Krista Willmorth called this afternoon with a question about Oyster mushrooms with a light anise odor. She brought them by for a look-see and they turned out to be very young Neolentinus lepideus, old genus Lentinus. This fungus causes brown rot in conifers and hardwoods. This is the reason for the name change. White rot fungus were kept in the genus Lentinus. We went back to her site to take pictures and make sure they were not Oysters.
This is one of two logs full of these mushrooms. This log appears to be cottonwood. Their odor is fragrant, anise-like. They are somewhat edible when young and cooked for a long time to tenderize them. Some people find the taste disagreeable. I would say don't eat it. Oysters are so much better. These will fruit in the spring and fall following cool wet weather so it is easy to confuse them with the Oyster mushroom. These mushrooms were young enough that the scales on the cap and the serrated gill edges were just starting to develop. Since Krista did not have her camera with her, I took the picture and posted it for her. Great find Krista! Genny S.
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