woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
"Matsu" is our Pine. Any of you guys ever see these mushrooms near the base of trees and eaten them? In these parts they can be found only with our Red Pines at this time of year. Quite desirable for people that know about them and can collect, and just about everyone has eaten them at one time or another. They can be hard to find if you aren't clued in to the lighting and ground conditions where they will grow, it does require certain specifics. I sometimes see collectors disappearing into the woods, and they are often rather secretive about the places that they know. People collect to sell to restaurants too, a top class one can bring a hundred bucks. People are big on the aroma that they put out after being cooked too, and lots of ways to eat them in various dishes. Reading Wikipedia, I see that there is something very similar in the Pacific Northwest, but it is white, and grows around other species of trees. They have a relationship with the tree roots, apparently. Though I have looked a bit myself, I have yet to find one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsutake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsutake