Summer 'shroom boom

Fungus with the strength to destroy concrete is thriving

Posted: Wednesday, August 09, 2000

There is fungus among us.

The median in Egan Drive has sprouted a respectable crop of shaggy mane mushrooms this week. The fast-growing, edible fungus thrive this time of year, and the shoulder of the busy expressway is ideal habitat.


Given their abundance, there are undoubtedly safer places to gather the mushrooms than the Egan Drive median. One also should use a mushroom field guide for positive identification.


Watson said shaggy manes occasionally grow up to 2 feet tall, but normally average between 3 and 8 inches. They are simultaneously fragile and mighty, with the power to push up through asphalt.


Juneau biologist and prankster John Palmes has been intrigued by the annual roadside crop of shaggy manes for years.


Two years ago Palmes and a friend, Edna Deerunner, ``planted'' the median with clusters of fake mushrooms. They carved decoys of the highly prized edible morel mushrooms out of potatoes, adding details with a magic marker. Some had carrots for stems.





``They're awfully good sauteed in butter and garlic. They have a nice flavor,'' he said.



Watson offered two truisms about wild mushrooms. It's always good to cook mushrooms before eating them, he said. Even edible mushrooms can contain minute quantities of toxins, which break down when cooked.

``And don't overindulge, especially the first time you're trying them. Some people react to wild mushrooms,'' he said. ``Try out just a little, just to be sure.''

Mushroom season coincides with deer season, and years ago Watson began identifying mushrooms he found when he was hunting. He took a mushroom class from a visiting mycologist and eventually grew more interested in hunting mushrooms than hunting deer.

``It's like an Easter egg hunt. You don't know what you're going to find around the next bush,'' he said. ``Get a mushroom guide, start with a few of the easy-to-identify mushrooms and expand your repertoire.''

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