Lofty Perched Hericium Recovery
Ever walk in the woods for miles looking for mushrooms only to finally find one way up in a tree? Say 15 or 20 feet or so. Hericium species do that on a regular basis. On one occasion some years ago I was heading out of the woods, walking a path along a creek and guess what? On the other side of the creek was this old Beech tree snag and 18 feet up was a beautifully fresh Hericium Americanum - Bear's Head Tooth.
Up until spotting this gem there were no mushrooms that I wanted to pick that day. There were some Honey Mushrooms but they were still on the wet side. I don't like picking Honey mushrooms unless they are on the dryer side. I want to see the little hairs stick up on the cap and I want to see the white spore print that falls from one mushroom's gills to the cap surface of a mushroom underneath. These indicators are important for identification and when the Honey mushrooms get wet the hairs are tough to see and usually the spores are washed off.
Anyway, back then, I was not carrying a very large bladed knife ( that was another problem that I had worked out years ago. I use a larger / longer bladed knife for cutting off Sheep's Head mushrooms cleanly from their bases ). The knife I use is an actual knife but you can wield it like a machete, when needed, in briars or thick undergrowth. It has an 18 inch blade and is very sturdy. I keep it very sharp!
I also carry a small coil of rope in my pack - just in case. It's part of my late Summer - Fall mushroom hunting gear. Now when I see a Hericium high up in a tree I bind that knife to a fallen branch of appropriate length to reach above the mushroom's upper surface.
Once tied on tight it's just a matter of reaching up and cutting it cleanly from the base, nice and close to the tree, so it will grow there again for the next year.
Let it drop if you have to. Catch it if you can manage it. Just get it down.
Even if it breaks in a few pieces when it hits it will still be delicious when cleaned up at home.
Here is the recovered Bear's Head Tooth.
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