Hunt For Wild Berries And Mushrooms

On Sunday, July 27, naturalist/author “Wildman” Steve Brill will lead one of his world-famous Wild Food and Ecology Tours of Huntington State Park in Redding.

This is one of the best places for great numbers of the world’s most prized (and expensive) wild mushrooms, according to the naturalist. They include gourmet boletes, brittle russulas, chanterelles, black trumpets, and gigantic chicken mushrooms. On past tours, he continued, “we’ve also found wonderful flavored parasol mushrooms and delicate tasting corals, plus the delectable rooted oudemansiella, with an underground structure — not a true root — that snaps when you break it.”

There may also be deadly amanitas, so beginners should always consult an expert, such as the “Wildman,” before eating any wild mushrooms.

Fruit also fills the park. Thickets are lined with large quantities of sweet, juicy blackberries and tart wineberries. After picking them during the tour, many participants forgo lunch and continue collecting this irresistible fruit during the break.

There are also flavorful elderberries, and sweet-sour black cherries dropped from trees along the edges of fields. And in 2003, the group found a rare, unnamed sour cherry species absent from technical botanical manuals, probably a foreign species or hybrid that escaped from cultivation. The fruit is especially tasty.

Wild greens also thrive in fields and along trail edges. Among the findings will be lamb’s-quarters (a wild spinach), wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, poor man’s pepper, purslane, lady’s thumb, and Asiatic dayflower. In addition, there will be culinary and medicinal herbs such as black birch, yarrow, sassafras, and spicebush leaves.

The three-hour walking tour begins at 1 pm at the Huntington State Park parking lot on Sunset Hill Road. The suggested donation is $15 for adults, $10 for children under 12. (Bring exact change.) Nobody is ever turned away due to lack of funds.

To attend, call 914-835-2153 at least 24 hours beforehand and reserve a place. For the 2008 tour calendar and additional info, visit www.wildmanstevebrill.com.