Acton Conservation Trust members and friends enjoyed a beautiful fall day during a joint event with Boston Mycological Club (BMC) on Sunday, October 1. Around 100 people from the two groups gathered at Wills Hole Conservation Land to search for mushrooms. Armed with baskets and special curved fungus knives with a brush on one end, we broke into groups and spread out along the trails of Wills Hole.
Jonathan Kranz of BMC led one of the groups, and suggested beginners learn about the mushrooms on the ends of the spectrum: mushrooms which were highly edible and mushrooms which were deadly. Most of the mushrooms we found fell somewhere in between! Edibles found in the woods included chicken of the woods, yellow chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, hen of the woods (maitake) and puffball mushrooms. Following the collection walk, we laid out many of our mushrooms on a table for viewing and identification.
Leaders, including David Babik, President BMC, gave detailed observations and incredible information about many of the mushrooms, each observation giving a clue as to the identity. Latin and common names were given, along with common “copycat” mushrooms, which might challenge correct identification. BMC was very welcoming and inclusive to beginner and experienced mushroomers alike.
