Matsutake, Tricholoma murrillianum, previously known as T. magnivelare, was a mushroom I purposely skipped learning for many years. My previous understanding was that these only fruited in pure lodgepole pines, a forest type I don't enjoy being in as much as some of our more diverse forest types. With that incorrect understanding, I would go about my typical summer and fall mushroom hunting, mainly in spruce-fir forests. I didn't know I was missing out on an exciting and challenging species! But, as luck would have it, everything changed on Labor Day weekend in 2019.
That Saturday, I was sponsoring a foray for the no-longer-in-existance Fort Collins Mycological Society. I went on a scouting trip the day before to get an idea of the current conditions, hoping I wouldn't lead a completely unfruitful event the following day. The conditions were a bit rough! The lack of heavy rain for a couple of weeks had left the trails dusty and the soil crunchy, but I still found some cool mushrooms to show the group! I decided not to walk the trail on my way out of the area. Instead, I climbed a hill with a mixed conifer forest and walked back to my car through the woods. On my way up the hill, I crossed paths with a Japanese gentleman with a cloth bag and some homemade walking stick-garden tool. I knew exactly what he was up to - looking for matsutake! I made a mental note of that and continued with a nod and a hello. A few minutes later, I ran into another matsutake hunter, a Japanese lady with the same accouterments. Knowing what they were up to, I couldn't resist the urge twice, so I attempted to strike up a conversation. It went something like this:
Me - "Hello! Are you looking for matsutake?"
Her - "Mushroom." With a nod she lifted out two matsutake from her bag that looked about a third to half full.
Me - "Would you mind if I watched you? I don't know how to find those very well and
would like to learn."
Her - Nodding again as she returned the matsutake to her bag and went back to prodding around the base of a tree with her custom mushroom tool.
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I took that as a yes and stood back while she continued her routine. After watching for a couple of minutes, I gave thanks and continued up the hill, only to run into a third person from their group. Having already watched, I only offered this one a hello and glanced at his process as I passed. As it turns out, five of them worked in a cohesive and efficient group along the entire hillside. They would weave through the woods, seemingly checking every tree visually or with their tools and occasionally calling out something in Japanese or making noise to check in with each other. I spent the next couple of hours in their midst completely by accident. I had a place I wanted to go, and it turns out they were also headed in that direction. Sometimes, I was ahead of them and sometimes between them, but every interaction we had allowed me to learn by observation. Here's what I gleaned:
Matsutake doesn't grow only in lodgepole pine forests. Most of the trees under which they had success were subalpine firs, Abies lasiocarpa.
I believe they were looking for any disturbance in the soil that could suggest a mushroom growing beneath. This phenomenon is commonly called a "mushrump" in the foraging world.
They had custom-made poking or digging tools that were essentially a walking stick or cane size piece of wood, like a broom handle, with a garden tool affixed to the end. A couple had dandelion diggers, and the others had narrow trowels.
They weaved through the forest, checking every likely tree for mushrumps and signs of matsutake and occasionally prodding with their matsutake tools. I'm unsure if they were feeling for something specific or just hoping to find a completely hidden mushroom.
When they found one, they would pop it out of their tool, dust it off a bit, drop it into their bag, and search the surrounding area for more. They often found a second or third one within a couple of feet of the first.
In addition to checking under trees, including climbing among the lower branches of the largest firs, they would poke around decaying logs and in the duff around rocks and stumps.
After observing their methods and checking the areas where they were successful, I began to recognize likely areas myself! Eventually, I got to a small, fully emerged matsutake before they did! It was the first matsutake I had found while specifically looking for them, and I may not have needed to expertly notice a small mushrump, but I was proud nonetheless. I continued observing when I had the opportunity and searching them out on my own when I would separate from their group. By the time I reached my car, I had four matsutake and a lot of new knowledge to digest. I also happened to have parked right next to the matsutake hunters, and we exchanged waves and offerings of good luck as I left for the day.
I spent the next few days practicing what I learned. During the foray in the same general area, we found a handful more matsutake mushrooms, including one that I completely lucked out on, which was buried under a couple of inches of pine cone debris. Then, the following day, I went to a new area to teach some friends the wonders of mushroom hunting, and we left with another small bag of fresh matsutake!
I'll be the first to admit that I'm still very new to searching for matsutake, and I look forward to learning more about these interesting mushrooms. Once I do, I may write more of an educational blog for them, but until then, take what I've learned and see if you can find some matsutake of your own! And if you run into a group of friendly people in the woods, strike up a conversation, you may learn something!
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