Doug Says...Fight the Urge to Stay Indoors this Winter
Beginning around December, we begin to hunker down and hide away from the outdoors. I mean, it’s cold, muddy, and dark most the day, so it makes sense to “hibernate” like so many other animals are doing this time of year. While bats, bears, and bees may be sleeping the time away, there are still lots of wildlife and exciting natural events to observe during winter. One such phenomenon is the flushing (“blooming” for mushrooms) of a variety of mushrooms, including many of edible and medicinal value. Most mushrooms we see this time of year are “saprobic” meaning they consume woody material and help decompose woody debris, such as fallen trees and their stumps. Take a walk in any forest in southwest Ohio and you may encounter and then marvel at gorgeous flushes of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus), and velvet foot (Flammulina velutipes) growing from dead wood on downed and standing trees. These three species are highly sought after for their edibility and delicious flavor. Personally, both oysters and lion’s mane are at the top of the list for favorite edible mushrooms. Each have a tender texture and have tastes like some seafood favorites: oysters and crab, respectively. Oyster mushrooms are relatively easy to identify, and lion’s mane has no look-alike’s, so collecting these once you can confidently identify them is pretty safe. Velvet foot, though, looks very similar to the deadly poisonous funeral bells (Galerina marginata) that also grow from dead word this time of year. As a rule, never collect and consume a mushroom that you haven’t identified with 100 percent confidence—when in doubt, take a picture and leave them be. Stick to the easy ones until you are competent in distinguishing edible mushrooms from the various look-alike’s.
Beyond their edibility, each of these mushrooms—and many others—play an important role in breaking down wood and making it available to soil microbes that can further decompose the wood until the previously “locked-up” nutrients are available for trees and other vegetation to use to grow. Fungi are the organisms chiefly responsible for breaking down lignin in the wood—the material that provides wood’s rigid structure. Without fungi this material would accumulate in our forests making it difficult for other plants to become established and grow.
So, fight the urge this month to stay inside and get outdoors to explore our natural spaces and the multitude of life that reveals itself during winter. “Mush” love to you all.
