gecko

I was also at another place about 3 weeks ago and there were a loy of a Russula sp. under some very old pines. Almost every one of them was turned over and or pulled apart and the needle litter scratched up. at first it looked as if someone had gone around kicking them about, but I reckon it was a bird or other animal hunting for food under them. Russulas tend to snap easily and so are easily damaged. There were lots of millipedes under the mushies but i dont think anything was hunting or them... maybe slaters or something...? It was hard to find a specimen intact.

Yeah, I was there about 5-6 weeks ago and there were a lot of Amanitas out then. not many milkys... just enough for a couple small meals of them, some a bit past their best and I think i only saw 1 slippery jack, it was just a bit early for a big flush i suspect. There were a couple of old guys up from Melb. fishing. they were catching Tench mainly and were happy to take them home to eat.

Nice one Ed, I only use open razors and have a bit of a collection of them and other tonsorial accessories. Four of the razors I regularly in rotation and a few others that need restoring. Gotta 120 6/8"(Solingen) I got on ebay, never used. easily 50+ yrs old Blue Wonder 5/8"(Solingen) Shumate 9/16" (StLouis, Missouri)factory closed it's doors 1932 Bengall 5/8" TR Cadman (Sheffeild) ceased operation 1919 I had a Barber's box made to store them in

I've sown them occasionally over the years usually after eating the fruit and wiping the seed onto a branch ( they're almost impossible to spit out ) Amyema spp.,the ones I'm most familiar with here in vic, generally have a viscous stringy bit that attaches to the seed and tends to hold the seed in place after it's wiped onto the branch. I've seen the seeds in various stages germination and growth. sometimes there is a single haustoria and sometimes there are several places of attachment along a 'root' as Torsten said. Interesting that someone has made a video on growing mistletoe. I wouldn't have though to look.

Sorry , I haven't got back to you guys for a while. I'm still keen, but I just wont know till closer to the time. ( have to organize several things together,inc. other people, for it happens If I do get there, chances are it'll be me + 1 or 2. So I haven't forgotten and will keep in touch.

not yet... I've found Flammulina velutipes around Daylesford while on hunts before. growing on a Sweet Pittosporum tree and on a Poplar. stems are a bit tough. Lactarius are excellent grilled as Ferret said, with garlic, thyme ( a great herb for fungi) and oil. I did some last week over charcoal. I also like them cooked 'Al Vapor' - Mexicano. oil in pan , fry onions, and a chopped fresh chile. add sliced milk caps , salt and cook a few minutes then tip about 1/2 to 1 cup of water, add some chopped Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides) cover with lid and reduce heat, cook about 5-10 min , uncover and reduce liquid as desired or if necessary. serve on warm corn tortillas spread with sour cream top with fresh salsa- (tomato, onion, chile salt, lime juice, chopped coriander)

....double post...

sounds good Ed, I couldn't get away to the one a couple of years back and was spewin about it. A long drive (5 1/2 hr )for me but shit, why not?

other sources of saponins Yucca spp. underground stems 'roots' some Agave spp. (Amole= trad. names for saponin yeilding Agaves) Agave vilmoriniana leaves can be mashed at one end and the attached fibres serve as a brush with the 'soap'. Leaves of the fast growing Paraserianthus lophantha (Albizia lophantha)work well. fresh ashes from a fire can be used. tip cold ashes into a bucket and add water, scoop out charcoal and other floaties or strain through a cloth into another container. and allow to settle undisturbed for a day or two. after that all the ash should have dropped to the bottom leaving potassium hydroxide solution (potash)as a clear liquid. it can be added to water to wash greasy stuff, dishes, clothes etc. or to make soap. try to make it with as little water as possible to get a strong solution.

recipes for leaves ....They use them heaps in the philippines especiall recomended there if you're sick. google the Filipino name for it, 'Malunggay' here's one recipe for a soup http://www.ex-designz.net/recipedisplay.asp?rid=929 Also immature pods are great chopped into 3-5cm pces and cooked in curries.

nice , I'm hoping for a good slipperies and milkies (and others) season this year amongst the pines. I want to make a special trip south with a few friends , so we can get a decent feed of them. maybe with some slow cooked pheasant or partridge, and a few bottles of wine to wash it down.

