Mushroom expert pens book on northeast fungi

(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Camden, Maine) – Many of us head out to the woods to “do the leaves” this time of year. But nature is putting on another spectacular show right now, if you know where to look. Midcoast Maine is lighting up with autumn color, but the leaves aren’t the only ones dressed to impress this fall. Cast your eyes down from the canopy, you’ll find fungus aflame on the forest floor. Greg: “There’s reds, oranges…yellows there’s purples there’s greens. ” Greg: “To me, there’s always the thrill of the hunt. What am I gonna find. I think they’re just magical.” Greg Marley has been studying, collecting and teaching about mushrooms for decades. “There’s a lot of passion that goes into it, people are protective of their spots.” A walk in the Camden woods with him is a revelation. He shows us the much sought after chanterelles, something weird and spongy called witches butter, and a coral fungus that we admire from a distance. Greg: “A Few are edible, a few will sicken I don’t eat that group.” While Marley loves to forage for his table, he’s also interested in the mushrooms power to heal Greg: “And there’s never been a medicinal mushroom book for the northeast.” So he wrote it, just published this month by Down East Books, the book highlights mushrooms like this “hen in the woods.”. Greg: “It’s real well known as a stimulant of the immune system.” Marley says it also happens to be delicious sautéed in olive oil. But he cautions strongly about only eating what you know. Greg: “There’s no need to treat this as an extreme sport with a list. You’ll get sick if you do that, go slow, find a guide.” And take a walk in the woods. With so much happening on the forest floor, you may never look up again. Greg Marley’s book, “Mushrooms for Health: Medicinal secrets of northeastern fungi” is available in bookstores around the northeast and on Amazon.com.