Ink caps, angel wings, chicken of the woods. Where to hunt mushrooms in Pierce County
Fungi of all shapes, colors and sizes blanketed the Elbe Hills State Forest on Wednesday. Some mushrooms were dark, with brown-yellow caps. Others were flatter and white, sprouting from rotting logs, or red-orange and mottled, hidden beneath the leaf litter.
This fall has been a good one for mushroom hunters. Late summer rain and cooler conditions have produced the largest bounty in years, said Rose Tursi, a citizen scientist from Roy with the South Sound Mushroom Club who took The News Tribune on a mushroom foray this week during peak harvest season.
Donned in hunter-orange, Tursi and Gene Turner, who has led a couple dozen mushroom hunts in his six or so years of foraging, pointed out edible species like oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, puff balls, chicken of the woods, angel wings and common ink caps.
Western Washington, with its moist and rainy weather, is one of the best places to find edible mushrooms, Tursi said.
The South Sound Mushroom Club, which has been around since the 1970s, leads regular forays (or mushroom hunts) with experts, in addition to monthly meetings, educational seminars, cooking demos and annual weekend getaways. Its president, Rachel Bouchillon, said the club has more than 500 members in Pierce, Thurston and King counties. The club has seen a spike of interest in the hobby since the pandemic, she said. Its next meeting, with a presentation on overlooked edible mushrooms in the PNW, is Oct. 15 in Olympia.
Turner, a Parkland resident who is also a member of the South Sound Mushroom Club, doesn't particularly like mushrooms but got into the hobby years ago when he started hunting with his late wife. Mushroom foraging is like an Easter egg hunt, he said, and it provides a unique opportunity to explore and appreciate the peaceful outdoors.
Bouchillon said she's loved mushrooms since she was a kid growing up in Florida. She moved to Olympia in 2017 and forages as often as she can in Capital State Forest.
"They're so weird and cool. They're a kingdom all their own, and there aren't that many kingdoms," Bouchillon said. "There are so many interesting and weird ones out there, I was immediately drawn to the diversity and breadth of what different mushrooms can look like."
Although some mushroom hunters are apprehensive about sharing their favorite foraging spots, Turner said he believes God created the forest for everyone.
Mushroom season begins when the rain starts in August or September and lasts until temperatures at night consistently fall below freezing (in November or December). Mid-October is the peak time to look.
A good place to find mushrooms in Pierce County is around the Elbe Hills ORV Campground. Other places include Olympic National Forest, national forest land around Mount Rainier, Gifford Pinchot National Forest or Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Bouchillon said. You also can find mushrooms in parks, backyards, pastures and other areas.
Foraging 101
Some mushrooms are deadly or can make you sick, Tursi said. But with the right identification and knowledge of where to look, finding edible mushrooms is a tasty reward.
Before you go foraging, check the rules of the forest you're visiting. Group and commercial harvesting requires certain permits and are subject to different regulations than hunting for personal consumption. Under state law, residents can harvest up to two gallons per person per day of "fruiting bodies," including mushrooms, berries or nuts, but that can vary based on the park. Olympic National Park, for instance, has limits of one quart per day, and Olympic National Forest has a limit of one gallon or one larger mushroom per species and three gallons total per day.
Before picking a mushroom to eat, make sure it's safe. Some mushroom species have toxic lookalikes. Bring an expert along and use tools like a foraging handbook or the Seek iNaturalist app to identify species. Be careful of AI-generated books, which have popped up on Amazon, Bouchillon said. Certain mushroom species grow on or around particular trees, which can also help with identification, she said. Bouchillon encourages newbies to join their local mushroom club to get connected with experts who are happy to help.
Tursi said it's safe to pick up most mushrooms and handle them because the risks come from ingesting toxic mushrooms. Beginners should stick to eating the most distinctive-looking species because gilled mushrooms can be easily confused with other types, Bouchillon said.
A good rule of thumb is to pick only up to two-thirds of the mushrooms you find in a spot to ensure there are enough for others to pick and animals to eat. Leaving some fungi behind also ensures they can reproduce and grow back in the future, according to the Kitsap Peninsula Mycological Society's website .
When removing a mushroom from the ground, a log or a tree, be careful not to disturb the ground habitat. Gently rock and twist the mushroom, or cut or pop the mushroom at or above ground level with a knife.
Wear bright colors when foraging to stand out to hunters in the woods and bring a basket or a mesh or paper bag to collect your finds. Avoid carrying mushrooms in plastic bags because it deteriorates mushrooms quickly, Bouchillon said.
It's also a good idea to bring a buddy foraging because it can be easy to get lost in the woods, especially in areas without phone service. Turner recommends bringing a whistle with you, too, to signal for help if necessary.
So you've picked mushrooms. What now?
Some mushrooms have medicinal benefits, and others are just tasty to eat. You can even dye fabric or make paint with mushrooms.
Mushrooms can be cooked in different ways depending on the species. Be sure to gently brush dirt off and check for bugs before eating. Some mushrooms shouldn't be washed directly or soaked in water because that can make them spongy. Instead you can usually clean the mushroom carefully with a damp towel or toothbrush, Tursi said.
Never eat a wild mushroom you are unfamiliar with. Even choice edible mushrooms can cause stomach issues in some people, so it's wise to eat them in small quantities first. The South Sound Mushroom Club has an illustrated cookbook for sale , with dozens of recipes to try.
Bouchillon says some of her favorites are mushroom risotto, which enhances the umami flavor. Dehydrated mushrooms make a good snack, and mushrooms served with chicken and a cream sauce is also a favorite dish of hers, she said. Because chanterelles don't freeze well, she also likes to make chanterelle soup.
In her day job, Tursi is an artist and illustrator and often uses mushrooms and lichen to create her own paints or fabric dye. Lobster mushrooms can make a deep red, orange, pink or magenta color, and the dyer's polypore fungi can create a gold, green or brown, depending on her recipe. Tursi sells paint samples on her website www.tursiart.com or her Instagram at , but she says they sell out quickly.
"Before I got into mushroom-based paints I was already experienced working with minerals, which are the most stable of paints, just to make my own watercolors and gouaches and temperas. And from there it just evolved," Tursi said. "It's just a really fun process, and then you're really proud of what you accomplish when you're done, because you didn't just make a painting, but you made the paint that went into the painting."
