I first discovered it a few days ago, but didn't recognize it. Now? I'm glad it happened, although I'm still learning to live with it. What's Insidious Gomphidius? I'll show you in my post. What did I do with it? I ate it! :D

**Warning:** If it bothers you to look at slimy, discolored things, please, just give me an upvote and move on. If you continue to read, though, you may want to find your own Gomphidius -- if not the Insidous Gomphidius, maybe the  Hideous Gomphidius!

<center> ![IG8WEB948f3.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG8WEB948f3.jpg) </center>

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# What is Insidious Gomphidius? #
It's part of the small Gomphidiaceae family -- every one of them an edible mushroom. Even though they don't always look very appetizing! The common names of mushrooms in the *Gomphidius* genus hint at their looks: the Glutinous Gomphidius, the Insidious Gomphidius, and there's even the Hideous Gomphidius! 


Here are the distinguishing features of any of the mushrooms in the*Gomphidius* genus:

1. White gills that extend down the stalk (**decurrent** gills),
2. smoky olive-brown to black spores
3. the lower part of the stem is bright yellow
4. a *super* slimy cap when it's wet
5. white or whitish-gray flesh
6. mycorrhizal with conifers. 


<center> ![IG70b1b5.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG70b1b5.jpg) </center>
<center> *See how the gills extend down along the stalk? See how the lower part of the stalk is bright yellow? Those are key features of the Insidious Gomphidius* </center>

<center> ![IG9WEBb5a93.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG9WEBb5a93.jpg) </center>
<center> *Their cap will be more rose-tinted when the rain has been recent and heavy. The cap will be more slimy then, too. These were super slimy!* </center>

Those first three features, all together, are unique to Gomphidius mushrooms. The mushrooms I found in my yard are  *Gomphidius oregonensis*, the Insidious Gomphidius. Their caps can be pinkish, purplish, grayish, or even blackish. But the Insidious G's grow in small clumps rather than individually. And they occur most often under Douglas-fir trees, especially where there are also Slippery Jack mushrooms. That's exactly where I found these! 

<center> ![IG3WEBec4f0.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG3WEBec4f0.jpg) </center>
<center> *Gomphidius mushrooms grow into the roots of conifers. They help the conifers get soil nutrients, while the trees provide the fungus with sugars and starches from their photosynthesis.* </center>

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# How Did I Identify These Mushrooms? #
For this mushroom, I used David Aurora's major mushroom reference book, "Mushrooms Demystified". It's a fat book - over 900 pages, so it's not a field manual! It has a lot of technical jargon and uses dichotomous keys. So it can intimidate people not used to the scientific terms or keys, and it does take some concentration to use it! 

I laid my mushrooms out for a few days, so I could determine the color of the spores forming on their gills. It's clear that the spores are a smoky black. The first mushrooms I picked were especially wet from our rain, and they turned to goo within a couple days! That can happen with some mushrooms. I'm not about to eat those - yikes! 

The second batch of mushrooms were less slimy because the rain stopped for a couple days. And they hadn't opened up as much. But their gills and stalks are so distinctive, there's no mistaking them for anything else. 

<center> ![IG2WEBdbadb.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG2WEBdbadb.jpg) </center>
<center> *Left: The first mushrooms were really wet and decayed super fast, into black goo. It's good to put mushrooms on a towel or cardboard if you are keeping them a few days to study. Right: The gills turned from white to a smoky dark olive-brown as the mushroom aged and spores developed.* </center>

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# How Did I Decide to Eat My Insidious Gomphidius? #
I absolutely do not eat every mushroom I find! Even very tasty ones can be in bad condition -- too old or too full of bugs. And I never, ever eat a mushroom unless it crosses two hurdles. The first hurdle is that I have to be certain of my identification. Some mushrooms have very distinctive characteristics. Even if they are new to me, they are not hard to learn with confidence. Others can be tricky - I get help from practiced experts for those, or I don't eat them.

