what fungi can be grown in pine?

The only mushroom I have come across that I might be able to cultivate in pine wood is The Phoenix Fir Oyster, Pleurotus pulmonarius but I am uncertain if it will grow in bishop pine which is mostly what I have. does anyone here know if I can grow these or any fungi in bishop pine wood? I can get other types of logs but I have some pine trees I will need to cut down in the next few years for the safety of my home and it would be fun to grow mushrooms in them if that is at all possible.

We have had fun but not much results from trying to cultivate specific mushrooms. We do enjoy picking a few easily-identified wild ones though.

Have you tried sending your question to the highly knowledgeable folks at fungiperfecti.com?


-Erica W

I have not sent an email off yet but that is a great idea! I will probably do so before buying any spawn.

I think (but am not 100 % sure) That I've seen chicken of the woods (the kind we have out west) growing on fallen pines

In theory Laetiporus Conifericola(Chicken of the woods) will grow on pine logs, and several companies sell plugs for it. However I have read a few different reports from people who actually tried to grow them that they didn't do so well.

Pines are tough, most are fairly limited in what types of fungi they will allow to grow on them...

The biggest fungal benefit to pines is not the fungi eating the dead wood. The best is symbiotic mushrooms creating mycorrhizal fungi that help the tree to grow. They would be seen on the ground near the pine tree.
John S
PDX OR

which fungi like to grow symbiotically with pine?

we have many edible wild mushrooms growing on the ground here but we also have many other trees so I don't know which ones are growing with the pines. in front of the house we have a lot of candy and there are pines but also oaks and bay trees and many other trees that I don't yet know the names.

recently on a with a friend we found a large white mushroom growing out of a dead pine that looked and smelled like a white oyster mushroom. we left it there since we where not certain. I did email fungi perfecti and they did not know if any oyster mushrooms can be grown on pine but thought it was worth my doing an experiment if I am curious enough. the main reason I would want to grow mushrooms on the pines are because I have to have them pruned anyway so will have a lot of big logs to find uses for.

we have one very neat looking fungi here that I keep meaning to post a photo and ask about. it might be some sort of brain fungi but it looked more like seaweed to me. very wavy and strange looking. my husband and I have both watched spores come out of these and we have noticed that where this fungi is growing in the garden the plants often seem to be happier and healthier. whatever it is it must send spores everyplace and be very easy to grow since I have found it growing on vermiculite inside my house. i was rooting some African violet cuttings and there int he vermiculite was some of this fungi.

In Europe we've got a type of mushroom called Bloody Milk Cap (Lactarius Sanguifluus) which lives in symbiosis with pines, and is specially appreciated in Southern Europe.

we have many Chanterelle mushrooms growing all around here. I wonder if their tree's int his area are the bishop pines? hmmm

I also wonder what I can do with the bishop pine wood that we end up with when pruning and when trees fall down in storms. I guess finding other uses that are not fungi related would be a new thread. thanks for all the help in this thread

example: in the New Forest national park in southern england (an ancient woodland), the sitka spruce areas are a great place to find wild Winter Chanterelle mushrooms in large quantities (Craterellus tubaeformis, yellowfoot). They live in a mycorrhizal symbiosis with the sitka spruce trees.

If you search for "mycorrhizal" + the name of the species you're calling 'pine' (use precise latin name) you will find out which fungi will grow in symbiosis with the trees you have. It's tricky, though and can take a long time before they produce mushrooms (if they ever do).

Try it and see!

thank you!

I believe Philoita nameko will grow on pine.

I think it can grow on cherry, other hardwoods, and fir and spruce, but pine is too full of pitch and anti-fungal compounds for it to grow well.
John S
PDX OR

I think I will buy my plugs and use them on oak but I may do a small experiment on a little bit of pine since I have so much of it but also because recently on a hike we saw what looked and smelled just like an oyster mushroom growing out of some fallen pine. we had no camera and where too far from home but it has left me more curious and the fungi perfecti people did suggest I do an experiment. so I will do that when I grow my mushrooms in oak this year. the rest of the pine wood that we end up with will be used for other stuff. if I had goats I would make a goat playground. most of the fallen trees are already used for a human playground

I think necroposting is okay on this forum? If not sorry in advance. I'm very interested in this topic because I have many softwood trees and stumps on my property that I want to eventually phase out and rot down, and I also love mushrooms.

I have seen chicken of the woods growing on downed softwood trees nearby so I recently bought some spores, but noticed today after a bit more research that some people are saying not to eat chicken of the woods and many otherwise edible mushrooms if they've been grown on softwood, because they've been "reported to contain toxins". Quite frustrated and confused by the vagueness of these warnings. The phrasing sounds an awful lot like the warnings I've seen about solanum nigrum ("black nightshade") being poisonous under "some growing conditions" when it is perfectly safe if ripe and the actual issue is widespread confusion with other, actually poisonous, nightshades that happen to produce black fruit.

