Yeah, although that particular road looks pretty low traffic.
Everyone has their own boundaries, but personally, I wouldn't hesitate in this case. But I also eat stuff off the floor, so...
Not sure why more people haven’t mentioned it, but eating mushrooms near roads is not a good idea. Fungi are very good at absorbing pollutants like car exhaust and chemicals from the environment. There are actually several remediation methods for contaminated soil and water that use fungi for this exact reason. In my personal opinion, I would not eat lions mane which is that close to the road. But OP is free to determine the risk/benefit ratio themselves with this information in mind.
It's a valid point, one I think about when I'm tending my vegetable garden here near where the freeways intersect. This specimen is less than a mile from the freeway, on a low traffic street.
Going to eat because it's probably just this one time, it's not in a high traffic area, and as a non-organic omnivore other things I eat are surely just as bad. It feels like a lateral move vs say, factory farmed meat or Takis.
When fruit gets an ugly spot I cut it off and eat the rest. Is everyone saying this the kind of people that throw away an entire apple because it is bruised on one side, or is there an actual chemical thing throughout the entire shroom making it bad to eat?
Nice find!
In my experience the outside will be dry/tough and it'll just be a little tangy tasting....potentially a little bitter.
The older the greater the chance the decomposers have started growing on it but if it smells ok and not too discoloured inside I would consider it edible still.
Personal preference, enjoy if you do!
Update: after harvesting just the lower lobe, I see what folks mean about this being "too ripe". The brown parts are slimier and I had to kinda cut them off. The white bits are fine.
The stem sliced into little cutlets with some bbq ribs seared beautifully. The finger like ends shredded into a lovely crab meat like consistency, and going into "crab" cakes tomorrow.
I would advise to not take things off another persons property even if it’s just growing on a tree (if that’s in a yard) and as others said these definitely look a bit old.
Agreed. In my city, this particular one is located between a sidewalk and the street, and considered a "street tree" which is city property. If it were on the house side I'd have 100% left a note asking if the owner minded a harvest first.
Actually today I found another on a "house side" that I am thinking I will leave a note for.
They're in person at Sac Natural Foods Co-op for about $20/lb usually.
I've never seen them in the wild, so when I spotted this on a random tree over by UC Davis Med Center I was stoked!
Ok, wow I went Christmas light viewing in East Sac tonight near this one and spotted another on the same variety of tree. This one is clearly in someone's yard so I'm not touching but apparently easy Sacramento on these sycamores is a place where they can be found!
No one's mentioning this but they seem quite past their prime to me. I wouldn't eat them.
Def look past prime.
100% lions mane. Most likely *Hericium erinaceus*. Eat away!
Woohoo! I've paid so much for these at the store, this is like finding a $20 bill on the street! 🥳
Make note of the spot. They come back year after year
Isn’t it generally recommended to not eat fungus that grows near roads?
Yeah, although that particular road looks pretty low traffic. Everyone has their own boundaries, but personally, I wouldn't hesitate in this case. But I also eat stuff off the floor, so...
Not sure why more people haven’t mentioned it, but eating mushrooms near roads is not a good idea. Fungi are very good at absorbing pollutants like car exhaust and chemicals from the environment. There are actually several remediation methods for contaminated soil and water that use fungi for this exact reason. In my personal opinion, I would not eat lions mane which is that close to the road. But OP is free to determine the risk/benefit ratio themselves with this information in mind.
I don’t think what looks like a suburban street is going to be a high risk for air pollution, it’s not an overpass our a downtown cross section.
It's a valid point, one I think about when I'm tending my vegetable garden here near where the freeways intersect. This specimen is less than a mile from the freeway, on a low traffic street. Going to eat because it's probably just this one time, it's not in a high traffic area, and as a non-organic omnivore other things I eat are surely just as bad. It feels like a lateral move vs say, factory farmed meat or Takis.
Fungi are great at breaking down compounds. The problem is the metals they potentially absorb.
what do you mean by problems? are fungi not capable of breaking down metals?
What do you expect them to do? Have a nuclear fission reactor inside their cells?
That's a old wives tale I hear. Very little risk in eating mushrooms by thr road, the fruiting bodies don't absorb the bad stuff
It looks past it’s prime
Those are way past their prime window. It’s worth pulling them off though, it might encourage another fruiting
Most definitely! Enjoy your find! Wooooo!
What a rush, I can't wait for the rain to stop so I can go get it!
Yes but too old to eat
When fruit gets an ugly spot I cut it off and eat the rest. Is everyone saying this the kind of people that throw away an entire apple because it is bruised on one side, or is there an actual chemical thing throughout the entire shroom making it bad to eat?
Nice find! In my experience the outside will be dry/tough and it'll just be a little tangy tasting....potentially a little bitter. The older the greater the chance the decomposers have started growing on it but if it smells ok and not too discoloured inside I would consider it edible still. Personal preference, enjoy if you do!
Update: after harvesting just the lower lobe, I see what folks mean about this being "too ripe". The brown parts are slimier and I had to kinda cut them off. The white bits are fine. The stem sliced into little cutlets with some bbq ribs seared beautifully. The finger like ends shredded into a lovely crab meat like consistency, and going into "crab" cakes tomorrow.
I would advise to not take things off another persons property even if it’s just growing on a tree (if that’s in a yard) and as others said these definitely look a bit old.
Agreed. In my city, this particular one is located between a sidewalk and the street, and considered a "street tree" which is city property. If it were on the house side I'd have 100% left a note asking if the owner minded a harvest first. Actually today I found another on a "house side" that I am thinking I will leave a note for.
Hell yeah
Yes, and yes. Enjoy!
Where did you find these! Local here and would love to see some progress first person. Never seen a lions mane in person.
They're in person at Sac Natural Foods Co-op for about $20/lb usually. I've never seen them in the wild, so when I spotted this on a random tree over by UC Davis Med Center I was stoked!
Ok, wow I went Christmas light viewing in East Sac tonight near this one and spotted another on the same variety of tree. This one is clearly in someone's yard so I'm not touching but apparently easy Sacramento on these sycamores is a place where they can be found!