Cherokee Reservation – August 2, 2009

This was our first ever opportunity to visit the Qualla Boundary – the Cherokee Indian lands.  We were invited by new member Eddie Paul to hunt for da wo li (Cherokee for mushrooms) on land owned by members of his family just west of the town of Cherokee.  18 AMC members took part.

This foray was not for the faint-hearted.  After travelling 60 miles from Asheville, we met at the house of Maude and Wilbur Paul, Eddie’s parents.  It immediately started to rain.  When it eased up we split into two parties: one group entering the woods immediately behind the house, the other going a few hundred yards up the road to Eddie’s house and up into the woods there.  “Up” was the operative term.  We scrambled and bushwhacked through some of the steepest terrain we have collected on.  The idea was that the two parties would meet up somewhere along the ridge, but we didn’t see or hear each other until the second group emerged at Maude & Wilbur’s house, wet, filthy, but still clutching our baskets, to find the first group already returned and setting out their finds.

By then the grill was hot and Eddie was turning chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs.  Soon we all sat down to a delicious meal indoors, followed by a game of cribbage, while the rain started up again outside.

The woodland is mixed and very varied, with almost no non-native plants or trees.  We found well over 50 fungal species and identified 28, 15 of which were on the “Top 50” list.   There were numerous corals - Clavaria and Ramaria species -  which defeated efforts at identification, and a fair number of Cortinarius species, including a good collection of Cortinarius squamulosus which we have not collected before (or at least not since 2005).  Edibles included a few Chanterelles, many Apricot and Corrugated Milk Caps, and some rather soggy Beefsteak Polypore.  Jan Guichard took the Beefsteak home and tried heroically to render it palatable but reports that she won’t be picking it again!

Many thanks to Eddie and to his parents for inviting us on to their land and into their homes.   Their warm hospitality made this a truly memorable foray. 

Charlotte Caplan

Species List