Vancouver Mushrooms Show, Fall 2011

On October 23th, I attended Vancouver Mushroom Show, Fall 2011 organized by Vancouver Mycological Society in the Floral Hall of VanDusen Botanical Garden. I couldn't resist snapping a lot of pictures of almost everything.

Edible mushrooms display - Vancouver Mushrooms Fall Show 2011

I was attracted by mushroom's world since ever.  In fact, I like more to discover them near pathways or hidden in grass, on logs or under leaves in my walkings.

Mushrooms display at the entrance of Vancouver Mushroom Fall Show 2011

Thinking more about them, I don't know what is more attractive: their colors, their shapes or textures... but I can easily spend from an hour to most of a day overlooking some new mushroom growing in the wild.

Vancouver Mushrooms Fall Show 2011

I did not know what to do first after I passed nearby the entrance displays : to walk alongside the over 4 dozens of beautifully arranged displays of freshly picked mushrooms,  to read info from posters and displays about identified mushrooms, truffles and other fungi, with their poisonous, edible, medicinal and sacred status



or to  buy the various artworks with mushroom and fungal motifs, and some books about mushrooms cultivation,  identification, usage or preservation.

Poisonous mushrooms display - Vancouver Mushrooms Show Fall 2011

Medicinal mushrooms poster - Vancouver mushrooms show

The Sacred Mushrooms poster - Vancouver Mushrooms Show Fall 2011

Anyhow, I've learned to identify more than 20 edible mushrooms: Boletus Chrysonteron aka Cracked Cap Bolete, Calvitia Gigantea aka Giant Pufball, Clavulina Coralloides, Gomphus Clavatus aka Pig's Ears, Hygrocybe Miniata, Hygrophorus Eburneus, Leccinum Scabrum aka Birch Bolete and other varieties of bolete, Marasmius, Lyophyllum, Armillaria, Pleurocybella Porrigens aka Angel Wings, Russula Aeruginea aka Green Russula, Russula Brevipes, Suillus various types and Lactarius.

Rusulla varieties - not all of them edible mushrooms

It was an interesting lesson of identifying mushrooms, but I'm not sure I will be so courageous to hunt them in the wilderness of Canadian Rockies because some mushrooms from same family (like Russula, Suillus or Lactarius) are edible and other not.

Suillus varieties -  not all of them edible mushrooms

Lactarius varieties - not all of them edible mushrooms

Very strange seems to be Giant Pufball  aka Calvitia Gigantea (it was indeed huge) which is "edible if is white inside" ;-) .

Calvitia Gigantea aka Giant Pufball - edible if white inside mushrooms

So, for cooking and studying how to grow mushrooms at home, we bought two kits of "grown your own mushrooms at home": one of Shiitake / Lentinus Edodes and other one of Tree oyster/ Pleurotus Ostreatus. We respected the instructions shared by experts on cultivation and I'm very curious to see how will appear the mushroom pins and how will grow undisturbed the caps through the slits created in bags. Hope to harvest my first crop of mushrooms before first winter freeze.

Boletus Chrysonteron aka Cracked Cap Bolete - edible mushrooms

 Clavulina Coralloides - edible mushrooms

Gomphus Clavatus aka Pig's Ears - edible mushrooms

Hygrocybe Miniata - edible mushrooms

Hygrophorus Eburneus - edible mushrooms

Leccinum Scabrum aka Birch Bolete - edible mushrooms

Marasmius, Lyophyllum, Armillaria - edible mushrooms

Pleurocybella Porrigens aka Angel Wings - edible mushrooms

Russula Aeruginea aka Green Russula - edible mushrooms

Russula Brevipes aka The Dipper - edible mushrooms

"A picture is worth a thousand words", so, it is much better to see by yourself how amazing were the mushrooms displays at the Vancouver Mushrooms Fall Show 2011.

Medicinal Mushrooms