About
This blog is about the mushrooms of SW Australia with an initial emphasis on those that are edible.
It is the oldest blog of its kind in Australia but it is in need of a bit of an update. I am hoping to get around to that in the near future. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the subject matter.
Tancredi Rubinich said,
November 5, 2010 @ 8:05 pm
Wow. I just found this blog because I am up late surfing.
I have also dreamed of living in the forrests of the SW and have been reading a stack of Truffle cultivation and mushroom books latley. I am delighted to be discovering a fascination with fungi which I found whilst working with Trichodermas for crop protection and Glomus mycorrhizas for crop nutrition. I’d love to combine my love of the forests, growing things and prehaps commercial fungi cultivation such as truffles or mushrooms. We have been looking for the ideal block to do this on which is difficult as we are a little green but very keen. I thank you for your blog it has given me much needed inspiration.
Tanc.
morrie2 said,
November 7, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
Hi Tanc
I am pleased that you enjoy the site. I am up late tonight myself. There are places around for sale, but you really have to decide to take the plunge. There is plenty of work down here to keep you afloat if you can’t find a position in your field at first. Good luck!
Morrie
Mitch Garbutt said,
July 11, 2011 @ 2:44 pm
Hi Morrie
Just got back from a weekend camping down at the stirling ranges and met a traveller who was a funghi nut and showed us a glowing ghost fungi (impressive). He inspired us to look around at how many funghi there where and we were just blown away when we found about 25 different types in a 100m radius.
I found your site after googling Morels, as i am a keen cook and would love to hunt some up.
Love your site and hope to get some insite as to where some tasty mushrooms might turn up.
Great Blog.
Best wishes
Mitch
morrie2 said,
July 12, 2011 @ 11:17 am
Hi Mitch,
Thanks for your comments. At this time of year look out for morels on pine bark mulch in some of the new suburbs. There are others that will come up in burnt forest in Spring.
The next edible mushroom to look out for is Hydnum repandum. It is a very easy one to identify. It grows right through the mixed marri and jarrah forest in the hills round Perth. The Gleneagle campground south of Armidale is a consistant source near to Perth.
Happy hunting.
Morrie
Richard Hardiman said,
February 14, 2012 @ 5:53 am
Hi mate. I am also interested in fungi. I live in Sydney and have noticed that there are a great variety of mushrooms and toadstools around seemingly many more than when i was young. unfortunately I know ‘stuff all’ about them but am learning due to you and other webloggers. I find it impossible to find any courses in mycology in Aus (something i am intersted in) I would like to send you some images of the fungi I have spotted around the town if you are interested. Including some beaut stinkhorns (phallus rubicundus) I found around Sydney Park, Alexandria/ St Peters.
morrie2 said,
February 16, 2012 @ 1:07 pm
Hi Richard,
Great to hear of your interest in fungi.
I don’t know of any course in mycology. There are very few myclogists around the place. I have just learned a little from my own interest.
As far as photos go, can I suggest that you post them on Flickr and join one of the fungi groups there. The Fabulous Fungi – Australia group for example. There are some wonderful images there. Have a look at Razor 4343 for example.
Cheers,
Morrie
Josh said,
April 14, 2012 @ 7:28 am
Hi Morrie,
I have just moved to the North coast of NSW (near Byron Bay). I’ve Googled trying to fund a fungi/mushroom club supporting wild mushroom info/collecting but haven’t been able to. I know you’re in WA but are you aware of any such group on NSW’s north east coast?
Thanks
Josh
morrie2 said,
April 14, 2012 @ 12:30 pm
Hi Josh,
Fungimap is an Australian wide group that supports interest in mushrooms. They have annual forays at which there are educational sessions. They are not involved at all with edible mushrooms though. Quite the opposite in fact.
I recall that there are some growers of exotic fungi near Byron Bay. Perhaps you could visit them and you might be able to guide you towards a suitable group?
Burnum Burnum, who I met in WA, was from Byron and had an interest in such things, but he has sadly passed on. He did publish quite an extensive book on Wild Things, including some fungi.
You might try contacting Patrick Leonard of the Queensland Mycological Society. This article from the Coffs Coast Advocate gives some background. There are members down your way it would seem.
http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/story/2012/04/01/pat-takes-frypan-on-scientific-field-trips/
Membership is $20
http://qldfungi.org.au/membership
Good luck,
Morrie
bob said,
May 24, 2012 @ 3:43 pm
hi morrie, i found some mushrooms growing in a crack of a fallen tree, they are just like the ones at the top of your home page, little brownish redish caps that were growing in clusters just in the cracks, i think they were cottonwoods in eastern idaho, but they were exactly like the ones at the top of this homepage, could you please tell me there name ?
morrie2 said,
May 25, 2012 @ 9:30 am
Hi Bob
I would not attempt an ID on the basis of what you have said and to be honest I have not tried to identify the ones on the top of the page.