Does anyone know if there are is any specific info about why the same mushroom grown on softwood is poison but on hardwood is fine? Are people mistakenly eating a lookalike or did they forget to cook their mushrooms and filed a wonky mushrooming report or two somewhere? Is there a wider range of laetiporus mushrooms that grow on softwood and some are not as easy on the stomach as the ones that require hardwood to grow?

Or is there an actual mechanism where the mushroom is pulling inedible stuff out of the wood and into its own body? If so, how can we know which mushrooms grown on softwood would be safe to eat?

Will keep researching this topic before eating anything but I thought someone here might know.

Posting about cultivating mushrooms is ok on this forum.  
Mushroom mountain is an ethical company that I have used before. Their founder, Tradd Cotter,  wrote a great book called "Organic Mushrooom Farming and Mycremediation".

https://mushroommountain.com/t/conifer-and-pine-loving-species

John S
PDX OR

I would go back and collect the mushroom you found on pine. If you can ID it as oyster or another edible, you might try growing it from spores or cloning it. You might be able to take a piece of infected log home.

Meg Mitchell wrote:
The phrasing sounds an awful lot like the warnings I've seen about solanum nigrum ("black nightshade") being poisonous under "some growing conditions" when it is perfectly safe if ripe and the actual issue is widespread confusion with other, actually poisonous, nightshades that happen to produce black fruit.

Actually poisonous? I do remember eating Solanum Nigrum fruit (which is black), and I didn't have any poisoning symptoms.

There are people who get upset stomach when they eat a mushroom that grows on, say, hemlock, instead of spruce or fir.  That doesn't mean that it is straight poisonous. It may be that they should just eat a bit the first day, which is a good idea with any new mushroom.  It could be that they have a compromised digestive system. When you look at most peoples' processed food and non-exercise habits, that might be most people.  It's not only about the food itself.  Americans have culturally undervalued the importance of digestion as a process, and suffer for it.
John S
PDX OR

Güneş Bodur wrote:

Meg Mitchell wrote:
The phrasing sounds an awful lot like the warnings I've seen about solanum nigrum ("black nightshade") being poisonous under "some growing conditions" when it is perfectly safe if ripe and the actual issue is widespread confusion with other, actually poisonous, nightshades that happen to produce black fruit.

Actually poisonous? I do remember eating Solanum Nigrum fruit (which is black), and I didn't have any poisoning symptoms.

Yes I know, they're not poisonous at all. I have some in my yard and I eat it when it pops up. Not my favorite fruit but it's good for a garden nibble. But lots of my edible plant books say it's poisonous, especially the ones written before Sam Thayer did a big rant on it.

Ken W Wilson wrote:I would go back and collect the mushroom you found on pine. If you can ID it as oyster or another edible, you might try growing it from spores or cloning it. You might be able to take a piece of infected log home.

The mushroom I found was a chicken of the woods, we went back and ID'd it but didn't want to take any home since it looked too old to eat, plus it was in a local park so it's not really allowed to take. I ordered some spawn online so hopefully that will do as well, not sure how much mushrooms develop a "landrace" the way that plants do.

John Saltveit wrote:There are people who get upset stomach when they eat a mushroom that grows on, say, hemlock, instead of spruce or fir.  That doesn't mean that it is straight poisonous. It may be that they should just eat a bit the first day, which is a good idea with any new mushroom.  It could be that they have a compromised digestive system. When you look at most peoples' processed food and non-exercise habits, that might be most people.  It's not only about the food itself.  Americans have culturally undervalued the importance of digestion as a process, and suffer for it.
John S
PDX OR

This makes a lot of sense. I'll cook it and start slow. Really looking forward to helping my stumps rot down and maybe getting a bit of soup out of the deal. :D

I ate about a cup of raw, very ripe, solanum nigrum berries. Six hours later, I experienced the worst stomach pain since my appendix was removed 30 years previously.

I had eaten a few all summer long without ill effects. Perhaps the poison is in the dosage?

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:I ate about a cup of raw, very ripe, solanum nigrum berries. Six hours later, I experienced the worst stomach pain since my appendix was removed 30 years previously.

I had eaten a few all summer long without ill effects. Perhaps the poison is in the dosage?

The books I have that claim it's toxic claim that it's deadly toxic a la belladona and the other "scary" nightshades, so I suspect most of the stories about it are confusion with other plants. But it looks like there is some support that it can cause gastric distress in larger amounts. I personally don't have any desire to eat a whole cup at once but if you want I can try to dig up Sam Thayer's words on it (he had a very thorough takedown and I think it was printed in one of the books I have) but maybe post it in a different thread since I think it's a bit off-topic here. Since it's traditionally been used as a pie filling, I wonder if nightshade sensitivity also plays a role here?

