Telluride Mushroom Festival pt.2, Albatrellus ovinus

Hey everyone, welcome back for my second micro-post on what I learned and discovered at the Telluride Mushroom Festival!

This micro-post is about a new mushroom for me: Albatrellus ovinus.


For me, this mushroom represents a cautionary tale about why you should always double and triple check your identification information.

When I found this fungi, another mushroom hunter came over and told me it was the hedgehog mushroom, aka Hydnum repandum. I was skeptical, because the underside of the hedgehog has teeth, and these didn't look like teeth.

This picture shows the elongated pores on the underside quite well. On the left side: you see how these are clearly pores, or holes under the cap. To the right: the unusual way these are "elongated" pores. 

But she was so certain, and told me bow she ate this mushroom regularly, even sharing recipes, so I figured maybe this was an older specimen, and the teeth had worn down or something.

Very quickly the foray lead set us all straight: this isn't a hedgehog, not even close. It's Albatrellus ovinus, a polypore mushroom. And I was right: these aren't teeth, they are elongated pores. If you look at the picture above, you can clearly see the pores from head-on are definitely pores, but from the side, that elongation is what confused the other forager.

A. ovinus is unusual for several reasons: it's terrestrial (ground-growing), where most polypores grow on wood, and it's Mycorrhizal (symbiotic) with trees, where most polypores are decomposers.

Anyway, A. ovinus is also edible, and wouldn't have killed me, but trusting just one source can prove fatal, especially if you don't know that  source's credentials. When I get home I'll triple check the A. ovinus ID with my books. I personally like to use at least 3 reliable sources.

This is a large, firm mushroom, and quite meaty. About half of mine was buggy, and had to be cut away, but I'm still left with enough for a meal. A. ovinus isn't well-regarded, but I suspect that long and slow cooking will do it well. I'll make another post when I've tasted!

Special note: this is not a complete identification post, as I never share identification until I have successfully identified and eaten a mushroom several times. This post is only meant to share an experience.