Oyster Mushroom

May 18th, 2010, there in the forest, a tall trunk of alder with tawny ruffles -- Oyster mushrooms.

On Vancouver Island alders often grow near water, and so old alders can be seen from the water, and so, for paddlers who are also mushroom lovers....

I have and recommend three books on the subject:

Common Mushrooms of the Northwest - by J. Duane Sept (see my review at the Amazon page)
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest - by Seve Trudell and Joe Ammirati
Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America - by David W. Fischer and Alan E. Bessette

I also recommend the following online resources:

Pacific Northwest Key Council - http://www.svims.ca/council/keys.htm
Here is the above site's link for Oyster Mushrooms - http://www.svims.ca/council/Pleuro.htm

British Columbia Ectomycorrhizal Research network Mushroom Matchmaker - http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/biodiversity/matchmaker/help_e.html
Mushroom Experts - http://www.mushroomexpert.com/

I have to confess that these beauties were located a good 200 feet up a steep bank from the water's edge, but worth the climb to retrieve them. The snag had numerous other growing buds, so I will be returning over the next few days/weeks to harvest more if no-one else finds it.

I ate these for breakfast today. Yum.