Matsutake Identification

This video showcases beautiful matsutake (Tricholoma murrillianum) growing native in the Pacific northwest. Early November is usually primetime to forage for these delicacies. This is one of many different sub-species of "Matsutake," a mushroom made especially famous for the Japanese species 'Tricholoma Matsutake." Those mushrooms take on a smaller stature and brownish coloring compared to our native species, and can fetch big bucks in markets in japan, where they actually auction off the mushrooms and can sell for hundreds of dollars per pound. They do however have a similar taste and aroma, which makes the PNW version of this mushroom more than fit for a royal meal.
This video shows me walking into a coniferous forest in western Washington in november at 200 ft above sea-level and finding a few great examples of this sought after fungus. I plan to do a bit more in depth video later about the history of these mushrooms, the culture surrounding them, and the commercial pickers who take to the forests of the pacific northwest every autumn to forage these mushrooms.
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