Hunting the Queen of Mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest

Join me as I go on a quick hunt for one my favorite mushrooms, the queen bolete (Boletus regineus, formerly Boletus aereus?). Queen boletes are excellent eating, and in my opinion they are every bit as good as king boletes (Boletus edulis). I was hunting in mainly Douglas fir at an elevation of about 1500'. Some mushroom safety items:
1. Never eat a mushroom unless you are absolutely certain of its identity. If in doubt, throw it out!
2. Mushroom hunters have a tendency to get lost. It can be easy to get excited about finding mushrooms, get distracted, and suddenly realize you're lost! Keep track of your bearings, and if you're hunting in an area where you get reception bring your cell phone and make sure it's charged.
3. I have come across some sketchy people out in the woods. As always, be aware of your surroundings. At the very least I always carry my knife for self defense.
I hope you enjoy the video! If you have any comments or suggestions, just leave a comment below.

[@ZiggityPow]

3:42 I love finding strange things like this.There are so many unusual and beautiful living things to see in this world if we only take the time to look.

[@OutdoorAdventuresWithSylwia]

Some gorgeous boletes!

[@mfregeolle]

Love your videos man.

[@trav9902]

Good video. Amanita phalloides at the 1:00 mark. You are right about the first mushroom. Either a Horse or Field mushroom. Possible Yellow Stainer but they are easy to check.

[@WesternEclectic]

Thanks for checking in! I was hoping someone would provide an ID for the amanita; A. phalloides makes sense (definitely not one to eat! ☠). And I have never harvested any of the agaricus species.... It would be fun to learn how to differentiate between them, although my understanding is that this is a bit more difficult than it is for other mushroom families.

[@grantpickens2704]

That greenish hue on top means no bueno

[@MushroomVanLife]

That was a perfect cut it was pure white! ❤❤

[@gus473]

👍🏼 Beautiful specimen, even if I'm here mostly for the scenery! Hope the pizza 🍕 was delicious! 😎✌🏼

[@WesternEclectic]

Thanks for checking in, Mike! And yes, the pizza was great. 😋 Take care!

[@asamarduk2597]

NOT BAD

[@garrettwaiss3525]

Really enjoyed this video. I'm hoping it's not too late to get out and find some boletes. I may have to go out to the ONP to be lucky, but a good place to hike nonetheless. Keep on posting.

[@WesternEclectic]

Hi Garrett, glad you enjoyed the video. Good luck hunting those boletes!

[@KalebLewis]

Nice

[@BigBeavrSlayer]

I need to get out this weekend, found a few lobsters last weekend. Those corals are very good to eat I pick a bunch every year around Elbe and national area. The dull colors are more bland in my opinion I like the bright ones like red yellow green and blue is the rare one. Sauteed in butter on top of a good fatty ribeye a damn fine meal!

[@WesternEclectic]

Cool! Thanks for the information. I've never eaten coral mushrooms, but next time I'll bring some home if I can. It's always exciting to try a new species. And I'm glad you found some lobster mushrooms.... I haven't found any yet this year.

[@BigBeavrSlayer]

Very earthy flavor, almost a little nutty

[@WesternEclectic]

@@BigBeavrSlayer Hey thanks again for the suggestion. I was hunting in that same location today, and sure enough that red coral mushroom was still there, and no worse for the wear. I sauteed it in butter as you suggested (alas, no ribeye to go with it), and you're right: It was very nice with a good, earthy flavor. It's awesome to have a new mushroom to add to the list of edible ones. And the oddly bright red color seemed to be a good fit for Halloween. Cheers!

[@BigBeavrSlayer]

@@WesternEclectic glad to help 👍

[@goodmushroom]

1:15 looks like a Death Cap. Smart choice not to take it

[@WesternEclectic]

Thanks for checking in. This mushroom is a bit perplexing: My first thought was Amanita phalloides (death cap), but I'm wondering if it was actually Amanita gemmata (gemmed amanita). This video purported shows a gemmed amanita at about 1:40, and it looks quite similar: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpDbgHiYjNSai5Y. Either way, I agree that it's not one to eat! I'll stick with boletes!

[@user-pm3nm5zd6g]

I'm concerned you are a self-trained and not trained by a licensed forager. I was always taught to NOT pull the entire mushroom out of the ground, but to gently cut it, then it will grow back. Pulling it out of the ground like you are doing spoils any chance of it being able to grow back

[@WesternEclectic]

Hi user-pm3nm5zd6g, you are right: I am not a licensed forager (I honestly didn't know there was such a thing!). I have, however, had the benefit of learning from some folks I would consider experts. I have discussed with them the idea of cutting a mushroom off at the base as you said you were taught to do, versus removing the entire mushroom. They supported removing the entire mushroom, which is what I do. The mushroom is just the fruiting body, whereas the more permanent part of the organism is the mycelium in the ground below. Removing the entire mushroom is akin to picking an apple from a tree, not like tearing a plant out by the roots. In fact, the person I talked to said that one could make an argument that cutting off the mushroom (akin to cutting off half of an apple from the tree and leaving the rest) essentially leaves an open wound and could be a route for disease to enter. In my own experience, I have seen mushrooms such as the queen boletes in this video appear year after year in the exact same location, which seems to suggest the mycelium has remained intact and healthy. David Arora discusses mushroom conservation in his book All That the Rain Promises and More... (see page 252). He includes the issue we're discussing and later writes, "...often missing is a realistic perspective on the most significant danger to mushrooms and virtually everything else alive: destruction of habitat." I firmly agree with Mr. Arora on this point. Habitat loss is a far greater problem than exactly how the mushrooms are harvested, especially if one is not destroying the mycelia. Anyway, thank you for commenting, inspiring me to think about this topic again, and reading my longwinded reply. Cheers!

[@thecoolguy4222]

Day 11 of trying to get a heart