THE MOREL OF THE STORY - On The Hunt With Carter Nevill

You don’t realize how varied and beautiful something you take for granted is until you stop to look. Once you’ve taken that look, it’s easy to get hooked.

Carter Nevill is at home in the forest

By Vicky Moon

So let’s begin at the end.

Shortly after being in touch with mushroom maven Carter Nevill, he sent an email. “Might rephrase the part about the taxonomy of euro vs n American to say ‘morphologically similar but genetically distinct.’ Think that is more accurate. They look exactly like the identified European species they have been assumed to be, but DNA testing tells us they are different.”

To which this writer said to self: “Anyone who knows about the DNA of a mushroom is, indeed, an expert.”

And so, meet Carter Nevill, mayor of Warrenton, owner of the gift and jewelry shop Carter & Spence on Main Street and a mushroom expert. He’s had an ongoing interest in the folklore and art of mushrooms since his late teens.

“One day while walking in the woods behind our house, in Free Union at the foot of Pigeon Top Mountain I came across what I believed was a lobster mushroom,” he said.

At the time, he was working in the kitchen of a fine dining restaurant and saw how local foragers brought in various finds for the chefs. He bought his first copy of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms by the legendary, self-taught mycologist, Gary Lincoff.

Hericium erinaceus, is also known as: Bearded Hedgehog, Lion’s Mane, Satyr’s Beard or Pom Pom. According to WebMD: “it can be taken by mouth for a decline in memory and thinking skills in older people that is more than what is normal for their age.”

Mr. Nevill compares his passion for fungi and mushrooms to the same curiosity that attracts some to birding. “It’s easy to get hooked,” he said, adding that he was hooked while at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from 1987 to 1991 studying English Literature

“For many years it was a passive pursuit,” he said. When he moved back to Warrenton in 2004, and now with a son, he started walking with a baby backpack in Whitney State Forest on Lees Ridge Road near Warrenton.

On a trip following a tropical storm, the woods were covered in mushrooms of all colors, shapes, and sizes. He purchased more books and went beyond the beauty and folklore to cooking his treasured finds. He also delved deeply into studying varieties that can kill.

“It went from there,” he recalled. “It’s one of the most meditative ways to enjoy nature. It’s the thrill of discovery where I derive the most enjoyment. A good haul for the dinner plate certainly is also a nice reward.”

Mr. Nevill, 50, defines mushrooms as “finicky about when they flush”—meaning, plentiful and Carter Nevill is at home in the forest in season. “Morels only fruit for a few weeks in the spring. Oyster mushrooms are year round.”

In late summer and early fall, mushrooms are diverse and widespread.

“Each species has a season, important information for identification,” he said. “If it’s August and you think you’ve found a morel, I can safely and with 100 percent confidence tell you that what you have is, in fact, not a morel. I would also question why you were not disgusted by the smell of your ‘morel’ because it’s a stinkhorn.”

The mushroom is the fruiting body of the living entity. The mycelia network in the substrate is the living body of the fungal network.

“I believe that the largest living organism on the planet is currently assumed to be a species of Armillaria in Oregon that’s almost four square miles in size.

“Mushroom sexing is another source of fascination (Schizophyllum commune has 23,328 distinct sex mating types),” Mr. Nevill said. “Hyphal threads require mating pairs to join and continue the growth in the substrate. Nodules in the network will form under the right circumstances, and that’s what becomes a Hericium erinaceus, is also known as: Bearded Hedgehog, Lion’s Mane, Satyr’s Beard or Pom Pom. According to WebMD: “it can be taken by mouth for a decline in memory and thinking skills in older people that is more than what is normal for their age.” mushroom—when the temperature and humidity are right. The mushroom releases spores, which help expand the network.”

Favorite common local edibles for Mr. Nevill are morels (Morchella sp.) , chanterelles (Cantharellus sp.) , oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sp.) and the bearded hedgehog (Hericium erinaceus). Puffballs (Calvatia sp.). Morels, chanterelles, puffballs, and chicken-of-the-woods are often referred to as the “foolproof four.” He advises studying and paying attention to details, the better to pick these without confusing them with other species.

Some of the most beautiful mushrooms, according to Mr. Nevill, are the ones that will make you the most sick. “But that’s only if you eat them,” he said. “There is a Croatian saying that ‘all mushrooms are edible, but some only once.’ A good rule of thumb for foraging edible mushrooms is ‘when in doubt, throw it out.’”

Mr. Nevill never sells his forest finds.

“But I always try to be generous with a bountiful haul,” he said. “They always taste best when shared with good friends.”

Amanita, likely Amanita ravenelii

This one is a chanterelle, Cantharellus sp. It is commonly listed in books as C. cibarius, but, as noted, is European, and mycologists are still working on classifying our North American species.

This is a webcap, Cortinarius sp.