Quote:
Originally Posted by deanmc
Every year i see lots of these. The question that stops me from picking any is this. Are there any other dangerous funguses that I may confuse for oysters?
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Unfortunately there isn't a short list of steadfast rules for discerning between delicious and poisonous mushrooms.
So, you need to familiarize yourself with them.
The best way I can suggest is to buy David Arora's book,
All that the Rain Promises and More. It covers all of the common and popular edible and medicinal mushrooms you are likely to come across in Alberta and is a fantastic read. If that book leaves you wanting more you can get his Magnum Opus called
Mushrooms Demystified.
To start your fungus forays you should learn how to take a spore print and learn the basics of fruit body morphology.
Does the mushroom have gills or pores or neither?
Do the gills attach to the stem?
Is there a veil?
Is there a vulva?
and so on..
White, cream, tan, and light grey coloured mushrooms growing from deciduous trees which have gills that run down a short or absent stem and a white to lilac coloured spore print are certainly Oyster mushrooms in our area.
Most of the poisonous species (none of which will grow out of the side of a tree like in the pics above) have a few specific characters which make their ID very easy.
Learn the dangerous ones and learn a handful of good common edibles and you'll be able to take home some good ones with confidence.