Wild mushroom and berry picking in Oregon forests? (Eugene: buy, eat)

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by *anya*

.........and I'm curious which forests produce this wild edible vegetation. We just visited last week, mainly Bend and that's the place that we are most interested in ................

A 2400 year old edible “honey mushroom,” the largest living organism on earth, over 2200 acres, is in the Malheur National Forest in Eastern Oregon about 190 miles from Bend: Largest Living Thing | Mushroom in Oregon

[*anya*]

Originally Posted by karlsch

A 2400 year old edible “honey mushroom,” the largest living organism on earth, over 2200 acres, is in the Malheur National Forest in Eastern Oregon about 190 miles from Bend: Largest Living Thing | Mushroom in Oregon

that's pretty cool!

[Steve Pickering]

I would love to know of a good spot for morrels

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I would love to know of a good spot for morrels

Nobody is going to tell you where to find mushrooms. It's just not done. However, morels sometimes fruit heavily in burned over areas after forest fires. Check early spring, when the buds on oak trees are just in the rabbit's foot stage.

[Steve Pickering]

I knew that. I have been mushrooming for forty-five years. I had to give it a shot.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I would love to know of a good spot for morrels

Outside of Burns, Oregon, in the Ochoco mountains. About ten miles up NF-47/Burns-Izee Road. Where NF-37 breaks off, there is a hill on the left hand side. The south side of that hill had a really good crop in 2009 when I was last there.

There is usually a buyer just a few miles south of there. He'll sometime pretend to not speak English (he's Korean,) to take advantage, but he usually gives one of the better prices - I think he ships them over seas. If you don't want to deal with him, there is a retired guy and his wife who setup closer to town. They're usually driving a blue pickup with a camper on the back. They resell at a farmer's market somewhere, so they're not able to give as much.

If you're out in that area, and see any glass like stones in clear, pale yellow, red, green, blue, or purple, I'd appreciate knowing about them. Typically they'll be found in areas of iron heavy (red,) dirt, or will be found within the matrix level below a basalt out cropping. The matrix level typically looks like a green crumbly clay and will be a few inches thick to several feet. Those would be Oregon's state gem, the Oregon Sunstone. Not worth a lot of money but there is a bit of nostalgia on my part and I'd like to get some larger pieces to replace several that are in my personal collection.

[Steve Pickering]

We just got into a glory hole of Sunstones at the public digs in Plush a couple of weeks ago. Never heard of them near Burns. I want the Morrels for my belly, not some Korean.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

We just got into a glory hole of Sunstones at the public digs in Plush a couple of weeks ago.

It's a great time, ain't it?

My great grandfather and his brothers were one of the first to dig Sunstones out there near Plush, they sold a lot of them to Tiffany's before they bought a claim there themselves (which is now where the Dust Devil Mine is.) That was all back in the 1930's, when you'd go out and find ant hills literally made of the stones.

There is one known mine up in the Ochoco's, the owners work it pretty heavily and have a shop downtown somewhere. Their prices tend to be pretty obscene and I can't imagine they're breaking even as sunstones just aren't a tough enough stone to be used reliably in jewelry.

Apparently Sunstones have also been found near Brookings and in Christmas Valley. As they're caused by pockets of carbon and copper put under immense pressure via lava flows, in theory just about the entire state should have them around. I've spent a lot of time pouring over geology maps and have a few ideas of locations that I plan on scouting out.

But if someone else finds some and lets me know, that's less work on my part That and I'd rather be mining for them in the nice shady forest somewhere during the summer, vs. being out in the sun all day near Plush.

[*anya*]

I've never tried Morels they are ridiculously expensive in Cali, and back in the mother land we either didn't pick them or they didn't grow there, probably didn't grow there. Now I want to try some haha.

[Steve Pickering]

Sunstons are fieldspar. They facit well. They are a product of volcanic activity, and are found in magma tubes that have deteriorated just like diamonds. Something they didn't know even a few years back.