Mushrooming In Wellfleet

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Sure, 60-percent of Wellfleet is National Seashore.

But, did you know that this Cape Cod town is also home to an edible wonder?

Yep, you can pick mushrooms right off the ground!

In fact, mushrooming is one of the more unique things to do on Cape Cod!

Poison or Edible?

As recently as 100 years ago, American mushroom hunters tested edibility by eating. Now, thanks to chemical analysis of the toxins, we have safer ways.

Ideally, the answer to whether a mushroom is poisonous depends on the individual species.

“The mushrooms you see above ground are the fruit of an underground fungus, whose thread-like mycelia absorb water and nutrients in the soil,” explains Guitta Blau, a Boston Mycological Club member who teaches mushrooming classes at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Many grow in a cooperative, or mycorrhizal, relationship with a favorite plant or tree.”

The favorite Cape Cod mushroom is the prized Leccinum aurantiacum – which generally grow near pine trees.

If you’re a fearless wild mushroom nibbler the experts say a tiny taste – not swallowed -might reveal bitterness, which is a sign of toxicity.

Where To Go Mushrooming?

The next time you’re on a Cape Cod vacation – take a trip over to Bound Brook Island.  There, you’ll find a network of trails that radiate from a Colonial Homestead, Atwood Higgins House, to a woodland of gnomish pines twisting in fantastic array. And, on the ground, you’ll find beautifully – and naturally – grown mushrooms.

It’s also said that the National Seashore’s Race Point segment is one of the best locations for mushrooming.

Other beautiful wild mushroom trails include the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail and Great Island.

Book A Cape Cod Vacation Package!

If you fancy tasty mushrooms – now is the time to book a Cape Cod Hotel Vacation Package at the Bayside Resort Hotel.

Follow us @CapeCodHotels.