This past Sunday, my fabulously furious friend
Katie came down for a bit of mushroom hunting. She is, without a doubt, in the top ten "wickedly smart women" I have the pleasure of knowing. It was such a treat to have a chance to hang out in my backyard with Katie and her extensive knowledge of the local flora.
We were on the hunt for edible mushrooms. Chanterelles specifically. This is an off year for mushrooms because of the drought. Mushrooms need rain. We spotted all sorts of mushrooms. The
Pseuydohydnum gelatinosum is my favorite. Commonly known as the jelly tongue mushroom. Isn't it fabulous?
And then Katie found a chanterelle. Soon we were finding them all around us; hidden under the pine needles and fallen leaves. Pops of orange marking the spot.
We also found a huge coral mushroom by the creek. Absolutely incredible but not edible. I have to research it yet, but Katie thought the coral mushrooms might be good for dyeing and I have plans for delving into dyeing next summer!
I am still blown away that this is my backyard. After a couple more days of rain, I will be headed back up to hunt for more chanterelles.
Hey, lovely lady! So the coral mushroom is a Ramaria species, and is said to produce a purple dye! I don't know what mordant needs to be used. And while the coral mushroom isn't mentioned, I think you'll find this particular link informative. http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomdyeing.html
ReplyDeleteAlso, the conks (whose name I couldn't remember) are species of Ganoderma, which also can be used for dying. <3
The link is very informative, thank you! If I already owned a dye pot, I would give it a go. I just may need to head over to Goodwill!
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