The main focus of this blog is edible fungi. In my part of the world, anything growing in that sort of situation is likely to be poisonous or even deadly. They just made a pretty display and I had the photo available when I was putting the site together.
Sorry,
Morrie
tara said,
October 5, 2012 @ 7:10 am
Hi
Thanks for your blog! I’ve been living in the country in France and Finland and have been picking loads of mushrooms. I’m visiting Australia for a few months soon and I’m trying to find mushroom picking groups or information in SE Queensland. Would you have any ideas for which species would be so far north? cheers Tara
morrie2 said,
October 5, 2012 @ 11:06 am
Hi Tara,
By coincidence I am in France at the moment, in the south, near Menton. I hope to go mushroom hunting while I am here.
For SE Queensland, you might try contacting Patrick Leonard of the Queensland Mycological Society. This article from the Coffs Coast Advocate gives some background.
http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/story/2012/04/01/pat-takes-frypan-on-scientific-field-trips/
Membership is $20
http://qldfungi.org.au/membership
Good luck,
Morrie
Jason said,
December 11, 2013 @ 1:26 am
Hi Morrie,
I’ve been on the Sunshine Coast since January working as a landscaper and have come across Stropharia rugussoannulata quite frequently on woodchip in garden beds of parks and properties, fruiting in June,July,August. Commonly marketed as the garden giant, symbiotic with vegetables.
Jason
morrie2 said,
December 13, 2013 @ 7:35 am
Hi Jason,
Are you sure that you are seeing Stropharia rugoso-annulata and not Leratiomyces ceres? They could be easily confused. If you have any pictures that you can send links of I would be very interested to see them.
And the next question is: Have you eaten them?
Cheers
Morrie
Glenda said,
November 5, 2012 @ 1:26 am
Hi Morrie
Great Site. I am in Bridgetown and have often thought it would it would be great to know which mushrooms are safe and which aren’t. Your site will really help. Thank you so much for providing such great info.
Glenda
morrie2 said,
November 5, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
Hi Glenda,
Thanks for your kind words. I passed through Bridgetown today on my way home after a month in France, where I tasted many mushroom dishes and attended several mushroom festivals amongst other things.
I have just had a quick scan through your blog and it looks interesting. I will explore it further. Right now it is the middle of the night. My body clock is out of whack!
It’s nice to hear from a ‘neighbour’ 🙂
Cheers,
Morrie
Bella said,
April 15, 2013 @ 5:06 am
Hi, just came across your blog.
I also run a blog called FinSki’s and we are mushroom pickers. Can you please contact me as we came across a mushroom that looks very much like a slippery jack and wouldn’t mind your opinion. We have photos of the mushroom.
morrie2 said,
April 15, 2013 @ 7:06 pm
Hi Bella,
It is nice to hear from another mushroom hunter 🙂
After reading your blog, I see that you are regulars at Oberon. That would mean that you are familiar with the Slippery Jack and should recognise it easily. So my first thought is that if you don’t recognise it, it isn’t a Slippery Jack and so should not be eaten. There are however quite a few species in the genus Suillus that are all known as Slippery Jacks, so it might be something other than the familiar S. luteus and S. granulatus. I will contact you as you have requested, but as a rule I would not offer an identification on the basis of a photograph.
Cheers,
Morrie
Jason said,
December 11, 2013 @ 12:38 am
Hi Morrie,
I’ve spent some time in the Blue Mountains, photographing and sampling mushrooms, Oberon has an info centre you can take your mushrooms into for a positive id, they only specialize in 2 edible varieties, but it’s the start of a more informative service.
http://www.oberonaustralia.com.au/visitor-information/things-to-see-do/mushroom-picking/
Jason
jsunlau said,
January 18, 2014 @ 8:39 am
Hi Morrie, you have inspired me to start blogging, here’s a link to some of the mushrooms I’ve encountered, have posted some pics of Stropharia rugosoannulata.
Jason
http://mushroaming.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/img_0146-jpg/
morrie2 said,
January 18, 2014 @ 3:50 pm
Hi Jason.