The second hurdle is that I have to learn that the mushroom is really edible. I do not experiment with eating mushrooms. I do my homework - and that means using several sources of information to find any precautions about using them. 

<center> ![IG4WEB504d8.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG4WEB504d8.jpg) </center>
<center> *Can you point out the key characteristics of Insidious Gomphidius on these mushrooms?* </center>

"Mushrooms Demystified" says that the whole Gomphidiaceae family is safe to eat. For the slimy *Gomphidius* genus, it says to peel the cap. They do caution against having high expectations, saying that these mushrooms are more like Escargot and lack a lot of flavor. And they turn black when cooked! 

I also check other books -- and different websites that specialize in foraging mushrooms or the latest science on edibility. I'm looking for two things. One, any new information with cautions about its edibility. Two, any real examples of anyone actually cooking and eating this mushroom. I was skunked on both counts. 

Many independent sources talked about its edibility and some gave taste reviews. But nobody showed themselves actually preparing or eating the Insidious Gopmhidious. So what you are about to see here is unique, I think!

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# How Did I Prepare My Insidious Gomphidius? #

I used only the two youngest set of mushrooms, that were still in good condition. I cut off the lower part of the stalk and peeled the caps. The mushroom caps, gills, and stems were all in good shape- firm, gray-white, with no insect damage. I cut the stems off the caps, too. 


<center> ![IG5WEB25087.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG5WEB25087.jpg) </center>

I experimented first with the smaller pieces. Some mushrooms need the water cooked out of them first, before adding any olive oil or butter. So I started with a dry saute - a hot skillet and no oil. They didn't put out any water, so I added a little olive oil for them to cook in. When they were cooked through, I ate those few small pieces. Then I waited a couple hours to see if I would have any reaction. I didn't. So I cooked up the best, larger pieces for dinner. 

You can see how they go from a whitish color, to a rosy-gray, to a dark gray-black - until they are all black when they are cooked through. These aren't burned or scorched. It took about 15 minutes to cook all the way through on  on a medium-low heat. If they aren't cooked all the way through, they definitely are more like escargot. 


<center> ![IG6WEB83c90.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG6WEB83c90.jpg) </center>
<center> *Even the bottom right mushrooms are not done cooking yet. They need to turn black all the way through.* </center>

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# What Do They Taste Like? #
I'm not going to gush and say Insidious Gomphidius are the best mushrooms ever. They are not a strongly flavored mushroom. But they taste fine. Cooking them this way is just fine. They would be good in a mixed mushroom saute, where they would add substance without dominating the flavors of other mushrooms. They would be good on a cracker with a little parsley or even a slice of pickled radish. 

Will I eat Insidious Gomphidius again? Yes, absolutely! They may not be as good as the morels or chanterelles, but when they are so handy, who am I to turn down an edible mushroom? It's up to me to figure out the best way to cook them - and I look forward to trying them in more ways. Come on, Insidious G., come back soon! I want to invite you to dinner! :D

<center> ![IG1WEB9269d.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/12/09/IG1WEB9269d.jpg) </center>
<center> *Insidious Gomphidius might be good on a Goth menu, eh? With squid ink noodles and black beans! Do you have any other ideas for black foods?* </center>



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# What Do You Think? #
Have you ever met the Insidious Gomphidius?  Have you met any of the other *Gomphidius* mushrooms? Would you eat these mushrooms? What wild mushroom is your favorite? I really want to know!

I write about foraging because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wilderness. 

I would like Steemit to be the premier site for Foraging on the Internet! If you have any thoughts about foraging, or experiences to share, write a post and be sure to use the Foraging tag. And check out the @foraging-trail to see curated quality posts about foraging. Happy Foraging! 

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# Species List #

- Insidious Gomphidious - *Gomphidius oregonensis*
- Glutinous Gomphidious - *G. glutinosus*
- Hideous Gomphidious - *G. maculatus*
- Douglas-fir trees - *Pseudotsuga menziesii*
- Slippery Jack mushrooms - *Suillus luteus*

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