Season of Transition
It is officially fall in the northern hemisphere. Nature is preparing for winter; animals are gathering and storing food, the plants are moving their energy into the roots instead of growth and flowers, birds are migrating, and mushrooms are fruiting with the cooler, shorter days. This time of year is bittersweet for me, its beauty is amazing, but the long, cold nights of winter are quickly approaching and soon will be reality.
I had the opportunity to attend a mushroom foray this month in northern Wisconsin. On the foray, we found many species of mushrooms that can assist us in this time of transition by supporting our health and vitality. Naturally, as the days get shorter, we are meant to slow down just as nature does. However, as humans we do quite the opposite and this becomes the busiest time of the year for many of us. Luckily, we have a lot of fungal and plant allies to help with this. Below are some fungi that can lend some assistance.
Turkey tails (Tremetes versicolor): turkey tails are named so because of their appearance resembling a turkey tail. It is a soft, “furry” and beautifully banded mushroom that grows in tiered layers on stumps and logs. They belong to the family “tremetes” and an important thing to know about this family is that there are no poisonous species of tremetes in the world. It is a pretty safe species to work with. Turkey tails have been used to help support gut health by acting as a prebiotic to feed our beneficial bacteria. Even more exciting is that turkey tails contain a lot of antioxidants, enhance immune system function and is a promising anti-cancer mushroom.
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): a beautiful polypore that is reddish-brown in color and often looks like it has been lacquered. This mushroom can be found on dead trees and stumps. Constituents found in reishi such as beta glucans and polysaccharides, demonstrated antitumor and immunostimulating activities in research. It has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an antimicrobial to help with respiratory diseases as well as it is used to treat cancer. Reishi also helps to “calm the Shen”, helping to balance any disharmonies.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus): This inconspicuous mushroom doesn’t really resemble a mushroom at all, but more like charcoal. It is found mainly on birch trees but is also found on other species of hardwoods. It is a parasitic fungus that thrives on live trees. Once the tree dies, the chaga will fruit and release spores. Like reishi mushrooms, chaga also contains beta glucans. It is very high in antioxidants and contains minerals like B-vitamins, potassium and iron.
Birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina): Also found on birch trees, this mushroom has been found to be anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous and antimicrobial. Plus, it has been researched for its antitumor activity. Birch polypore is a shelf mushroom that varies from white to different shades of brown on the upper side. On the lower side it is white but turns a bit brown as it ages. This mushroom can be used as a field bandage to help stop bleeding by applying a sliced portion from the underside of the mushroom to the afflicted area.
As always, if you are a novice, you definitely want to have an experienced, knowledgeable guide to help you properly identify mushrooms. There’s a saying “you can consume any mushroom once”. You must be extremely careful if you intend to ingest any mushroom from the wild. Reach out to your local mycology chapter or join a foraging group or your local mushroom chapter where you can go on forays. A good resource for more information is NAMA: Home - North American Mycological Association (namyco.org). Another important consideration is being ethical while harvesting. Be mindful, careful and respectful as you walk through the forest if you choose to forage for mushrooms. Harvest only what you really need and leave some behind for reproduction of the species and animals (remember the forest animals cannot go to the grocery store-this is one of their major food sources).
