Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Canberra
Known for its natural beauty and biodiversity, Canberra offers an ideal environment for mycophiles - mushroom enthusiasts. This region, filled with forests and grasslands, boasts a diverse range of edible mushrooms. Our list of top 20 common edible mushrooms in Canberra has been thoughtfully curated, detailing unique features such as taste, appearance, habitat, and culinary uses for each. This guide aims to enhance your knowledge and spark interest in the fascinating world of fungi.
* Disclaimer: Content feedback CAN NOT be used as any basis for EATING ANY PLANTS. Some plants can be VERY POISONOUS, please purchase edible plants through regular channels.
Most Popular Edible Mushrooms
1. Shaggy mane
The shaggy mane mushroom is commonly found in North American and European grasslands. Some peoples foraged for its young egg-shaped caps, but it has more recently been found to be a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, meaning it pulls toxic metals up from the soil where it grows. As a result, shaggy manes should not be eaten. The mushrooms usually appear in clusters or “fairy rings.”
2. Saffron milk cap
Growing wild in the northern hemisphere and introduced to Australia, the saffron milk cap is found in pine forests during autumn. As the name implies, these mushrooms have been harvested for cooking for a long time. They have been known to cause stomach upset in some individuals, however, and carry a risk of being contaminated with heavy metals, so forage with caution.
3. Salmon gum mushroom
If you're in Western Australia and see a massive mushroom poking up from under Eucalyptus trees, chances are you're looking at a salmon gum mushroom (Phlebopus marginatus). These are the largest terrestrial mushroom in Australia, with one specimen weighing in at just under 70 lb. They are more beautiful from afar; up close you can expect to find them infested with maggots.
4. Purple-spored puffball
It's hard to mistake this mushroom for another. The aptly-named purple-spored puffball has a large, round, or pear-shaped fruiting body and is purple or chocolate-brown in color (with spores to match). Purple-spored puffballs are found in prairies and meadows across North America and Australia.
5. Snow fungus
Snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis) is so-named not because it is associated with winter, but, rather, because its fruitbodies look like little piles of snow fungus on the ground. This fungus actually inhabits very warm - tropical and subtropical - locations around the globe. Snow fungus does not have much taste, but it is cultivated for culinary use across East Asia, where it is often added to thicken soups and desserts.
6. Fan-shaped jelly-fungus
Just as its Latin and the common English names suggest, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) is a fan-shaped or spatula-shaped jelly-like mushroom. It commonly grows in wood cracks and it sometimes even appears in the cracks of the processed wood and lumber. Despite the word "jelly" in its name, the fan-shaped jelly-fungus is not considered edible.
7. Rooting shank
Rooting shank has been known by over a dozen names throughout the years. Despite this identity crisis, this rooting shank is not difficult to recognize due to its distinctive long stem, much of which is often hiding in the soil. This mushroom can most frequently be found on stumps or deadwood beneath the ground.
8. Big sheath mushroom
These large white mushrooms bloom all over cleared, harvested fields, as well as pastures and roadsides. The scientific species name comes from Greek words meaning “glue” (glioio) and “head” (cephalus), in reference to the sticky surface of this mushroom’s cap. The big sheath mushroom looks so similar to the poisonous Deathcap and Destroying Angel mushrooms that it should always be left alone.
9. Blewit
The blewit mushroom grows in fallen leaves in autumn and winter, sometimes appearing in ‘fairy ring’ circles. It can be used to make a green dye when chopped and boiled in an iron pot. The scientific name, Lepista nuda, derives from Latin words meaning “bare goblet,” a reference to the shape and texture of the mushroom.
10. Fairy ring mushroom
Fairy ring mushrooms may dry out completely in the sun, but will “resurrect” during the next rain and regain their ability to make new spores. This is due to a sugar called trehalose which protects their cells. They appear in lawns and fields, sometimes in “fairy ring” configurations.
More
