**Before we wax rhapsodic about foraging for fungi, the GIY Guide would like to make perfectly clear that consuming the wrong mushroom will not just make you sick — it could kill you! It’s highly recommended that you take a mushroom identification course, often available through community colleges or local branches of the Mycological Society, or go mushroom-hunting with a seasoned pro before hurling yourself into the foraging fray.**

It’s harvest season, and wild mushrooms are popping up all over — in fancy restaurants, farmer’s markets, and yes, your own backyard. According to the local purveyors of edible fungus, 1 oz of dried chanterelles costs $5 and morels a whopping $15. Not truffle-high prices perhaps, but considering the fact that my household boasts a giant glass jar filled with over a pound of dried porcinis scavenged for free, we calculate we’ve saved ourselves almost $100 in fungi alone — while savoring the novelty of entire lasagnas baked with a thick layer of them.

While harvesting mushrooms is easy enough — pretty much all one needs is a basket or woven bag (never put mushrooms in plastic!), and perhaps a sharp knife (though most mushrooms should be carefully extracted from the soil by hand) — it’s finding them in the first place that can prove tricky for a newbie. Many mushrooms are mycorrhizal — forming a symbiotic relationship with the rooting structures of living trees such as oak, birch, poplar, and many varieties of spruce and pine. In addition to clustering beneath the dark shadows of trees, mushrooms are often found half-buried in the decaying detritus of the forest floor, making them initially hard to spot. Still, like any hunt, the searching is half the fun, and well worth the eventual reward.

And where do hungry urbanites go to stalk the elusive wild mushroom? Here too is the Mycological Society a valuable resource for information regarding location and permit requirements. Many National Forests and State Parks allow for non-commercial mushroom-picking, and any regular picker will know of a few likely spots. For the homebody, mushroom-growing is also a viable pastime. Check back next week for how-to tips of the toadstool trade!