Weed Scene | Mushroom Picking Memoir

Written by Jing (guide of Forest Picking & Gathering Team)

The place where I first practiced mushroom picking was Wuwei Temple Mountain. I heard it was the place where the most white jian shou mushrooms grew. But because white jian shou are delicious and expensive, this mountain also had the most villagers picking mushrooms.

They started going up the mountain at the crack of dawn every day. Everyone had developed a pair of sharp "mushroom eyes." When mushrooms poke their heads out of the soil, they are often covered by fallen pine leaves. It takes a good pair of "mushroom eyes" to spot the hidden little mushrooms.

As a novice, competing with so many experts to pick white jian shou was indeed a bit unrealistic. Sure enough, on the first day up the mountain, I only picked the two pitiful little mushrooms shown below.

Since I didn't pick any jian shou qing, I had to buy a large jian shou qing from a sister who was picking nearby and cook it at home for soup. But I was unconvinced. Everyone was picking mushrooms on the same mountain, so why couldn't I see any mushrooms?

Although the first day's mushroom picking was disappointing, the activity seemed to fascinate me. Two days later, I still wanted to go mushroom picking.

This time, I got my wish and picked my first white jian shou mushroom. It was hiding under the roots of a clump of grass. Suddenly my eyes happened to spot it, and the feeling of finding it was very special.

Later I understood that the way to practice "mushroom eyes" is to repeatedly remember that feeling of spotting a mushroom in the grass at a glance. The more times your eyes have that feeling, the better your "mushroom eyes" become. I think I will never forget the place where this jian shou qing grew, even in my next life. In the days that followed, every time I passed by, I couldn't help but flip through the grass underneath.

I remember that day I picked a total of three mushrooms: one white jian shou, one qing tou jun, and one bolete whose edibility was unknown. I was extremely excited and took them home to stir-fry and eat. At that time, I was so happy that I didn't think about anything else.

Now looking back, I feel a bit scared, because my knowledge of mushrooms was very limited then. Like many people, I assumed all boletes were edible.

It was also from that summer that I started leading mushroom-picking experiences. But when guiding guests, I wouldn't casually cook and eat them, haha.

This experience was actually given to me by Jason. He had gone to Wuwei Temple many times to pick mushrooms, and every time he was serious, but he never picked a single mushroom. Haha. Just when he was discouraged and about to give up this activity, I fell in love with mushroom picking.

In 2021, there were still very few guests booking mushroom-picking experiences. I often took one or two people up the mountain. Because of that, I saw many sunrises. Entering the forest with the morning sunlight, then everyone quietly searching for mushrooms—that scene is still vivid in my memory.

I am not good at socializing. Part of the reason I like mushroom picking is that I think it is something that doesn't require talking, but requires more focus and silence.

Searching in the forest, my mind filled with mushrooms, and then suddenly spotting a mushroom—that is a wonderful moment for me.

Perhaps because each of us had a peaceful time and space, when we stopped for a tea break, I naturally found myself chatting with the guests.

Looking back, I am quite grateful to the guests who came to the mushroom-picking experience in the first year. Rather than saying I led them on an experience, it was more like they came to accompany me in mushroom picking. Not only did they play, but sometimes they also had to learn with me.

Sister Songmei was my first teacher in learning about mushrooms. When leading experiences, to make sure guests didn't get upset stomachs, I would buy white jian shou from sisters on the mountain and cook at home.

When buying mushrooms, I would also ask her to identify the mushrooms I had picked. But their knowledge was limited; they could only tell me "we eat this here" or "we don't eat it." However, for me at that time, it was already very helpful. Because of this, Sister Songmei's family later became important partners in our mushroom-picking experiences.

With gradual practice, we were able to pick many white boletes.

When lucky, we picked a triplet of big white jian shou!

Later, due to Covid-19, we had no guests at all.

But it also gave me the opportunity to explore more mountains for mushrooms. I thank my mushroom-picking partner Jason. He didn't really like picking mushrooms himself, but to support my hobby, whenever there was a place I wanted to go but didn't dare to go, he would always accompany me to explore.

Once, Jason drove his beat-up van to take me up Cangshan Mountain to pick mushrooms. Through his shaking window, I picked a jian shou qing. Another time, he drove me, Sister Cat, and Wang Shuo on a mushroom-picking trip to Shaxi. Again, through the window, I picked a huge yellow tiger paw mushroom. These are important memories on my mushroom-picking journey, and they are what I want to show off as results of my "mushroom eyes" practice.

However, because I didn't have enough reverence for mushrooms, three years ago when we were picking mushrooms in Shaxi, we unfortunately cooked a big poisonous mushroom called "gao jiao cong" and ate it. It wasn't until after eating that I realized, too late, that it was not a real jian shou qing. From that moment, the pleasant atmosphere in the air turned icy cold. We stuffed the tent into the car haphazardly and drove to the town of Shaxi, waiting for the poison to take effect. In the end, after waiting all night, there was no reaction.

From that night on, I decided never to eat mushrooms carelessly again. What if we had eaten not gao jiao cong, but a highly toxic mushroom? Not only would I have poisoned myself, but I would have harmed Jason and my dog (it also drank the soup).

Over time, the variety of mushrooms we picked increased. Many were firsts for us. Sister Songmei's knowledge was limited to the mushrooms around Wuwei Temple, so we had to start self-study through reference materials and books.

Now thinking back, that feeling of wanting to understand, not because of peer pressure or exam stress, was so beautiful.

Now three years have passed, and mushroom picking has unknowingly become my profession. I have my own picking group called "Mushroom Spirits."

Together we pick mushrooms, and my exploring companions have changed from Jason to the girls of Mushroom Spirits: Yang Mi, Li Zhenhao, Wan Wan, and Yan Zi.

With them, I feel even more free, because there is no mountain that the five of us together don't dare to go.

Our mushroom-picking experience has also been adjusted. After going up the mountain, we help everyone find mushroom samples, no longer just distinguishing between "edible" and "inedible." During the tea break, we added a mushroom explanation session. However, we don't want everyone to think this is a "rigid" course. It is unrealistic to learn mushrooms in just three hours. We try to combine practice and share some memorable points, but the real focus should be on enjoying the fun of the mushroom-picking process.

Weed Scene

Autumn 2023

I often miss the times when I used to pick mushrooms quietly with guests.

Photos