# I've got Meadow Mushrooms! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 15, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310 "2013-08-15T14:16:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/1 "2013-08-15T14:16:20Z")
We’ve had a lot of rain, and mushrooms popped up in my yard. Turns out they are _Agaricus campestris_, a delicious choice edible. If I ate mushrooms, I’d be enjoying a delicious mushroom omelet right now. Note- please don’t eat random mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/2 "2013-08-15T14:19:27Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Note- please don’t eat random mushrooms. where’s your sense of adventure? ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/3 "2013-08-15T14:35:26Z")
Well, all mushrooms are edible. It’s just that with some, you can only eat them once. But these have a solid ID- shape and size, gill color, sporeprint color, etc. Two guidebooks were consulted. I would eat these as readily as I would eat blackberries I found growing wild. But I wouldn’t give them to anybody else until I ate them. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/4 "2013-08-15T15:51:50Z")
If this is your last post, we’ll know why. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/5 "2013-08-15T15:55:14Z")
This summer has been very wet in western PA. We’ve had a bumper crop of chanterelles, chicken mushrooms (aka sulfur shelves), and various oysters. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/6 "2013-08-15T15:56:11Z")
Those will go great with the muffins! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/7 "2013-08-15T17:33:43Z")
I picked about five pounds of mushrooms out of the yard last week before mowing. No way in hell was I going to try to eat them though. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/8 "2013-08-15T17:43:20Z")
**Shoeless** , you made the right choice. But it’s interesting to ID mushrooms, same way birdwatching is interesting (to some people). So if/when they pop up again, you might want to investigate. Most mushrooms yard mushrooms shouldn’t be eaten, but some are delicious. But if it’s a big white warty one about the size of a paper plate, don’t bother. _Chlorophylum molydites_, very common and dramatic mushroom. Easily spotted and identified- the spore print is a greyish green color. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/9 "2013-08-17T15:26:11Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > **Shoeless** , you made the right choice. But it’s interesting to ID mushrooms, same way birdwatching is interesting (to some people). > So if/when they pop up again, you might want to investigate. Most mushrooms yard mushrooms shouldn’t be eaten, but some are delicious. > > But if it’s a big white warty one about the size of a paper plate, don’t bother. > _Chlorophylum molydites_, very common and dramatic mushroom. Easily spotted and identified- the spore print is a greyish green color. Based on a “mushrooms of Kansas” website I found, I’m pretty sure that they were indeed [chlorophylum molydites](http://www.sunflower.com/~pilott29/Chlorophyllum.htm). They start off looking like a golf ball on a tee, then the tops flatten out and grow to about 4-5" across. Judging from that website, it looks like there are definitely some edible ones in the area, but like I said, I’m not taking any chances! ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/10 "2013-08-17T15:34:05Z")
Good job on the ID! Mushroom identification isn’t any harder than say, bird identification or learning the names of the stars. But being sure enough of your ID to eat a mushroom is a higher level of confidence. I wouldn’t do it for all mushrooms, but in this case I’m certain. Note that there are ‘unmistakable’ mushrooms. Morels, for example, or Shaggy Manes. I don’t know if any of those live in your area, but they are as obvious as it gets. Of course, now that you can ID _Chlorophylum molybdites_, you are halfway to IDing Meadow Mushrooms, as that’s the most common species they could be confused with. Now learn to differentiate them from _Amanitas_ and you’re set. 🙂 (Sporeprint, volva, double annulus is how you tell) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/11 "2013-08-17T19:58:20Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Good job on the ID! > > Mushroom identification isn’t any harder than say, bird identification or learning the names of the stars. > But being sure enough of your ID to eat a mushroom is a higher level of confidence. > I wouldn’t do it for all mushrooms, but in this case I’m certain. > > Note that there are ‘unmistakable’ mushrooms. Morels, for example, or Shaggy Manes. > I don’t know if any of those live in your area, but they are as obvious as it gets. Concur - it’s a skill and knowledge set, not magic - I use the same approach as you - know and eat a smallish number of good edibles very well (including knowing how to set them apart from any mimics), then merely look at the others in wonder. Chanterelles are my favourite unmistakable - the gill-wrinkles divide and reunite - a feature that is never found in any of the other things that look like them. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/12 "2013-08-17T20:29:02Z")
One that is pretty easy to ID is actually one of the Little Brown Mushrooms. _[Marasmius oreades](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_bonnet_%28mushroom%29)_ has a fibrous stem that can be tied in a knot. Nothing similar has a stem like that, it’s a really positive ID. Of a delicious mushroom. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/13 "2013-08-17T22:32:11Z")
I love those too - for some reason, they’ve got a reputation as having an uninteresting flavour - but I find them delicious. They’re really easy to dry too. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-meadow-mushrooms/666310/14 "2013-08-17T22:43:19Z")
Better dried than any other way, is what I’ve heard. Run a string through the caps and hang them up to dry like banana chips.