If you have the time to learn, field of fungi foraging has a lot to offer

FREDERICTON -

New Brunswick's ecosystems have a lot to offer in the fungi field, but for a first time forager there's a lot to learn.

"Chanterelles are probably pretty straight forward oyster mushrooms as well to an extent boletes are a little ambiguous at times," said Anthony Brooks, an avid mushroom hunter.

New Brunswick is a forager's paradise according to chef Alex Mayberry.

"The area we're in has some of the best mushroom foraging conditions in the world with a lot of research and a lot of patience and a lot of picture taking I think that's kind of what got me into it," Mayberry said.

With such a variety of wild eats, it's important to remember to thoroughly check what you're about to put in your mouth.

"There are mushrooms that can kill you," said Alfredo Justo, curator of botany and mycology at the New Brunswick Museum. "You don't need a lot of mushrooms to die from poisoning," he said.

It's a cautious but rewarding hobby for many Maritimers.

"Always start slowly start with the easiest species to recognize and when you start going out in the field go with someone who knows the mushrooms that grow in that particular area," Justo said.

There are plenty of treats growing in the wild that will have you skipping supermarket aisles for the freshest mushrooms.

"If you do your research you'll find you can pick 10 pounds of some of the best mushrooms in the world in your back yard or very close to home, it's really special," Alex Mayberry said.

You don't have to wander deep in the backwoods to find them, you don't even have to leave New Brunswick's capital.

"O'Dell Park is probably one of my favourite spots to come to there's all different kinds of mushrooms coming up here because of the type of forest it is you can see them just walking along the trail a lot of the time," Anthony Brooks said.