout the entire forest, choking out natives. Part of their destructive power is that they bloom earlier than most natives in spring, essentially stealing the available sunlight in those golden weeks before the overstory leafs out and reduces sunlight in the understory. I guarantee you that if you've spent a meaningful portion of yo…

Thank you for this detailed reply. I really enjoy learning about this sort of thing, going to dig into those links later! Much appreciated!

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#75

Post by VoidWarranty »

IAmBroom wrote: post #60
VoidWarranty wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Superstition/caution. They aren't 'difficult' to cook. They are dangerous to eat if uncooked (and thus undercooked). While true morels themselves can be dangerous while uncooked, there are similar looking species that are both less and more dangerous. Species of Gyromitra or "false morels" like Verpa Bohemica will commonly all be called "morels": both as an intentional cultural colloquialism or simple misidentificati…

> some Gyromitra species may be more dangerous than true morels. People have died from eating them; they contain a powerful liver poison. Even claiming they are 'called "morels"' is ridiculous and irresponsible. > Note that not all compounds are destroyed! Mushrooms, like all matter, is made of "compounds". Dehydration is typically used to remove the dreaded dihydrogen monoxide!

Despite many people such as you and I yelling at random hippies and hillbillies online, they continue to call everything "morels". Reread my comment again: it is true that people colloquially misname dangerous species. I cannot help this. I can only point this fact out.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#77

Post by IAmBroom »

The larger picture is: we humans are fighting an oncoming tsunami (exponential fungal growth) with sandbags. And puny ones, at that.

It's the same with any invading species. Go pluck all the Japanese honeysuckle and knotweed (not the fault of the Japanese, BTW: we planted them!), kudzu, golden oysters, garlic mustard, invasive rose, and so on that you like. Smash all the spotted lanternflies in your entire city! Etc.

Those populations will barely hiccup, and then continue.

We have no real plan, maybe not even a real ability, to stop any of them. They are establishing themselves high up in native populations, largely due to lack of controlling pressures (generally a lack of predator/grazers, and parasites).

We're in a painful transition point, spurred on by human travel and long-range commerce (shipping by ground, sea, and air). Even if we began (somehow!) bio-filtering everything we shipped right now, it's too late.

There will eventually be a new balance, or at least a new temporary equilibrium. Unfortunately, a lot of things we like are going to be displaced or even extincted by the pressure of this rapid change, whether it's songbirds or oranges or a significant percentage of the human species.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#78

Post by amenhotep »

IAmBroom wrote: post #58

The author starts out depicting themselves as some sort of cloning scientist... and clearly not only isn't that, but isn't very informed on mushrooms. Many, if not most, wood-decaying mushrooms (those that break down dead wood) rely on killing nematodes to supply nitrogen, which is otherwise short supply in their diet. They use adaptations that resemble glue pads, tripwire nooses, or even hydro-pumped harpoons to tra…

You've put "helpless nematodes" in quotes despite the article literally not once saying that. It says:

> Oyster mushrooms also happen to be one of the few carnivorous mushrooms – preying mercilessly on nematode worms.

That's it. That's the one sentence related to the topic. You have imagined things to get mad about.

Re: An unstoppable mushroom is tearing through North American forests

#80

Post by steve_adams_86 »

redanddead wrote: post #69
comrade1234 wrote: post #10

A company grows these (and other mushrooms) in a warehouse here in Zurich to supply restaurants and grocery stores, which is probably one of the reasons these mushrooms are now found in the wild. I "hunt" (in German you use the verb "collect/gather") mushrooms in the forests around Zurich and I haven't seen these yet. They also don't appear in my Pilzfürher app specific to Switzerland. But I have heard they are here.…

Is there a secret to mushroom hunting?

One secret is that the more you do it, the more you see mushrooms everywhere. You develop an aptitude for noticing fungus absolutely everywhere, and you'll wonder how you ever missed it.

Another is that you need to get a feel for the conditions your local edible species like. Mushrooms will appear most of the year where I live, but the worthwhile hunting times fall into fairly narrow bands in spring and fall, though prolonged rains and cooler weather in summer will rapidly generate huge stands of some species too. You kind of get a feel for it over time.

Finally, you need a good guide, ideally human at first and then a credible book that's ideally specific to your region to some degree. As an example, North America is a huge area to make a book for! They exist though, and they're still useful if you can't find anything more specific. British Columbia helpfully narrows it down, then Vancouver Island even further. Sometimes you'll find books specific to regions within your state like that, and that's the best in my experience. Look for a local mycology club and they'll have the best literature and guides on lock. They'll also probably welcome you out for some group hunting and guiding. These people are almost always extremely helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, and excited to have new members.

Like with fishing, making it about getting outside and enjoying nature rather than requiring each outing to be a huge success helps. At first you might get skunked pretty frequently and have no idea why. Over time you'll get a feel for things, find reliable stands of species you love, and get better at spotting what you're looking for.

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