5 Mushrooms You Can Find This Winter!
The mushroom foraging season is not over in the colder months of the year, there are still a few fungi that can tolerate the snow and frost. Here are five winter mushrooms you can find in the southeastern U.S. during the snowy season.
Lion’s Mane
Lion's Mane Mushroom is an edible and medicinal mushroom that supports brain health.
I find this mushroom on living and dead hardwood trees. October is usually peak Lion's mane Season, but I recently found one on January 1st. I have a full article on how to identify and forage lion’s mane!
Lion's mane helps repair damaged neural
networks in the brain and reduces inflammation. It can also alleviate
some depression and anxiety. This mushroom is also a delicious culinary mushroom with a texture similar to crab cakes.
You can find my Lion's Mane tea Blend on the shop.
Wood Ear and Amber Jelly Roll
These are two common jelly fungi that are often confused with each other. Wood Ear has a more definite ear shape and are more structured, whereas Amber Jelly Roll is wrinkled and somewhat formless. Amber Jelly roll is slightly more translucent. Both are tasty in soups and stir fries. Wood ear contain a lot of minerals like copper and selenium. It is also antibacterial and reduces cholesterol.
Both Jellies like to grow on small to large sticks in the forest. You'll often find them clustered on sticks or limbs on the forest floor.
Turkey Tail
Turkey Tail Mushroom is one of the best
immune boosting mushrooms. It increases killer t cells in the body to help fight off disease and infection. The mushroom is not edible, but they can be used to make teas and tinctures. Turkey Tails are fuzzy on the top and have small white pores underneath. They are also very flexible
and bendable in contrast to other bracket fungi. Their peak season is from late summer to early fall, but healthy specimens can be found into the winter.
Fall Oyster Mushrooms
These are a hardier, cold resistant variety of Oyster Mushrooms. These mushrooms emerge in the Late Fall / Early Winter, often fruiting after the first frost.The fungi are found growing on hardwood trees, logs, and limbs.
The mushrooms are thicker and meatier than other varieties of Oysters. The Mushrooms also have more color ranging from brownish yellow to olive green. They have a stubby stem and sometimes no stem whatsoever.
I think they are the best tasting version of Oyster mushrooms myself. I have made po'boy sandwiches, Nachos, and stir fries with these oysters.
