After weeks under a rainy pattern, a cool dry afternoon was my cue to head up into the SGL where I'd hoped to find some chanterelles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanterelle . The back up plan was to check out the rock formations I'd seen from the road on an earlier tour. Apparently today was my day as I was not disapointed on either score.
Disclaimer: I do not recommend eating mushrooms with which you are unfamiliar without expert confirmation! It is also recommended that one try a small amount first of any new mushroom in case of alergies.
I have been hunting for & eating this particular mushroom since introduced to it long ago, and I've usually found them to be pretty small and illusive, not like the small pancake sized one in this photo!
The key to identifying these guys is that the folds & ridges (not gills really) go right down the stem, and the color is a uniform orange. Sauteed gently in butter (& perhaps a splash of white wine if you have it) they are a uniform delicious on top of anything from a baked potato on up! Great (sauteed) in an omelette or in a soup.
I am thankful for this particularly delicious mushroom. All the mushrooms are pretty cool. Apparently the fungi developed a few hundred million years ago & may have had a hand in the geological cycle. Their development coincides with the end of the Carboniferous Period coal beds, which may have been a causal relationship, as prior to their appearance on the scene, no life forms existed capable of breaking down the existing plant material. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboniferous
I guess that I shouldn't be that surprised. It looks more and more like Darwin's gradual evolution is going the way of the flat earth (though I understand that that idea is making a comeback too) And while it's hard to tell the real from the fake news anymore, a peer reviewed scientific journal recently published an article siting a boatload of evidence that suggests that life is everywhere in space... as far as our instruments can see. They think life here probably evolved in fits and starts as new forms rained down onto the planet from comet collisions. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610718300798?via%3Dihub
Well I guess the theory that life comes from outer space is no longer the tinfoil hat idea that it used to be.
Pretty cool. I always thought that mushroom had an otherworldly quality.
Thanks for stopping by!