Wrangell Sentinel -

Attendees at a local nature hike kept returning to one question again and again Sunday morning.

Hike attendee Rudy Briskar put it best.

“Edible?” he said.

The hike was the second part of a two-day event focusing on fungi (in particular, mushrooms and lichens). Two ecologists with the U.S. Forest Service were on hand to answer questions and discuss some of the characteristics of mushrooms found in and around the Rainbow Falls trail. Kate Mohatt, from the Chugach National Forest, and Karen Dillman from the Tongass National Forest Petersburg unit were on hand to discuss the ins and outs of mushrooms. The first event was 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ranger Station, followed by the mushroom-gathering hike.

The question was essential because, as your mother probably told you, picking the wrong type of mushroom for the dinner table can be a risky proposition. The difference between an edible and poisonous mushroom can be as small as what color the mushroom “stains” or changes to when cut open, Mohatt said.

“It can even depend on the pollen,” she said.

Just ask Elodie Freeman, whose knowledge of mushroom gathering came from the local library and years of accumulated experience.

“There are so many white mushrooms that grow in the woods that I just never fool with them,” she said.

Tips for would-be fungal feeders include focusing on species that are easily identifiable, like the mushroom known as the Orange Delicious. The Orange Delicious is hard to mistake for other breeds, Mohatt said.

“It has orange latex and stains green when you cut it open,” she said. “It’s hard to mistake it for anything else.”

Other mushrooms favored by the culinary set found locally include the King Bolete, an enormous mushroom also known as the “pennybun,” and two varieties of the hedgehog mushroom, so named for the distinctive spines found under the mushroom’s cap, where you would typically find long ridges or “gills”, or Bears head, which looks a little like a cloud, and Golden Chanterelles, which look like trumpets, Mohatt said.

The second best defense against poisoning yourself while foraging might just be the public library, Freeman said.

“Reading, reading, reading,” she said.

She got her start mushrooming during long treks through the woods in search of deer.

“The boys would hunt for deer and I would hunt for mushrooms,” she said. “If you’re going to be out in the woods, you might as well be looking for mushrooms.”