Dr. Martin Rundkvist is a Swedish archaeologist, journal editor, public speaker, chairman of the Swedish Skeptics Society, atheist, lefty liberal, bookworm, and father of two.
At my wife's suggestion, I quit work 1½ hour early today and cycled with her and the kids into the woods to pick mushrooms. Lovely sunny afternoon, and I can report that the hills between Lakes Lundsjön and Trehörningen are rich in boletes right now. Here are the species we got:
- King bolete, Stensopp/Karl Johan, Boletus edulis
- Velvet bolete, Sandsopp, Suillus variegatus
- Orange Birch Bolete, Tegelsopp, Leccinum versepelle
- Copper brittlegill, Tegelkremla, Russula decolorans
- Chanterelle, Kantarell, Cantharellus cibarius
- Fårticka, Albatrellus ovinus
Life Science
Comments
Surely that bright red-orange thing in the lower left 'corner' of the basket isn't a mushroom?
Posted by: cicely | September 8, 2010 4:20 PM
Haha, no, it's the plastic handle of a shroom knife. So is the reddish sausage-like thing near the right-hand conncetion point of the basket's handle. They're red in order to be easier to find if you misplace them in the woods.
Posted by: Martin R | September 8, 2010 4:46 PM
Lovely! I really don't understand the superstitious terror most Brits have for 'shrooms... I'd really like to get out and score a good haul of boletes for the winter store. Will you be drying them, or do you have some other preservation techniques?
Posted by: Dunc | September 9, 2010 5:04 AM
It is probably due to the authorities fear that anyone will eat a liberty cap by mistake!
In all seriousness I think that not educating children in the UK to the wonders of mushrooms in the wild is a terrible shame. The UK is such a fantastic country for wild mushrooms, that to miss out on them because of ignorance is a national disgrace.
Posted by: symball | September 9, 2010 6:54 AM
Dunc, we chop the shrooms up, fry them in butter on medium heat until most of the water has evaporated, and put them in the freezer.
Symball, as long as people remain in the dark, there will be more for you to pick. (-;
Posted by: Martin R | September 9, 2010 7:53 AM
I once got lost on a mountain with a group of friends outside of Telluride during the 'shroom festival there. We had went there first, on our way to Burning Man. We managed to find many pounds of King Boletes, but almost didn't make it off the mountain by nightfall. Eventually we found the road, my friend hitchhiked back to his jeep and then picked us up to head back to camp in town. Did I mention it was raining? A good time was had by all...
Posted by: Andrew | September 19, 2010 9:58 PM
Wow! Maybe get a GPS?
Posted by: Martin R | September 20, 2010 4:28 AM