I have had a look at the blog. It looks great. Good work.
Morrie
Nola Cigulev said,
May 19, 2014 @ 8:48 am
Hi Morrie. We found some dome shaped mushrooms that smelt like field mushrooms. They have grey or black gills and the long thin stalk snaps cleanly away from the white cap. I’m keen to identify them to check their edibility. How can I send a photo?
Nola
morrie2 said,
May 20, 2014 @ 4:50 am
Hi Nola,
You can post a link if you put the photos on Photobucket or similar hosting site.
These do not sound like they are edible.
Can you please post them under the Identification guide.
Cheers
Morris
Jeremy Johnson said,
March 2, 2015 @ 12:11 am
Hey Morrie,
Hope you are well ?
we had a conversation a few months ago and then I lost contact.
Please, could you let me know the price for the foraged mushroom as I would like to get some on a regular basis.
I would like to hear from you please.
Thanks very much
Jeremy
Angie Bussell said,
July 10, 2015 @ 12:16 am
Hey Morrie, Im also in the south west and have been cultivating at home for about 6 months, Im obsessed!! I also live on the edge of a beautiful national park and am discovering shrooms all the time. I would love to learn more about what is ok to eat and what isn’t.. I found some slippery jacks the other day and took a cutting but it Im unsure if it is contamed yet or not… Am looking forward to more info:))
morrie2 said,
July 12, 2015 @ 6:50 am
Hi Angie,
It is always good to meet another enthusiast.
I am interested to know what you have been cultivating.
Given the prevalence of slippery jacks in the pine forests of the area, I don’t think that there is much point devoting energy to them but I would be interested to know if you managed to get it to form a culture.
I am always happy to help with identification and information if I can and am happy to go foraging if I have the time.
Cheers,
Morrie
Angie Bussell said,
July 13, 2015 @ 1:48 am
Im working on oysters, king oysters, enoki and shiitaki and have just received a few interesting medicinal culture to work with. One of my slippery jack cultures looks like it might be working.. but it also has a contam in the dish.. I need to remove it.It was just for fun, to see how it went.
How would be the best way to get in contact if we were to come over to pemby for a forage?
Mark Oakley said,
June 19, 2016 @ 4:44 am
Hi Morrie, I live in Wagin. I have a 24 acre property and enjoy hundreds of field mushrooms during the season. I’m writing because I have found a very large mushroom that maybe you could identify. These mushrooms are the size of a dinner plate, smell like field mushrooms and were found growing under wandoo trees. I would like to email to you a series of pictures if possible to help with identification. I hope that you can help. Cheers, Mark.
brad said,
July 10, 2016 @ 3:30 pm
Great blog. Is there a foragers group /contact you know of Perth way?
morrie2 said,
August 3, 2016 @ 2:09 pm
Hi Brad,
Sorry but I am not aware of any foraging group in Perth. I have been asked so many times that I might do a course next year. If so, I will let you know.
Cheers
Morrie
Andrew said,
November 26, 2017 @ 2:56 pm
Interesting article. I actually have a “Dictyophora indusiata” growing on a rotting palm stump in our garden in Darwin and was linked to your blog for ID.
Don’t plan to risk eating it personally!
Trevor McGowan said,
April 29, 2018 @ 8:37 am
I wish I could send fotos of some of out fungi. 🙂
Tammy Noden said,
December 25, 2019 @ 10:31 am
Hi Morrie,
You are a wealth of Fungi knowledge. Thanks. I have lived in remote places around Aus. I live on acreage in Geraldton. So, understand your desire for space and nature.
Fungi have been something that I have enjoyed for many yrs. My god father use to collect pine mushrooms in Cooma NSW and pickled them.
If I was going to die tomorrow his mushrooms and creamy mash potato would be my final meal request.
Over 5 years ago in Rockhamptom I was walking up a local mountain and saw a global lattice fungi. Had a pic of it but has been lost as I changed phone. (No very techie). It’s beauty was just mind blowing.
Then recently I saw an image of the glow in the dark fungi. I was lost for words.
I have been talking to people, googling and following my own passion to attempt mushroom farming. First on a small scale and see what happens from there.
Ultimately, would like to farm native varieties. I understand that oyster are quiet easy to grow. Saw alot of that on the internet. I spoke with shitake farmers recently in the USA. To soak up their process.
Not too sure what grows up here. But open to any advice.
Plus have been reading how fungi can absorb toxin wastes and how this can help the planet. If only ???
Thanks Tammy.