# PA fall mushrooms 2020



## Osroc76

Let's talk about hens, and chickens, and lions mane, and any other good fall edible!!


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## Osroc76




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## Osroc76

I no it's not technically fall until next week but we're having some nice weather right now found some giant puff balls and more chickens this evening!


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## trahn008

Congrats Osroc.. Not a big fan of chickens, but I love those big puff balls.. Happy Hunting!


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## beagleboy

It's really been a slow summer for me. i have found very few mushroooms, no chants or Black Trumpets yet. I have found a few chickens, some oysters and today i found this cauliflower mushroom which I salvaged a little off of it


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## beagleboy




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## Osroc76

What part of PA you from beagleboy


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## trahn008




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## Osroc76

Aborted entelomas??


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## trahn008

Osroc76 said:


> Aborted entelomas


Yes


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## trahn008

Was out and about today picked a nice amount of trumpets. I'm ready to move on from trumpets and start hunting Hens. Happy Hunting!


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## beagleboy

Osroc76 said:


> What part of PA you from beagleboy
> [/QUOTEI hunt mushrooms in snyder, mifflin and union counties most of the time.]


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## beagleboy

trahn008 said:


> Was out and about today picked a nice amount of trumpets. I'm ready to move on from trumpets and start hunting Hens. Happy Hunting!


I hope the hens are better in my area than the chants and trumpets were, I just watched the weather for my area and they say no rain for the next 6 days. At least the morels were plentiful up here this year. I checked one of my early hen trees last week and it had a black staining polypore at it. I hope that isn't the end of the hens there, it's been a consistent tree for me.


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## Osroc76

I hunt Allegheny,Beaver, and Butler counties. But mainly Beaver and Allegheny. I'm hoping the hens are good this year also. Was a busy last year. 2 and 3 years ago were very good for me. That's when I was first starting to hunt seriously and learning small amounts.


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## pchunter1231

I found no chants or trumpets this year with all this dry weather. My spots that i pick grocery bags full had not 1 mushroom. Hoping its better for hens.


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## fulltiltbozo

missed it.


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## DanCB

I'm not a big fan of chickens unless they are very young like this:







I pickled and canned this batch today.


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## fulltiltbozo




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## MoonRabbit

Could these be honey mushrooms?


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## steelernation

Quite possibly. Do a spore print to be sure, and remember that they need to be cooked a while before eating. Stewing works really well with herbs. A lot of times in clumps like that, they spore onto each other. White spores.


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## MoonRabbit

steelernation said:


> Quite possibly. Do a spore print to be sure, and remember that they need to be cooked a while before eating. Stewing works really well with herbs. A lot of times in clumps like that, they spore onto each other. White spores.


Spore print is white. They seem to check every box for honeys but I'm still not that confident in trying them. It seems like no honey ever looks alike.


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## steelernation

In they're in Western PA, tell me where and I'll go pick them 

We're actually having honeys for dinner that I picked two years ago.


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## fulltiltbozo




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## fulltiltbozo

MoonRabbit said:


> Spore print is white. They seem to check every box for honeys but I'm still not that confident in trying them. It seems like no honey ever looks alike.


according to michael kuo, if it checks 3 boxes- growing in clusters on wood, attached/slightly decurrent gills, and white spores- it eliminates all poisonous lookalikes except jack o'lanterns, which aren't much of a lookalike really. there are other mushrooms that fit those boxes but are much smaller.


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## Ron Day

They look exactly like the honeys I ate for lunch yesterday. Just be careful about checking every shroom. My batch was growing next to a bunch of deadly gallerina.


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## MoonRabbit

Thanks guys. Went back to get some but they are all fuzzy and old. 

Did find a few shaggy manes. Cooked them up with dinner tonight. I decided to add garlic to the butter this time and really regretted it. Garlic does not compliment those mushroom at all.


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## DanCB

I'm having a decent year for Hens. Not great but certainly better than last year. The odd thing is that the usually reliable trees are not producing at all. I'm finding Hens more by happenstance.


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## Osroc76

DanCB said:


> I'm having a decent year for Hens. Not great but certainly better than last year. The odd thing is that the usually reliable trees are not producing at all. I'm finding Hens more by happenstance.
> View attachment 36839
> View attachment 36839


When did you find that one?


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## DanCB

Osroc76 said:


> When did you find that one?


Sunday.


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## Osroc76

DanCB said:


> Sunday.


What's the rain situation been like there? Dry as a bone here until yesterday. I'm hoping that maybe some will sprout because of it!


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## DanCB

Osroc76 said:


> What's the rain situation been like there? Dry as a bone here until yesterday. I'm hoping that maybe some will sprout because of it!


Some light rain but its mostly dry. I don't think wood growing mushrooms are as dependent on rain as are ground growing mushrooms. I can walk through the woods and see nothing growing on the ground but see all sorts of LBMs on deadfalls.


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## Osroc76

Interesting.


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## Osroc76

Osroc76 said:


> Interesting.


Well hopefully I find at least one or two in the next few days dry or wet! Haha


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## MoonRabbit

Young chicks? I've been observing them for the past 5 days, they haven't grown much at all since then. I've never happened upon such a rumpled bunch.


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## DanCB

MoonRabbit said:


> Young chicks? I've been observing them for the past 5 days, they haven't grown much at all since then. I've never happened upon such a rumpled bunch.
> 
> View attachment 36840
> 
> 
> View attachment 36841


I've been seeing those as well. I don't know what they are and they don't seem to change from week to week. If some one could enlighten us I'd be most appreciative.


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## steelernation

They're young Chickens. Pick 'em NOW! They are perfect. When they plate out like many I see for sale online, they are too old to get a ton of use out of, plus they're harder to digest and are much less flavorful and juicy.