They do ok, i planted one into mallee sand (over calcareous clay)in my folks garden in 1989. I gave it bugger all special treatment and it's had no problems. That is apart from a bit of lack of water and neglect by the people who own the garden now- they haven't watered much in the last 8yrs or so. despite all this, it's still there.

Lots of different native fungi grow in the Mallee. Some very big ones. Walking through a stand of Belah and bull mallee,my brother once found what he thought was an old horse saddle. On closer inspection it turned out to be a large bolete, Phlebopus marginatus about 45-50 cm across! after rain esp. in autumn/ winter, it's amazing how quickly the landscape changes. And in the protected microclimate of a domestic garden mulched with woodchip, you might be surprised at what may grow there too.

Will do, for sure

Also worth a try, maybe after you gain more experience, if you have any of the following species at your disposal growing close by. Eryngium spp. Thistles inc. Artichokes and cardoon. Ferula spp. esp. F.communis Fennel may also be worth a try. Break the flowering stems of the plants after seeds have matured. by them the stems are hollow and woody apart from the soft pith that remains inside them. Push spawn (parts of old block after a few flushes) into the pith of the old stems and seal by inserting smaller setions of the same stem . This is one of the places that P.eryngii and it clan fruit from in the wild. -P.eryngii var. ferulae ;P.eryngii var. elaeosilenii; P.nebrodensis Also, fruits may emerge from the ground where they have grown off the roots of the host. Surprisingly large fruits can grow from hosts that appear disproportionaly small, In the wild their stems are usually thinner ond/or shorter and their caps larger and darker. This 'method', so far is only theory, but something I have wanted to do for some time now. I thought I'd just get the idea out there so that anyone may 'give it a shot' and post any successes here for all to benefit. so far, I have growing in my garden for this purpose:- Ferula communis var.glauca F.tingitana Eryngium maratimum E.planum Artichokes and Cardoon. Here are some pics of this group of fungi species 'in habitat'. I hope this inspies a few to take up the challenge. ...P.eryngii var. ferulae on Ferula communis- Sicily... http://www.naturamediterraneo.com/forum/to...p?TOPIC_ID=3199 ...and in Spain- on Eryngium spp... http://www.natuaragon.com/Fichas/Micologia...s%20eryngii.htm http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.com/hongos...ii-img3289.html http://www.isona.org/boletus%20seccio/prof...s%20eryngii.htm ...P.nebrodensis - Sicily- growing on its favorite host, Cachrys ferulacea... http://www.naturamediterraneo.com/forum/to...?TOPIC_ID=28204 http://www.naturamediterraneo.com/forum/to...?TOPIC_ID=47675 http://www.naturamediterraneo.com/forum/to...chTerms=madonie Maybe this should be start of another thread...? I just got carried away Mods, please move it if you see fit to do so.

FM, they were 'scaley' on top like that but lighter in colour, from memory. It was about 4yrs ago now. I think your right though, A.subrufescens, A.blazei, A.brasiliensis complex. Mutant, Thanks for the tip I'll definately try that next time I get some. I might have to grow them myself for that though, they don't grow here naturally, where I live now.

I've often thought of growing it on silkworm. Maybe even Bardi grubs.

Cool. I got the cultures today. Thanx WT.

A.augustus- When I was living in Nth NSW, I found a patch of mushrooms growing at Myocum (28*36'55"S) around rotten straw bales. I was calling them A.augustus, but I think they may have been A.subrufescens. Slight yellowing when bruised or cut , but almondy maybe slight anise aroma. ---Recipe--- I cooked some thinly sliced pork fillet (only just) , in some butter , then set them aside to rest. then cooked the sliced mushrooms. They were big fat 3-4" buttons ,veils still intact, pristine virgins..... um when cooked enough, I deglazed the pan with some Marsala to give an almost chocolatey complex sweetness. Added cream , reduced slightly. Then put the pork back in to warm briefly and coat with sauce. Served topped with almond flakes. unbeleivable! I thought the almond flavour from the mushrooms would be lost, but it was all there, strong but not overwhelming. It went nicely with the pork,butter and richness of the cream and wine. The crunch of the almonds added texture and echoed the flavour of the mushies. Definitely a recipe I'll repeat given the chance. I took some cultures of the mushroom , but I think I've lost it now. Maybe Watertrade still has a culture of it alive?

