Mycology is a complicated field

Chicken of the Woods is another easy, (and VERY tasty), to identify mushroom for beginners once they know what to look for. There are many different types of look a likes, but they are extremely fibrous and chewing and piece of wood would be tastier.

Good memory !

and a field mouse with tiny wings and a trunk perched on the top of your beer bottle drinking from it

My Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest Guide has a series of top edibles in my region. Morels, Inky Caps, Cauliflower Mushroom, Chicken of the Woods, Oysters Mushrooms, Chanterells, Giant Puffballs, King Bolete, Black Trumpet and Hen of the Woods. All are suppose to be easy to identify without a deadly look alike. I haven't gotten a chance to try anyone yet but hopefully this year.

That is one of the recommend ones in my Mushroom foraging book: Morels, Inky Caps, Cauliflower Mushroom, Chicken of the Woods, Oysters Mushrooms, Chanterells, Giant Puffballs, King Bolete, Black Trumpet and Hen of the Woods.

Mushroom foraging gets so much unreasonable fear that it will kill you instantly the first time you do it. And only people with arcane woodcraft skills and a death wish do it. Yes, there mushrooms that can kill you if you eat them. But a lot of the bad ones will just make you wish they had killed you. But you will survive the experience.

And like many human endeavors, such as skydiving, driving a vehicle, swimming, or crossing a busy street, will quickly get you killed if you do it wrong. It takes education and practice with someone that knows how to do it correctly to learn to do it yourself. Mushroom hunting falls into that same category.

If you wish to do it, take some classes. They can be often found in big cities. Go out with proper experienced guides and perhaps learn a new skill. The hardest part is admitting when you ain't sure if you are right and then walking away. Or not. It's up to you.

I would still recommend going out with an experienced forager until you are comfortable. They can at least offer up good extra information as you hunt them.

Mushroom hunting is fun and tasty, but it does require care, knowledge, and experience. So be safe out there!

More likely imo that if it is heated to a certain degree it will not cause a reaction

For sure. There is a mycology society I might join to help with that. I do a lot of foraging of plants in my yard and neighborhood. So I got to help me look up things as practice. Its been fun and no issues so far

My college had one geology class everybody called Rocks for Jocks, because all the jocks took it to satisfy their science requirement. I heard all you had to do to pass the final was identify all the mineral specimens on this one large display board in the hallway. I always saw jocks standing in front of it taking notes so they could memorize it. This was pre-digital-camera.

I have a friend who used to hunt for morels with his dad. I said really, where do you do that? (cuz I just casually wondered) - He suddenly got all cagey and wouldn't give me a straight answer, like I was asking him to reveal the location of the missile codes LOL.

A spore print is an easy test anyone can do that will keep you from mixing up Amanita (destroying angel) and Agaricus (meadow mushroom). If the spores are cold brown like dark chocolate it's an Agaricus, if they're pinkish white it's an Amanita.

It's not like they're that similar-looking either

Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus campestris)

Meadow Mushroom from 09292 Quintanavides, Burgos, España on October 12, 2010 at 12:17 PM by Felipe Hidalgo

iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org)

Eastern North American Destroying Angel (Amanita bisporigera)

Eastern North American Destroying Angel from Post St., Helmetta, NJ, USA on August 3, 2024 at 10:28 AM by Gene Yetter

iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org)

I would hand over my credit card before I give out my best hunting grounds.

I was just wondering what kind of terrain, not directions to an exact spot.

I've met so many people who didn't professionally do what they majored in - I went from chemistry to programming.

The classes I seen do have places to show terrain and even for new people to find mushrooms. But individuals, well we don't have places for such things. I just have places were I know I can find mushrooms on a good day. And that's it.

It would be impossible for your friend to create all the proper conditions for many mushrooms to grow in his backyard.