Yasei Kinoko - Wild Mushrooms of Japan, by Thierry Consigny

Introduction

Mushroom is called "kinoko" in Japanese and is part of every day culture in Japan. "kinrui" is used as a generic term for fungi but the terms "kinoko" prevails in most publications. A first song that kids learn in kindergarten is "ki ki kinoko♪, ki ki kinoko♪, kono kono kono kono aruitari shinai♪". A commercial for Hokuto, The Mushroom Company, has also made an enormous hit with a simple "kinoko noko noko genki kinoko♪, eringi maitake bunashimeji♪, kinoko noko noko genki kinoko♪, oishii kinoko wa Hokuto♪" ("mushrooms, nonchalent and healthy mushrooms♪, king oyster, hen of the woods, beech oyster♪, mushrooms, nonchalent and healthy mushrooms♪, Hokuto means delicious mushrooms♪"). This is the song that you can hear in background to this homepage (© copyright Hokuto, The Mushroom Company).

Mushrooms accompany the most delicate Japanese cuisine dishes and can also be found in many western-style dishes. Japan is a fantastic country for mushroom hunters as it offers many vast and wild forest areas very close to the main urban centers.

Using Japanese identification guides

It is highly recommended that you consult a Japanese mushroom identification guide and that you only eat a mushroom that you have positively identified at 100%. For serious study, I strongly recommend the "Nihon-no-Kinoko - Fungi of Japan", in Japanese, 623 pages, ISBN4-635-09020-5, cost 4,394 Yen + VAT, published by YAMA-KEI Publishers Co., Ltd., http://www.yamakei.co.jp. There also exists a handy "Kinoko- Field Books", also in Japanese, 384 pages, ISBN4-635-060050-0, cost 2,330 Yen + VAT, from the same publisher.

Another valuable publication is "Gunma-no-kinoko", or "Mushrooms of Gunma", which is edited in 2 volumes by the "Gunmaken-Yasei-Kinoko-Doyukai" (the Gunma Prefecture Wild Mushrooms' Friendship Association"). Volume 1, 206 pages and Volume 2, 224 pages. ISBN 4-880-58843-1 , cost 1,429 Yen per each volume + VAT, published by Jomo Shimbunsha, http://www.jomonet.co.jp.

Taking good notes in the field

Bring a pencil and a notebook and start the identification process of your mushroom picks by taking good notes in the field:

• Habitat, nearby trees, soil.
• Size, shape, colour of the cap, stem and structures thereon.
• Does the specimen change colour when bruised?
• If present, what colour is the milk?
• Does the colour change with time?
• Chew a bit of the specie, without eating it. Is the taste mild, bitter, peppery or has it another distinctive taste?

Learning the basics

A thorough observation of a mushroom's features will offer you many clues and keys for identifying a family, a genera or a specie:

In the following chapters, we will look more particularly at:

Basidiomatial development type Fruiting body shape Hymenium type Cap size Cap shape Cap colour Cap surface Cap margin Gill attachment Gill spacing Gill and gill edge colour Gill edge Spore deposit and spore colour Spore shape Attachment of cap to stem. Stem shape Volva shape Stem colour Stem surface Stem consistency Veil Flesh colour Flesh character Fruiting pattern Lifestyle, habitat and nearby trees Mushroom names in Japanese

A combination of patterns will constitute keys to family, genera and species.

1. Basidiomatial development type

Basidioma is called 担子器果 or "tanshikika" in Japanese.

The size and shape of mushrooms are strikingly variable. So are the structures present on the cap and the stem, which may also be very different. Much of these differences are due to the type of basidiomatial development.

The characteristics of the cap, gills, stem and spore will offer valuable keys, specifics to each family and genera of mushroom, and will facilitate the identification of the specie.

2. Fruiting body shape

The most common forms are:

3. Hymenium type

The spore bearing tissue is the hymenium (layer of basidia), which is called "shijitsuso" in Japanese. There are three type of hymenium, or spore-producing surfaces: gills (lamellae), tubes or teeth (spines). The gilled mushrooms represent the largest group and are called agarics (agaricales). The term gill-like veins is sometimes also used. The next group of interest for the mushroom picker is the boletes (boletales), which have tubes instead of gills.

