Swollen-stalked Cats
It’s Mushroom Monday, and this week I’m introducing you to another of PEI’s many edible fungi. Meet the Swollen-stalked Cat (Catathelasma ventricosa).
Swollen-stalked Cats grow directly from the ground and look a bit like greyish puffballs when they first appear (main photo). If you pull one up, you’ll find it has a heavy, dense feel and short, tapered stalk. Cut one open, and you’ll see solid white flesh, along with a cap and gills that – at this stage – are covered in tissue called a veil.
As the mushroom matures, it grows taller and breaks free of that veil, developing a broad cap and revealing close-spaced gills that run partway down the stem (upper right photo). At this stage, you can see where the Swollen-stalked Cat gets its name: the middle of the stem (aka stalk) is wider than the top and bottom, giving it a swollen look. (‘Cat’ is just a shortened version of the scientific name).
Swollen-stalked Cats are sometimes mistaken for another edible mushroom, especially when young: Matsutake (aka Pine Mushrooms, Tricholoma magnivelare, lower right photo). Two helpful clues to tell Cats from Matsutake are smell and gills. Matsutake have a strong sweet-spicy-earthy smell that’s like a combination of cinnamon and old gym socks; Cats smell mild and mushroomy. The gills of Matsutake stop where they meet the stem, while those of Cats run partway down it.
I tried both Swollen-stalked Cats and Matsutake for the first time this year. Cats are mild-tasting and meaty wild mushrooms, while Matsutake have a much stronger flavour that’s rich and complex (they taste like they smell, in a good way). A big thank-you to my friend Jessika for gifting me the Matsutake and telling me how to cook them (these mushrooms don’t pair well with butter).
Swollen-stalked Cats are mycorrhizal fungi, forming mutually beneficial partnerships with conifer trees. I’ve found lots growing under old field white spruce this year, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for them in your local softwood stands.
They may not be our most beautiful mushrooms but Swollen-stalked Cats are delicious and beneficial members of PEI Untamed!
