Fungus Fanatics

New research conducted by a team of College of Agricultural Sciences ethnobiologists—who study the relationships between people and their environments—revealed that harvesters collect a surprisingly wide variety of wild mushroom species in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.

In findings published in Economic Botany, the researchers reported that nearly 1,000 wild mushroom harvesters involved in the study harvested 160 species of wild mushrooms.

Team leader Eric Burkhart, teaching professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and senior author on the paper, noted that morels, chicken of the woods, and chanterelles were collected most often, followed by hen of the woods, oysters, lion's mane, black trumpet, honey mushroom, turkey tail, bolete, Reishi, puffball, Chaga, shrimp of the woods, and Dryad's saddle.

—Jeff Mulhollem