Blue Mushrooms

Several years ago we had come across a patch of blue mushrooms in our forest. They were only around a short while, less than a week then they disappeared until the next fall. Mike noticed the mushrooms first by a sweet smell, akin to honey, as he was walking through the woods. Since we had no idea what variety they were we did not go near or touch the fungi.

The next year, with the guidance from a well-versed mycological (mushroom) expert, we harvested a handful of the mushrooms to be taken in for examination. There was a mushroom seminar to be held at the Tillamook Forestry Center the following Saturday and we had tickets to go.

We went armed with our blue mushrooms, or what was left of the mushrooms. The ones that I had put into the fridge didn’t last well and puddled out before I could have them checked. The ones that I let air dry out in the garage, shriveled up so much that the expert could not positively identify them although he did suggest that we take a spore print to be more precise. I looked and looked in the forest, but could not find any more blue mushrooms for that year.

I looked again last year. Not a trace of the blue mushrooms anywhere, so the hunt ended.

Yesterday, I stumbled across a patch as I was hunting Chanterelles for dinner. Yes they really are blue, it was not just my imagination from several years ago playing tricks on me. And I did smell that honey scent when I was in the area.

With the spare baggie I carry with me in the woods, I collected three small mushrooms and one larger one. The smallest has a head about the size of a dime the largest nearly the size of a quart jar lid.

Once at the house  I carefully set them on light and dark paper to collect spore prints. The white paper will show if the print is dark and vice versa for the dark paper. Since I do not know what we will have, both papers are used.

Within a couple of hours, the dark paper showed white spore prints from this unusual mushroom. I also noted that the blue color lessens with the drying out process, now they look more white than when I first picked them in the woods.

Finally I may have enough information to go back to the expert to find out exactly what special fungi likes my forest and if this in one that is safe for consumption.