Shrimp of the Woods

It’s Mushroom Monday, and this week we have one mushroom that comes in two, very different forms. Meet Shrimp of the Woods (Entoloma abortivum)!

On the right side of the photo is the ‘normal’ form of this fungus – a typical cap-and-stem mushroom with a grey top and close-set gills that start out grey but become pinkish as they age (another name for the Entoloma Family is Pinkgills, and I posted about them back in May).

But when this Entoloma grows alongside Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria spp.), something strange happens: those popcorn-like fungi you see on the left side of the photo appear. Originally, experts thought Honey Mushrooms were infecting the Entoloma and causing it to develop abnormally; Honeys are parasitic, and so that theory made sense.

We now know it’s the other way around: the Entoloma is infecting Honey Mushrooms, and those odd-shaped fungi are actually malformed Honeys. The ecological role of this interaction hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it’s possible that Entoloma abortivum serves as a natural, biological control for Armillaria species, which cause a fatal tree disease called Shoestring Root Rot.

The normal form of this Entoloma, the malformed Shrimps, and Honey Mushrooms are all edible but definitely not named for their flavours – Honey Mushrooms aren’t sweet and Shrimp of the Woods doesn’t taste like seafood (though it does have a shrimp-like texture when cooked). Shrimps are mild-tasting and nice pan-fried to a golden brown or cooked in your favourite broth or soup, where they’ll absorb the flavours.

The malformed Shrimp of the Woods is a good mushroom for beginning foragers because there’s not much else that looks like it. While edible, the normal form of this Entoloma is a bit trickier and could be confused with other (inedible) Entoloma species or other cap-and-stem mushrooms altogether. If you’re new to foraging and interested in trying both forms of this mushroom, be sure the gilled form is growing with the Shrimps, as shown here.

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