Someone asked me if I hunt and I answered "no", then stopped to think about it. I do hunt but it is for interesting plants and insects. Birders "hunt" birds and many mycologists hunt mushrooms, neither group intending to eat their prey. Here is Mark Bower's description of a September "hunt."
"I had been walking in the woods for 2 1/2 hours looking for mushrooms to photograph. The woods were dry, and I had only taken one picture all morning. As I was leaving the woods, I noticed two small mushrooms growing together on a moss-covered log. I assumed that they were just the usual boring brown-capped Pluteus species which are very common, and not worth stopping for. On closer inspection, however, I noticed the scaly appearance of the cap, which would be very unusual for Pluteus.
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| Spore print |
This prompted me to get on my knees and closely inspect it. To my surprise, the stem appeared to be streaked with purple. Multiple photographs were taken and a spore print revealed pinkish spores. With this information, and after reviewing my books, using keys, etc., I had no clue. I then put the info on the MOMS Facebook page. The genus Entoloma was suggested as a possibility.
The color of the spores is one of the distinguishing traits used to identify mushrooms. There are a lot of ways to make a spore print but the basic method is placing the underside of the cap on a surface and keeping it moist to encourage the spores to drop. It helps to have a dark and light surface to contrast against the spores which may vary between white or pink to dark brown.
I then posted it on Mushroom Observer, which is a website which is reviewed by mycologists, like Bugguide for Fun-guys and gals. My boring little mushrooms were identified as Entoloma tjallingiorum, and even though I can’t pronounce the name, I’m very happy to have found it. Half the fun is in the hunt while identifying them is like cleaning the game. And stop asking "are they edible?"