A Milkcap in the Galtees

We took ourselves to Kings Yard near the Galtees today, and walked up a nearby trail next to a river. It was lovely there, so quiet except for the sound of the rushing water! There weren’t many mushrooms around yet but we spotted a bunch of them near the end of our walk and I was delighted to get a few photos of them!

Did you know, false saffron milkcaps are mycorrhizal fungi, meaning they form symbiotic relationships with tree roots, particularly spruces and firs? The mushroom helps trees absorb nutrients from the soil while receiving sugars in return. This partnership is so specific that finding these mushrooms often indicates the presence of healthy coniferous woodland ecosystems, making them useful indicators of forest health.

#falseSaffronMilkcap #ferns #forestForaging #GalteeMountains #IrishFungi #KingsYard #moss #mushrooms #mycology #Tipperary #wildMushrooms #woodlandPhotography

#CauliflowerMushroom - #SparassisCrispa.
One of my fave #edible & #medicinal #WildMushrooms. It's found in many places around the world, including forests on #VancouverIsland.
We #forage for these wild #mushrooms & use it in making some soups & stir fry dishes.

It's used often in #traditional #Chinese #medicine #TCM because it contains active #pharmacological ingredients. In order to study its medicinal value better, the genomic sequence of S. crispa was published in Oct 2018.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6207663

Dry weight of the #basidiocarp was found to contain up to 43.6% #BetaGlucan, which was approved for the treatment of #cancer in #Japan & recommended for #COVID19 patients to overcome #inflammation.

Experiments suggest that S. crispa contains chemicals that may stimulate the #ImmuneSystem & has many #biological properties including: #AntiTumor, #antiviral activity (reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity), #neuroprotection, #cardioprotection, #AntiInflammation, #hyperlipidemia, #AntiDiabetic medication, #antimicrobial compounds, & methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus #MRSA.

#ForestForaging #MushroomsMedicine #FoodFromTheForest #WildFoods #VanIsle #Wsanec #Saanich #PacificNorthwest #Cascadia #PNW #MushroomsMonday #LookReadLearn #AsianMastodon