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| These are everywhere in my yard this year. Hard to say if they are natives to the yard, or sprung from the organic soil I brought in to fluff up the beds. Most likely, Russula rosacea. Not edible. |
Here in Northern CA, January is often the wettest time of the year. The ground is green with new growth and fungus pops up underfoot. I have been taking photos mostly. I tell myself I will draw them - and I might yet. I pull my two favorite shroom books off of the shelf (All the Rain Promises and More by David Arora, and Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips.)
I do not forage for mushrooms, or eat any of the wild ones I find. Mostly because my mycology professor at MSU had way too many horror stories about pumped stomachs, horrible symptoms and painful agonizing deaths. I am capable of taking spore prints and identifying down to species. I'm usually too lazy. Especially when it is so much easier to go to the grocery store, or the mushroom booth at the farmer's market and get the kind I know are edible.
