Category Archives: Flora

Chanterelles (Cantharellus formosus)

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There’s gold in those hills – that is golden mushrooms

Pacific Golden Chanterelles became the Oregon State mushroom in 1999. And no wonder, Oregon harvests over 500,000 pounds annually!

Chanterelles (Royalty free from Unsplash)

Chanterelles are one of the most popular wild edible mushrooms and tend to command a high price in both restaurants and specialty stores. Their rich, distinctive taste and aroma often puts them into the same gourmet fungi short list with truffles and morels.

Where do Pacific Goldens Grow?

Chanterelles grow in Pacific Northwest conifer forests that include western hemlock, Douglas-fir, and Sitka spruce (and live oaks in California). It forms a mycorrhizal mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with these trees.

Pacific Gold Chanterelle is one of several chanterelle mushrooms. It is sometimes hard to tell one from another. The Pacific has a long, graceful funnel-shaped stem that tapers to the base. The wavy cap has tiny, dark scales on the pinkish orange-yellow surface. The false gills look like forked wrinkles with a pinkish hue. The scales and pinkish colors are sometimes absent in wet conditions. Look for a distinctive fruity apricot aroma.  

Not the Same

Recent DNA work helped identify the differences between ‘Cantharellus cibarius’ (Golden Chanterelle), ‘Cantharellus formosus’ (Pacific Golden Chanterelle), and other related species. At one time all chanterelles in the Pacific Northwest were considered ‘cibarius.’ Turns out they are not. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanterelle.

The cibarius for instance grow in clumps among the moss in coniferous forests. Some grow in grasslands, mountainous birch forests, or beech forests depending on the location and specific species. Cibarius are yellow or golden, funnel-shaped, and meaty. Gill-like ridges run down the stem under the cap and they may smell fruity, woody, or earthy. For more information on these findings see: The Wild Mushroom Expert (https:www.mushroomexpert.com/cantharellus_formosus.html).

Lookalikes

Mushrooms can be difficult to identify and several, like the cibarius and formosus, look very similar. There are other mushrooms that look like these including the false chanterelle which is darker almost orangeish with a dark center that grades out towards light edges. False chanterelle is not dangerous, but could upset your stomach. It also tastes bad.

Jack-o-lantern mushrooms are toxic and sometimes mistaken for chanterelles. The gills of a jack-o-lantern mushroom are much thinner, deeper, and more delicate than the smooth, blunt, and shallow gill-like ridges of a chanterelle.

Cooking

Fresh chanterelles are the best to cook with. They dry well, but can become a bit chewy when reconstituted. Chanterelles can be dried and ground to a flour or frozen for short amounts of time.

Cooking releases the complex flavors of a chanterelle, especially when cooking with wine and butter. There are several fabulous recipes around to experiment with (like in sauces, sautés, soups, etc.). Look for Chanterelles at local farmer’s markets, gourmet stores, and gift stores.

The key to enjoying mushrooms is making sure that you have the right one. Some are poisonous (see chart at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_poisoning). Most poisonous mushrooms will cause vomiting and diarrhea with no long-term damage. Other mushrooms can be deadly and cause damage to kidneys and liver. Do your research, learn how to safely identify your target, and similar mushroom species.

Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)

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Western hemlock

Western hemlock thrives in humid areas of the Pacific coast. It is commonly found in temperate rain forests, usually within 100 miles of the coast.

Size

This large conifer can grow up to 200 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter. It is also long-lived, with the oldest known hemlock coming in at 1200 years!

In addition to being well known for its gorgeous wood, hemlock is used for a variety of other purposes. Western hemlock tolerates shade and grows abundantly underneath mature trees, where it provides an important source of food for deer and elk. Older trees are prone to rot, which makes them excellent sources of cavities for birds.

Native Americans on the Pacific coast carved hemlock wood into spoons, combs, roasting spits, and other implements. Hemlock bark is rich in a substance useful for tanning hides.

Foods

Hemlock is also a source of different kinds of food. In addition to offering edible canbium (the spongy cork interior of the bark), a hemlock forest is the preferred place for chanterelles and other edible fungi to grow. The needles can also be chewed or made into tea.

Common Conifers in the Oregon Fog Belt

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Oregon’s forests are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world. On the east side of the Cascade mountains there are dry juniper and pine forests.

The west side, features lush old-growth Douglas-fir forests and a fog belt region. The fog belt region, also called the Coast Ecological Province, is the smallest and narrowest forested region in the state, stretching north to south across the entire coastline.

Shore Pine. Source.

What differentiates the fog belt zone from the rest of the forested zones in Oregon? The summer climate.

While the rest of the state experiences high  temperatures and little moisture, the fog belt experiences lower temperatures and increased moisture and humidity.

Topographically, the fog belt sits at relatively low elevation, rising up from sea level to 400 or 500 feet. This climatically and topographically unique region supports highly diverse fauna and flora.

Shorepine

Some common trees one will see in the fog belt include Shorepine, Sitka Spruce, Western Cedar, and Douglas-fir. Shorepine (Pinus contorta) is the only species of pine that grows in the fog belt.

Shorepine grow within a few miles of the ocean and are typically bushy and distorted. The species has specially adapted to grow in rocky sites and sandy soil, such as sand dunes, and surviving powerful salty winds. These trees bare their round, twisted needles in clusters of twos.

Sitka Spruce

Sitka Spruce. Source. 

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees were once called tideland spruce because they like the cool, foggy environment of the coast.

This species is the largest species of spruce, growing to almost 100 meters tall. The largest Sitka tree in Oregon is found in Clatsop County with a diameter of more than 5 meters.

These trees bare flat needles and thin, light grey bark that easily peels off. The trunk of the Sitka Spruce is buttressed and does not go straight into the ground like lodgepole pines.

Sitka Spruce is named after Sitka Island, now called Baranof Island, off the coast of Alaska. Sitka Spruce is Alaska’s state tree.

Western Redcedar

Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata) trees are the only “cedars” with cones turned up and bent backwards on the branch (this species is not a true cedar species).

Western Redcedar. Source.

Another method of identifying Western Red Cedar trees is by looking at the underside of the foliage. There you will find a tiny shape outlined in white; some say this shape looks like a bowtie or a butterfly.

Western redcedar’s frondlike branches are so dense that some Northwest Native Americans called this tree “shabalup,” which means “dry underneath,” because the branches look like they could shed rain. These trees were the main trees used by the Northwest Native Americans to make canoes.

Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is Oregon’s most common tree and the state tree. The coast variety of this tree grows in the fog belt.

Douglas fir. Source.

The cone of a Douglas fir is very easily identifiable. Only cones from this tree have three-pointed bracts sticking out between the cone scales.

These are said to look like the hind feet and tail of a mouse diving into a hole. The largest Douglas-fir, the Doerner Fir, is located in Coos County and stands at 327 feet tall.

There are many other trees that can be found along the fog belt, as well as many common understory plants. To learn more, pick up a copy of Oregon State University Extension Service’s field guide, Trees to Know in Oregon.