At the request of a fellow SABer I have bumped this thread and listed a couple of useful hints as far as wild finds go on the Sunny Coast.
NOTE: This may or may not apply to any other parts of SE QLD.
In my limited experience first flushes won't occur unless the following criteria are met:
Base soil temps of 26C plus.
80% humidity or more (ideally 100%) combined with AT LEAST 50 - 100 mm of rain in a 24 hour period (the more the better)
Regular decent rainfall following significant falls with humidity remaining 75% or more
Grassy pastures that are super green
HEAPS 'o COW POO
If you find yourself in the right place at the right time, with the above conditions having occurred within the last few days, try to look for the following environments:
grazing land with good sized herds of beef cattle (20+)
gently sloping/rolling hills with heavily treed fence lines (camphors seem to be pretty good)
areas where cattle regularly gather, either to wait for feeding or to be lead into another pasture.
south facing slopes, or pastures that only get morning or afternoon sun
reasonably long grass - tufty or not (recently heavily grazed pastures are usually stomped and the poo is too fresh)
shady copses and/or streams rivers that run through/alongside said pastures
Cyans tend to flush first, but can prove difficult to ID, despite the fact that some believe they bruise blue instantly - THEY DON'T NECESSARILY. Pinch a stem and check it again after 5 mins or so to check for inking. Alternatively leave them alone until they age a day (unless it is 40C in full sun, because they will be fried), in which case they take on a bluish tinge anyway. Black spore prints are easy to obtain by putting a cap gills down on paper overnight with a glass jar over it.
Cubes flush later and have a MUCH longer run generally, although cyans can flush again, but half-heartedly in my experience. ID cubes by looking for the very quick on set of blue-green staining of broken stems, and the beautiful orange to golden yellow cap. Be wary though, I have spotted a couple of imposters which I really should've taken a pic of. Heavy dews will keep them popping up in the absence of rain. Deep purple spore print.
If you must remove a sample do so with a sharp knife or scissors, as this increases the likelihood of repeat fruiting.
Watch out for bulls and quad bike riding, banjo-playing, shotgun-wielding farmers.
Lastly, on the topic of ID'ing, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE GOOD PHOTOS AND A SPORE PRINT TO OFFER UP ON THE FORUM FOR SOME SOLID IDs.
Hope that helps mate, and please feel free to add/contradict/troll this post to further aid fellow fungal foragers.