4. Cap size

The cap is called "kasa" in Japanese. The cap size only is rarely used to accurately identify a mushroom but it can be useful for distinguishing separate species in the same genera. Japanese identification guides will indicate the diameter range ("kei") in cm, or categorize the cap into 3 sizes, according to the following table:

5. Cap shape

Cap shape and surface texture can change as the mushroom matures, so you should endeavour to examine several specimens. The shape is called -gata in Japanese, such as in taira-gata or manju-gata. This manju-gata is the most frequently cited cap shape in identification guides; it refers to manju, a Japanese-style bun filled with bean-jam.

Flat	Umbonate	Convex	Broadly convex
taira-gata	chuko-no-taira-gata	hankyu-gata	taira-na-manju-gata
Bunshaped	Conical	Bellshaped
manju-gata	ensui (yama-gata)	kane-gata
Depressed	Umbilicate	Deeply umbilicate
jogo- (roto-) gata	chuo-ga-kubomu	chuo-ga-kubomu

Other shapes

Semicircular	Kidney	Fanshaped	Cylindric	Spathulate
han-en-gata	kanzo-gata	ogi-gata	ento-gata	hera-gata
Clubshaped	Spherical	Hoofshaped	Ricebowl	Plate
konbo-gata	tamago-gata	hizume-gata	chawan-gata	sara-gata
Antler-like	Dendroid (tree-like)	Honeycomb
sen-gata	jujo-gata	amimejo-no-tobu

6. Cap colour

The cap colour is usually given in identification guides from a range ("tai-") of colours, such for example as in tai-o-kasshoku, which indicates a colour range from yellow to brown, or yellow-brown.
The colour brightness is indicated by the Chinese characters "tan-" for bright and "an-" for dark.
An important information to distinguish among very similar species is to look at the discoloration properties of the cap, the stem or the flesh, when bruised. Japanese identification guides will indicate the term discoloration as "henshoku", "hen" standing for change and "shoku" for colour.
The three most frequent discolorations are when turning to blue, black or red. In this case, Japanese identification guides will use a compound of Chinese character consisting of the colour name, followed by the character for change, such as in "seihen" for blue discoloration, "kokuhen" for black discoloration or "sekihen" for red discoloration.
Other discolorations types include chocolate, pink, purple, green or a mix of the above.

Mr. Tomoyuki Nakashima, Webmaster of "myou-naru-kinoko-no-peji" ("The Enchanted Mushroom Page"), carried an interesting survey on the colour repartition of the most common 868 Japanese mushroom species, and determined the following graph: Copyright: http://www.portnet.ne.jp/~nakinoko/iro.html (in Japanese)

The most frequently indicated colours compounds are:

7. Cap surface

	The cap surface, or "kasa hyomen" offers different features, which are designated by "-jo" in Japanese. Japanese mushroom identification guides generally use the following cap surface categories.
	Smooth or Glabrous When the cap surface is smooth or glabrous, it is called "heikatsu" or "namerake" in Japanese. "mumoheikatsu" ("bald" and "smooth") is sometimes specified to reinforce that the cap surface is having no hair or fuzz.
	Glossy In many instances, the cap may be "smooth and glossy", indicating a very bright colour. the term "kotaku" is used in Japanese.
	Remnants of the veil on the cap surface The veil, if present, protects all or part of a young fruitbody. On a mature fruitbody, the remnants of the veil can be seen on the cap surface as cuticles ("sasakure"), scales ("rinpen"), patches (flecks) ("ibo") or as marginal threads. Both the words "rinpen" (scale) and "kakera" (fragment) are used in Japanese identification guides.
	Peeling "sasakure-jo" is used to indicate that cap cuticles peels easily from flesh.
	Cracked "hibiware-jo" is used for a surface facing splits, including when the surface is aerolate (or into blocks looking like dried mud).
	Fibrillose "sen'i-jo" designates a surface showing fine fibers called fibrils, which may or may not be raised from surface.
	Flecks and Patches "ibo-jo" indicates small particles on surface, as well as large or irregular area on surface.
	Pruinose or Granular "fun-jo" describes a surface looking finely powdered or very finely granular, as well a surface covered with granules, coarser than purinose.
	Zonate "doshin-jo" describes a cap surface with circular bands of different colours or ornamentation.
	Striate "josen" is used for cap margin with lines or fines grooves that may be parallel or radiating.

