In this video, I show off a very pretty peach-colored chanterelle. This mushroom, which I identify as either Cantharellus persicinus or Cantharellus velutinus, is less common than the numerous species of golden-colored chanterelles that are the hallmark of the summer mushroom season in the Southeastern United States. Their beauty and unique color make peach chanterelles one of the reasons I spend more time than is strictly necessary in my chanterelle patches.

I discuss where to find peach chanterelles and how to recognize them when measured up against their golden-orange-yellow relatives in the Cantharellus genus. One tricky thing about peach (and other) chanterelles that you'll find in oak forests of the Southeast is a propensity to stain a orange-brown color when damaged. As a result, peach-colored chanterelles often lose their pleasing pink colors when they are harvested or handled. I discuss this orange-brown staining reaction and how it affects identification of various mushrooms. Several species of chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms in Hydnum Subgenus Alba share this feature, which is one reason I take my mushroom photos as soon as I find and harvest them, because they simply look gnarly after they've stained.

I also show how to identify one of the best beginner mushrooms in our forests, Aureoboletus betula. Known as the shaggy-stalked bolete, Aureoboletus betula is an extremely recognizable species whose stem looks ever-so-slightly like a badly sunburned leg wearing yellow fishnet stockings made from yarn. That description is really a stretch, but the interconnected yellow shags on the stem are really striking and conspicuous, which makes Aureoboletus betula one of the top novice mushrooms in the Southeastern US. They have a pleasant citrusy flavor and good texture, and their abundance makes them a good mushroom to collect enough of them for a good meal. Shaggy-stalked bolete stems are often prepared with green, hearty veggies like green beans and asparagus.

Throughout the video, I discuss some of my experiences at mushroom camp, a week-long class with Dr. Alan and Arleen Bessette. Though I am not a mycologist, but rather a mushroom hunter, I learned oodles of mushroom facts at camp and simply cannot help sharing my enthusiasm for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect and study mushrooms with two of North America's most prolific and respected mycologists.