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Seasonal field notes from the Forest
Winter 2025
Hello, fungi friends,
The first snowflakes fell in Ithaca, NY last week but, believe it or not, the mushroom foraging season isn’t fully over yet. I’m still finding Winter Oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus) and Blewits,(Clitocybe nuda) both of which are happy to fruit even in light snow.
We had a hot, dry summer and sporadic rain in the fall, so it was a real hit-or-miss year for foraging in the Finger Lakes but that made the mushrooms we did find feel even more like treasure. I was delighted (if not a little jealous!) to receive photos of mushrooms found by my students. I visited plenty of my usual spots that didn’t produce this year, but I also discovered a few new ones and that’s a win in my book.
I hope you’re writing down what you find, when you found it, and where you found it in a journal so you can refer to it later. Your future self will thank you.
I had a truly wonderful time taking folks on private foraging excursions this year! When I told my dad about the forays, he laughed and reminded me that I’ve basically been doing this my whole life. He used to take me hunting when I was a kid, and he said I scared all the animals away because I wouldn’t stop asking questions and talking about the plants, animals, and fungi. It appears I never grew out of that stage and now I get to share my knowledge and endless fascination with other curious nature lovers.
THANK YOU to everyone who joined me for a class, workshop, or foray this year!
May the Forest be with you,
Stacey
Top photos: Winter Oysters
Bottom photos: Blewits
Spring 2026
Hello, Forest friends and happy Spring!
We made it through a tough Winter in the Finger Lakes, and I feel like we have fully earned a glorious Spring. There is still a touch of snow on the ground, but there are some intrepid Spring ephemerals making their way towards the sun. That means that the beginning of mushroom season is on its way.
The first two delicious mushrooms to fruit in our area are morels and Peasant’s Backs. I generally start looking for Morels at the end of April if the weather is warm but if it’s cool, they might not get going until early/mid-May. They have a short growing season and are very temperature sensitive, needing soil temperatures in the mid-50’s to the mid-60’s to fruit. Last year was one of the best years for them that we’ve had in a while and my fingers are firmly crossed for this year. It can be a bit challenging to find a good Morel spot even though we have multiple varieties of them in our region, but the reward is well worth the hunt. Pheasant Backs make up for this by being plentiful, easy to find and having a long growing season. They are not as well-known as Morels, but they are 100% worth harvesting. They are a fantastic meat substitute and make the best mushroom bacon!
If you are looking to find new places to forage this year check out the extensive maps and park/trail descriptions at https://www.gofingerlakes.org and https://fingerlakestrail.org.
Also, there are a few different regional mycological groups that host events you might want to attend. They are the Northeast Mushroom Federation, the Rochester Area Mycological Association, the Central New York Mycological Society and the North American Mycological Association.
Happy hunting and stay safe. I hope our woodland paths cross this year!
May the Forest be with you,
Stacey
images:
top left: Blond/Yellow Morels
bottom left: Black Morels
Top right: Pheasant Backs
Bottom Right: Pheasant Back bacon