P.nebrodensis is cultivated in Asia. I found some in a market in Melbourne, Vic. that were imported fresh from Japan. At $80 or $90 per kg I bought one ($9) ,cultured it and ate it. Very meaty texture. I'd like to try a 'wild' one, thats why I'm trying to find seeds of the host species to grow in my garden. (ie. Cachrys sp., Diploteania sp. and Opopanax sp.) Can anyone help me out with any of them? so far I've got a few species of Eryngium and Ferula for P.eryngii. I'm going to try fennel and cardoon also. See if I can get a mulitspore culture eating into the dead flowering stems and keep going. thats's the theory... Drying Boletus for better flavour, you're right on the money there Mutant. I found one (B.multicolor) in the garden today that I chucked out due to maggot infestation. The remains of it dried out and yep, classic porcini aroma! I almost ate the thing there and then! I'll be on to it next year. Suillus as well. thanks for the tip. I like Lactarius cooked with cream and pine nuts. yum. Ive planted about 70 Pinus pinea trees near my house that I grew from seed and washed Lactarius deliciosus spores into the pots. I also knocked some trees out of their pots without breaking up the root ball Then I placed Lactarius stem butts in contact with roots and put the trees back into the pots Hopefully I'll get milk caps before the pines bear nuts (8-14yrs to bear nuts). Auricularia spp. are mainly a texture thing , though I find there is a bit of a unique flavour in the black ones I buy fresh. (Still haven't managed to isolate a clean culture from them- next I'll try with antimicrobials) I like them best cooked with other mushrooms. They give texture while 'borrowing flavour' and bulk from the others.

Brilliant work WT, No apologies needed as far as I'm concerned. Is that the C.comatus that I sent you (or Worowa)? Just curious as to whether it's still expanding it's way across the country. I'm sure I can speak on everones behalf here and say Thanks Watertrade

Took about half an hour though! ....32 minute noodles Yeah I love cooking outside . Barbecue chicken last night Killed the pig about 3 weekends ago . Processing takes the whole weekend so we hacked off some spare ribs for a feed. cooked on a makeshift Barbecue , pretty much same design as i use at home. had it with some Cabernet Merlot from out of the back of the shed under the dust. not as efficient as rocket stove but more so than 'open' fire. years ago i had a book on how to make fuel efficient wood stoves. there were designs from all round the world. the book was intended for use in developing countries. I gave it to a guy who was doing aid work in Timor Leste to take with him. more info on improving fuel efficiency (and and related health issues) for developing countries... http://practicalaction.org/?id=household_energy http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/paper/tech101/jikostove.html http://www.tve.org/ho/series7/01_energy_wi...ts/report2.html

I have to agree , Phillips is a great work, informative and photos often showing different stages of development of a given species and sometimes variation within species. I'd be interested to see how its been updated and whats changed taxonomically etc. There is also this http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/ It pays to get as much info as possible ie. different books- more photos etc. Check out your local libraries. Some mushrooms are listed in some books as being edible while in other books they're not. eg. Paxillus involutus ('naturalized' in Aust. with introduced trees) some older books will say they're safe , but more modern books say no. So keep that in mind. This book is sometimes available in remainder book stores for about $14. my brother got me a copy last week ,but I already have a copy. European emphasis. http://www.amazon.ca/Great-Encyclopedia-Mu...c/dp/3829017286 This one isnt too bad, also published in UK, but i counted at least 15 edible species that I know occur in Aust. http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Science/N...ushroom+hunting and there's always David Arora's books, 'Mushrooms demystified' and 'All the rain promises, and more...' I've just bought a copy of Michael Kuo's (creator of http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ ) new book '100 edible mushrooms-with tested recipes' Just started reading it...

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Yeah, it's listed as an endangered species in the wild. Originally from Sicily as the name suggests (Nebrodi Mtns). It grows as parasite on several species of Umbeliferous plants. Cachrys sp.; Diplotaenia sp. (maybe Peucedanum sp.) and Opopanax sp. It also occurs in China growing on Ferula sp. Send me your contact details. When I do some more plates I'll send you one. Otherwise I can send you a slant If I've got a spare.