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## Osroc76

AGREED!!


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## Osroc76

I've seen them where it just looks like spray styrofoam... If I can find the picture I will post.


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## MoonRabbit

Thanks guys! I picked them this morning. It was nestled in a nook in the tree which was almost impossible to cut. Plus the tree is erect yet dead and consumed with wasps.
Sadly most of it was too woody, I was able to cut the fleshy tips and at least got 2 jars pickled. I'm saving a few fibrous pieces for stock and the rest I'll try to redistribute around the area I found it.


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## Osroc76

this was from a while ago but nonetheless chickens that look like spray styrofoam!! I didn't pick because wasn't sure.... And once I found out I went back and someone already cut them.


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## DanCB

Can chickens just stop developing? I've been driving by a tree that has an orange mass that looks like young chickens. However, I first saw it over a month ago and it still looks the same, never plated out. It's way out of reach so I didn't try to harvest. I've harvested plenty of chickens over the years and agree they are best when very young, especially for pickling.


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## Osroc76

I'm not exactly the person to ask but I think you may be right because I actually have a locust tree by my house that has one that is probably about a size of a golf ball and it just stopped and it's still there now and it's been there like you said probably about a month.


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## MoonRabbit

Giant dryads


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## MoonRabbit

DanCB said:


> Can chickens just stop developing? I've been driving by a tree that has an orange mass that looks like young chickens. However, I first saw it over a month ago and it still looks the same, never plated out. It's way out of reach so I didn't try to harvest. I've harvested plenty of chickens over the years and agree they are best when very young, especially for pickling.


That's what confused me. They didn't exactly stop developing but it was an extremely slow growth rate compared to others I have observed. 

As you can see, this is 5 days apart.









They were slightly more plated today when I harvested but still seemed too old. Only the tips were fleshy.


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## Osroc76

If I remember right I researched or read somewhere that it is a slightly different type of chicken and the growth rate is slower. I could just be totally making that up haha, but I honestly think I did read that somewhere.


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## DanCB

Osroc76 said:


> If I remember right I researched or read somewhere that it is a slightly different type of chicken and the growth rate is slower. I could just be totally making that up haha, but I honestly think I did read that somewhere.


Could well be. Just this year we saw chickens emerging from a known stump; I went back three days later and they were perfect for harvest. Then we saw some emerging from a tree known to us to have chickens but we wrote it off due to a trip the following day. Checked it out when we returned 7 days later and they were perfect for harvest. Could be due to RH, clouds vs sun or any other factor. Who knows, certainly not I.


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## shroomsearcher

I supposed that there are more species of _Laetiporous _than _sulfureus _or _cincinnatus, _which are the two that I've found. Also, Even members of the same species might not look exactly alike.


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## jg010682

From what i have read there are 3 types of chicken of the woods lataporus cincinnatus, lataporis sulfurous, and the other im not sure of the latin name but from what ive read it grows in the western part of the United States and isnt considered to be eddible because of the trees it grows on.


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## SquiddlyBimps

NW-Luzern/Wyoming county border area this past Thursday


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## beagleboy

I didn't think i was going to find any hens this year, but one of my trees came through.


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## beagleboy

I have found a fair amount of chicken, but would sooner have hens. After the rain we are supposed to get tomorrow and Friday the oysters should be flushing in my area.


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## Osroc76

beagleboy said:


> I didn't think i was going to find any hens this year, but one of my trees came through.
> View attachment 36861


I didn't think I was going to find any either, but a few trees had them.... Unfortunately I was too late 😭


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## steelernation

Has anyone found honey mushrooms. SWPA has seemingly been bereft of any kinds of mushrooms all fall, as has the NE corner of WV.


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## beagleboy

We finally received a nice soaking rain today. Over 1.5 inches going to take a long hike with the 22 tomorrow and see what i can find.


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## beagleboy

steelernation said:


> Has anyone found honey mushrooms. SWPA has seemingly been bereft of any kinds of mushrooms all fall, as has the NE corner of WV.


steeler, I have an area that has them every fall. I was only there once this year and it might have been too early. I may check it this weekend.


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## Osroc76

beagleboy said:


> steeler, I have an area that has them every fall. I was only there once this year and it might have been too early. I may check it this weekend.


Do you think there's any chance of hens popping up sure to this rain?


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## steelernation

I know that people used to find them in November in years past, but I wonder that the dry times won't reset the shrooms for another year. Beagle, I usually am picking tons of honeys in early-to-mid October, and one hen location used to start producing at the very end of August. Not so this year, or last.


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## shroomsearcher

steelernation said:


> Has anyone found honey mushrooms. SWPA has seemingly been bereft of any kinds of mushrooms all fall, as has the NE corner of WV.


Yes, but that was quite a few weeks ago here in NE Ohio. We had a rain event of nearly 5"! Went out looking a couple of days later and honeys were just everywhere! But, it was still warm then. I don't know if it's gotten too cold for them to flush, but you might as well take a look. 

Cruised past a place where I find pinkies in a city park. It's an easy scout since you can see them from the road. If they're up, I just drive around the block, park, and harvest! Got a few nice ones today in prime shape. As someone else mentioned, it's supposed to get really cold tonight, so I wanted to get these before then. After more rain on Sunday, it's supposed to get nice again next week if the weather guessers are right! I'll go out and look again.


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## beagleboy

Checked an area that I usually get oysters today. One tree had quite a few but most were too high up. I tried throwing a string over them but just couldn't get it to land right. There were some lower and I took them, made enough for a meal. Wish everybody luck during hunting season this year.


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## dustmight

beagleboy said:


> View attachment 36660


Crispa


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