Numerous varieties of mushrooms grow in Oregon's forests, both edible and non-edible. If you do your mushroom hunting in any of their national forests, you will have to get a permit if you are gathering the mushrooms for commercial use. If it's for personal use you can't pick more than one gallon per person. Only six of these can be matsutake mushrooms, and you must cut off a 1/2-inch of the stem immediately.
The Matsutake mushroom is a sacred ceremonial food in Japan. According to Worldinterestingfacts.com, it is the eighth most expensive food in the world, selling for $200 to $2,000 per kilogram. Forestry projects and over picking have caused a scarcity of these mushrooms, consequently Japan imports them from the United States. Matsutake mushrooms are found in the Siuslaw National Forest which stretches along the central coast of Oregon. The Matsatuke, which is very large, with a big cap and thick, meaty stem, is harvested from September to December, according to specialtyproduce.com.
The Pacific Golden Chanterelle was Oregon's official state mushroom in 1999. It represents one of the largest commercial crops in Oregon, which produced 500,000 pounds of this mushroom variety in the year the resolution was passed, according to House Joint Resolution 68. Chanterelle mushrooms live under Western Hemlocks and Douglas Firs and harvested in September and October. The Pacific Golden Chanterellle is yellowish-orange with a vase-shaped stalk that ends in a flat cap. And, unlike most mushrooms, it has "false gills" that are short and blunt, not blade-like gills. They have a fruity flavor and chewy texture and are well-known mushrooms on the west coast.
Oyster mushrooms appear in Mount Stevens State Park. They are white, fan-shaped and very large, and grow on the outside of tree trunks, typically Alders. When oyster mushrooms are present it looks as if someone stuck oyster shells into the side of the tree. The Oyster mushroom's cap is cream or light-gray in color and has no poisonous look-alikes in North America, according to Northernbushcraft.com. If you harvest Oyster mushrooms, always cook them prior to eating to kill any microbes. They are available for harvesting year round.
