Mushroom Spotting in the Forest

Spotted more of these mushrooms today

With fall in full swing in Vancouver, meaning lots of precipitation, mushrooms are popping up on lawns and especially in Pacific Spirit Park.

Each time I walk along the trails I see more mushrooms particularly growing on nurse logs, trees that have fallen and still have nutrients.

A vertical growth of fungi

Today I saw some people proudly showing off some big fungi they had picked, but no one should be harvesting any mushrooms from any provincial parks; while some might be edible, some may be poisonous!

Foragers don't like to disclose where they find their mushrooms, but I heard from a Vancouver chef that he finds matsutake mushrooms, as well as porcinis near Penticton and Hope. 

And if you see those big bright red mushrooms that look like they belong in a Super Mario game, don't pick them or eat them! They're definitely toxic!