On 6/26/2011 7:03 PM, Don Wiss wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jun 2011, "Bob(but not THAT wrote:

Best I can ever get is a chicken-of-the-woods about the size of a
grapefruit.

I've seen them bigger. But often no longer fresh. Wondering if he had a
chicken-of-the-woods is why I asked for a picture.

Note to David: Also post where you are located. That could help id them.
Though little brown ones generally can't be identified and are assumed
poisonous.

Don. http://foraging.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

When y'all starting talking chicken-of-the-woods, my first thought was
of the Giant Brown Chickens (aka wild turkeys) that hang out in the
woods behind my place. Damn near tame, from the old widow lady next door
putting out a wash tub of feed every couple of days. I've seen upwards
of 30 at a time.

In the Baltic states of northern Europe, where my family came from,
mushroom hunting is a big annual deal, and little kids learn the safe
ones by the time they are school age. My family neglected to teach me
that, or maybe they weren't sure of the species on this side of the
pond, so I just look, but don't eat. With all the storm-downed trees
here this month, I'm expecting to see plenty of them come late summer.
Last summer, one guy a block away had a front yard of adorable spherical
ones, 3-8 inches in diameter before the caps unfurled. Looked like a
science-fiction cityscape.

--
aem sends...