A few illustrations of these cap surface features

Peeling	Cracked	Fibrillose
hanagasatake	akayamadori	kofukurotake
Flecks	Patches	Pruinose or Granular
tengutaketamashi	shirotengutake	himekonakaburitsurutake
Zonate	Striate
tsuyauchiwatake	tamagotake

Other cap surface features

Velvety	Silky	Cottony or Wooly
kuriiroiguchi	urabenihoteishimeji	zaraenohitoyotake
Wrinkled	Frosted kasuri means dye pattern	(Tanned) Skin
		なめし皮状
hoshianzutake	hatakeshimeji	kanbatake
Fine Hairs	Coarse or Bristle hairs	Warty
mukitake	fusaharitake Crelophus cirrhatus hedgehog fungus	shiroonitake

Viscosity of the cap surface

The cap surface moisture can vary from dry to slimy. In Japanese mushroom identification guides, both "nensei" and "numeri" are commonly used. The cap skin of mushrooms such as the sillius can be sticky or slimy. The surface may become non-sticky in dry weather but you can test it by touching it with a moistened finger.

The epithelium is generally non-keratinised

Dry		No moisture on surface		beniyamatake
Moist		Moisture on surface but not greasy. Often stated as "yaya" for lightly.		kuritake
Greasy		Slippery or oily but not viscid (sticky) or slimy. Often just refered as being slippery.		chanametsumutake
Sticky (Viscid)		Usually slimy or slippery when wet. Often stated as "ichijirushii" for remarkably. Sometimes refered to as "tsuyoi" for strongly.		nameko
Slimy		Thick layer of slime. Often stated as "gelatin-shitsu" for gelatinous.		hanaiguchi
Hygrophanous	乾燥時の退色	Changing colour markedly as the cap dries.		oonayotake

8. Cap margin

	The edges of the cap, or margins, can show some distinct features, especially for a young fruitbody. In identification guides, the terms used in Japanese for margins are "fuchi-bu"and "fuchi"and for edges "shuhenbu".
	The cap margin shows sometimes cystidia, called "en-shisuchijia" for marginal cystidia in Japanese. The cystidia consists of microscopic sterile cells covering the fruitbody of the mushroom.

	Striate "josen" describes a cap margin marked with lines or fine grooves that may be parallel or radiating.
	Grooved (pleated) "hoshajo-no-mizosen" describes a cap margin furrowed radially.
	Incurved "uchigawa-ni-maku" is used for a cap margin curved inwards toward stem. Cap margin may be incurved when young and becoming upturned at maturity of the fruiting body.
	Exceeding "sotogawa-ni-maku" is used when the edge of the cap extending beyond the gills, and rolls upwards.
	Wavy "nami-utsu" is used when the cap is showing wavelike curves.
	Lobed With rather large, rounded divisions on the cap margin.
	Scalloped With notched edge or rounded teeth.
	Toothed "kyoshi", sometimes written "noko-ha", described toothed margin.
	Appendiculate "himaku-no-nagori" is used when the cap margin is fringed with hanging fragments of the veil.
	Fringed With a border of parallel threads or fibers, so that the edge is somewhat jagged and not smooth.

9. Gill attachment

The gill attachment type is one of the most important information in helping to determine a genera.

Adnate (broadly attached to the stem)	Adnexed (narrowly attached to the stem)	Free (not attached to stem)	Seceding
chokusei	josei	risei	kakusei
Decurrent (gills run down the stem)	Subdecurrent (gills run sharply down the stem)	Notched (as if a wedge of gill had been removed near the stem)	Sinuate notched (curved gradually toward the stem)
suisei	nagai-suisei	wansei	nagai-wansei

10. Gill spacing

Crowded	Subcrowded ~ Subdistant	Distant
mitsu - missei	yaya mitsu or so	so - sosei
Unequal	Forking	Interveined
kohida-kogo	bunki	myakuraku

11. Gill and gill edge colour

Beside the table of colours described in other parts of this document, Japanese identification guides will carry important information on the gill colours. margins are said marginate if the edge is of different colour from the gills itself.

12. Gill edge

The gill edge type is not so commonly described in Japanese identification guides as it refers to specialized botanical terms. "fuchidori-ga-aru" refers to edges of gills fringed with a lower border of parallel threads or fibers or cystidia.

Smooth	Fringed
zen-en	fuchidori-ga-aru
Serrate (saw-toothed)	Serrulate (finely saw-toothed)	Crenate	Crenulate
kyoshi-jo	saikyoshijo	donkyoshi-jo	shodonkyoshi-jo
Wavy (sinuate)	Fine Hairs	Small gills at margin
ha-jo	bimo	kohida-ga-aru

13. Spore deposit and spore colour

A spore print, or "hoshimon" in Japanese, offers a determinent key for the identification of many gilled mushrooms to determine the spore colour..

To take a spore print you will need to:

1. Cut off the stem near the cap.
2. Lay the cap down on a white sheet paper.
3. Cover, with a dish or a small bowl for example, to protect from air currents

Another way to take a spore deposit print is to make a hole in the center of a white sheet paper, running the stem through the hole, raising the paper beneath the cap, and folding the paper on the top of the cap.

A spore print will take between 1 and 8 hours. The cap may not give a print if it is too old, wet, dry or exposed to high temperatures (room temperature or slightly above is best).

Professional mushroom pickers will start the print on the field by putting the cap on a piece of paper, wrapping it in a waxed paper, so that the print is already ready when you return home.

Identification guides usually classify all spore colours in 5 to 9 groups:

14. Spore shape

You will require a microscope offering at least a x 700 enlargement, in order to determine these features.

Round (globose)	Ovoid	Oval	Elliptic
kyu-gata	tamago-gata	daen-gata	choen-gata
Oblong	Spindle (fusiform)	Sausage (allantoid)	Bean (reniform)
enchu-gata	bosui-gata	soseji-gata	mame-gata
Angular	Truncate	Oil Globule	Echinulate
takaku-gata	sekkei	yukyu	toge
Warty (verrucose)	Tuberculate	Striate	Reticulate
ibo	kobu	tate-sen	amimemoyo

15. Attachment of cap to stem

Central	Off-center (eccentric)	Lateral (stem on top)	Semicircular
chushin-sei	henshin-sei	e-wa-jobu	han'en-gata

	If the stem is absent, the cap is attached directly to the substrate on which it is growing. This mostly denotes aphyllophorales fungus, commonly called polypores. This sessile type, or "muhei" in Japanese, can have various shapes. These fungus are characterized by their attachment type and shape.
腐朽	As it decays and felt down from the tree, the polypore will let a butt rot on the trunk, called 腐朽 or "fukyu" in Japanese.

Lateral attachment (narrow)	Lateral attachment (broad)	Semi-lateral attachment (broad)
sokusei	haichakusei	hanhaichakusei
Flat shape	Circular shape	hoof-shaped	Layered
henpei	maruyama-gata	hizume-gata	chosei

16. Stem shape

	The Japanese term for stem or stalk is "e", but some identification guides also use "kuki", which is a generic botanical term for stem.
	An important information is the length of the stem. For mushrooms with underground roots or rhizome, the length above the ground is indicated. Rhizome is called "chikakei" in Japanese.
	The stem shape is often described, as well as its base ("kibu" in Japanese). When it is tapered at the base, "fukurami" is used in Japanese.
	A massive or tuberous base is normally described as "kaikei-jo"
	Whereas western mushroom identification guides often mention if a stem is swollen at the base, Japanese identification guides prefers to describe the shape of the base or of the volva, if present.

The most frequent stem shapes consist of:

Equal (cylindric)	Straight equal	Curved (flexuous)
enchu-jo or jogedo	hosonagai-enchu-jo	kukkyoku
Widens down	Narrows down	Ventricose
shimo-futo	shimo-boso	benpuku-jo
Gradual bulb (club-shaped or clavate)	Abrupt bulb	Rooting (rhizoid)
konbo-jo	kyukon-jo	kon-jo

Other stem shapes can include:

	If present at the base of the mushroom, the volva, or "tsubo" in Japanese, can have several and distinct shapes and surfaces, as indicated in the following section. It is highly recommended that you to check for the presence of a volva when picking a mushroom, as several of the volva-type mushrooms belong to the amanitaceae specie (amanita) or "tengu-take-ka" in Japanese and can be deadly fatal.
	You can use a knife to lift up the stem base or use a garden tool such as a hand transplanter. A hand transplanter is called "ishoku-shaberu" (for shovel) or "ishoku-sukoppu" (for scoop) in Japanese.

17. Volva shape

Flaring and sheating (large, shelllike volva)	Sheating (saclike volva)	Collar (shallow volva)
saya-jo-no-tsubo	fukuro-jo	asai-tsubo
Pruinose or granular	Concentric scales	Volva zone only (visible zone of fibrils)
konashitsu-no-tsubo	kanjo-rinpen	konsekiteki-na-tsubo

18. Stem colour

	An important observation is to check if the stem is of the same colour as the cap. Japanese identification guides will mention in that case "kasa-do-shoku".
	Another important information of the stem colour is to check the colour variation, for example is the colour changing downwards or upwards?

19. Stem surface

Pruinose	Scaly	Pitted (scrobiculate)	Velvety
konaten-jo	sasakure-jo	abata-jo	birodo-jo
Striate	Fibrillose	Flecks (reticulate)
dandara-moyo	sen'i-jo	amime-jo

Other stem surface features include:

20. Stem consistency

The stem consistency can vary from:

21. Veil

The partial veil is a membrane that cover the gills from the stem to the cap margin. In many species, it breaks away from the cap margin, when it expands and remains as a ring or membranous annulus.

Thus, the partial veil can appear as:

• Ring or embranous annulus
• Cob webby (cortino)
• Marginal veil
• Slimy pellicular veil

The Japanese for volva is "tsuba", in opposition to volva, which is "tsubo". Membranous is said "maku-shitsu".

Ring zone only (visible zone of fibrils)	Fibrillose	Web (cortina)
konseki-teki	sen'i-jo or -shitsu	kumo-no-su-jo or moyo
Ring present	Double ring (two distinct layers)	Movable ring
ringu-jo	niju	kadoteki
Sheathing (opening upward)	Sheating (hanging skirtlike)	Sheating (hanging skinlike)
ue-muki or eri-jo	tare-sagari-jo	shita-muki

22. Flesh colour

23. Flesh character

The stem can be solid ("chu-jitsu", or "ju-jitsu") or hollowed ("chuku").

The cap and stem flesh can be the same of different.

Same	Different
doshitsu	ishitsu

The flesh can offer the following characters, depending on the maturity of the fruitbody:

24. Fruiting pattern

Each specie fruits in a distinct fashion. The most known fruiting pattern is the fairy ring literally translated in Japanese "yosei-no-wa" or written in katakana, but in fact "kinrin" is most commonly used in Japanese identification guides.

Single	Ring	Cluster	Tuft	Layers
tansei (kosei)	sansei	sokusei	gunsei	chosei

25. Lifestyles, habitat and nearby trees

(source: "Fungi of Northern Illinois, by Patrick P. Leacock, at http://www.lactarius.com/fungi/intro1.htm")

Mushrooms have various lifestyles or ways that they obtain food:

Saprobic mushrooms are decomposers, or recyclers, that live on dead organic material from plants, animals, and other mushrooms. They can be generalists, growing on a wide variety of substrates (food sources) or specialists, e.g., the mushroom Strobilurus conigenoides is found only on magnolia fruits.

Parasitic mushroom use living organisms as a food source, causing some diseases of plants and animals, including Dutch elm disease and ringworm. There are even mushroom that attack other mushroom, e.g., Hypomyces.

Mycorrhizal mushroom form beneficial partnerships with plants. The fungal hyphae interact with roots (mycorrhiza = fungus + root) and grow out into the soil, acting as extensions of the plant's root system. Some mushrooms have mixed lifestyles and can switch their eating habits! Wood provides a rich source of carbon for mushroom but the low nitrogen supply can limit growth. Opportunistic mushroom trap and digest other organisms, such as nematodes (microscopic worms), for nitrogen; they form various microscopic snares, lassoes, and toxic lollipops!

Because of the intimate mycelial/root (mycorrhizal) association between some mushrooms and specific trees, the habitat and nearby trees may give you some precious indications to identify a specie. Sone guides exclusively classify mushrooms according to their habitat, regardless of their family or genera. But this is not always that simple as there is not always a clear cut between these different habitats. In Nagano Prefecture for example, 86 mushrooms have a unique mycorrhizal relation with either beech, birch, larch, hemlock or spruce.

Please refer to the Glossary of Japanese trees for an equivalence table of Japanese, Latin, English, French and German terms.

kirikabu, stump, stubble

toboku

(source: "Shinshu-no-Kinoko" (The mushroom of the Shinshu region), in Japanese, by Shinno Mainichi Shimbunsha, ISBN 4-7840-9412-1, 0262-36-3377)

a. Deciduous woods (hardwoods) (feuillus) 広葉樹林 koyo-jurin

b. Conifer woods (coniferes) 針葉樹林 shinyo-jurin

c. Open woodland, grassland 林内・草地

227 species

26. Mushroom names in Japanese

Japanese names of mushrooms are very inventive. YAMA-KEI Publishers Co. Ltd., carried a survey of 1,112 Japanese names of mushrooms in their "kinoko-no-gogen & hogen jiten" (Dictionary of etymology and dialect of Japanese mushrooms). The Japanese mushroom names fall into the following categories:

(© copyright YAMA-KEI Co., Ltd.).

The term "modoki" is often used at the end of another common mushroom name to indicate that it has similarities with this other specie it is referring to. This can be illustrated by the use of "naratake" and "naratake-modoki" for example, respectively the armillaria mellea (ringless honeyfungi) and armillaria tabescens (honey fungi).

"nise", which can mean false or imitation, is sometimes used to indicate that one mushroom looks like another common mushroom, such as in "kurohatsu" and "nise-kurohatsu", but is completely different. The kurohatsu, russula nigricans (blackening russule) is edible whereas the nise-kuroatsu, or russula subnigricans can be deadly fatal.

Japanese regions have also a very ancient and rich culture, which is reflected in many dialects across the archipelago. Mushroom names are no exception to the rule with many local names being in usage. "Naratake", or armillaria mellea (ringless honeyfungi), will be called "narabusa" in Gunma or Nagano, or "bori-bori" in Hokkaido. You may need to decrypt these names when you ask advice to a local on your mushroom pick. A few local identification guides such for example in "Mushrooms of Shinshu", will indicate the mushroom name in the local dialect.

Sources of illustrations and references:

• Nihon-no-Kinoko, Fungi of Japan, in Japanese, at YAMA-KEI Publishers Co., Ltd, ISBN 4-635-09020-5 C0645.
• Kinoko, Field Books, in Japanese, also at YAMA-KEI Publishers Co., Ltd, ISBN 4-635-060050-0 C0345.
• Kinoko-Zukan, at Ie-no-Hikari-Kyokai 4-259-53967-1 C0645.
• Common Florida Mushrooms, by James W. Kimbrough, at University of Florida, IFAS, ISBN 0-916287-30-0.
• Mushrooms, at Dorling Kindersley Limited, ISBN 0-7513-2717-4.

Useful links:

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