EDIT: Or I can just be lazy and find a link online!

Are there any positive reports in this field? Has anyone grown, say P. eryngii on softwood?

Boletes and chanterelle species are two types that immediately come to mind. I've found golden chants under pines before, but pigs ears/ violet chants are more common.

I find a lot of bolete species (like slippery Jacks) under pines, and they often form critical symbiotic relationships with pines. For example, if your pine nut plantation is not exactly thriving, the chances are they are lacking essential minerals provided by bolete mycelium in the soil.

We need to make a clear distinction between two types of getting mushrooms here.

1)Symbiotic mycorrhizal mushrooms grow near the tree, helping each other to grow.  Live tree.

2) Saprophytic mushrooms grow on dead wood.  This could be a dead tree in the forest, or wood that was chopped from a living tree.

They are normally different mushrooms.  

Matsutakes are the most famous mushroom here for mycorrhizal.   You can't cultivate them on dead wood.

Phoenix oysters can grow on dead pine wood saprophytically.  They won't grow in symbiosis to help a live tree.

John S
PDX OR

Thanks for all this information, everyone.

Wondering how easy or worthwhile it is to inoculate mycorrhizal fungi around pine trees? Are these fungi species or geographically specific? Is the presence/absence of these fungi readily apparent, and if not, how do you get the inoculant and through what form/process is it spread?

Also curious if hardwood mushroom logs can be set at the edge of a pine woods, or if the anti-fungal properties of the pines surrounding them will hinder their growth? What about King Stropharia in (primarily hardwood) woodchips around the base of some of the trees?

Considering how might more fully make us of the 2 acres or so of pine woods at the back of a site we're hoping to turn into an educational/demonstration/community building project. Seems perfect for a "fairy house" trail, though it might be cool to mark the path with little "rings" of mushrooms here and there along the path. Being able to cultivate edible mushrooms (especially that would enhance the forest ecosystem) in these woods would also be awesome.

Thoughts?

Inoculating mycorrhizal fungi into pines-so hard it's not worth your time, most would say.

Leaving inoculated hardwood logs in the shade of pine trees-good idea.

Stropharia at base of pines-not a good idea. Stropharia should be separated from the tree trunk.  It is saprophytic.

Pine trees have nuts. have you heard of pinyons?

I believe that chicken of the woods can be drilled on dowels into pine logs.

John S
PDX OR

Thanks John for your insights.
Is the issue with stropharia wood chips placed near pine trees more that the anti-fungal properties of the pine would counter the attempts of the stropharia to colonize the woodchips (even if these woodchips were mostly hardwood), or that it would be detrimental to the pines, even though it feeds on dead wood and from what I've read here and elsewhere, its hard for many fungi to colonize pines even after they are dead, never mind while still alive? Why would the proximity between pines and saprophytic fungi not also be an issue for mushroom logs then -- is it because the mushrooms are mostly up off the ground?

You are trying to grow stropharia on wood chips. Placing it on top of a competing fungus will not help your mycelium completely fill the substrate.  Also that the live pine has strong natural anti-fungal compounds.  Not really detrimental to the pines. 5 feet away from the dripline is fine.  Right around the trunk is a bad idea.
John S
PDX OR

John Suavecito wrote:Symbiotic mycorrhizal mushrooms grow near the tree, helping each other to grow.  Live tree.

Yes. Laccaria bicolor is an edible ectomycorrhizal that has a symbiotic relationship with pines.

Most edible mushroom like hardwoods, from what I know they don’t grow on pine trees.
Here are some fun ways to use pine-

https://www.hobbyfarms.com/4-parts-of-pine-trees-that-benefit-your-health/

https://www.primalsurvivor.net/uses-pine-tree-sap/

Soil Erosion Control

Pine trees are generally tough plants that tolerate sun, drought, cold and a wide range of soil conditions. Many species are suitable for erosion control, with the roots holding soil in place and layers of pine needles helping to soften the impact of falling rain

Carrie Zoll wrote:Most edible mushroom like hardwoods, from what I know they don’t grow on pine trees.

True, when referring to saprophytic fungi (like wood decomposing fungi) - which are what most folks tend to cultivate for culinary & medicinal purposes. Yes; for saprophytes, it's best to go with hardwoods for log culture inoculation.

Rachel Brylawski wrote:Wondering how easy or worthwhile it is to inoculate mycorrhizal fungi around pine trees?

Not mycorrhizal but very worthy, found an article where conifer waste (Pinus spp.) are treated with special fungi that degrade lignin present in mentioned wastes. (Link)That substance inhibits fungal growth. The treatment incurred in 200% performance enhance within various Pleurotus spp. growing on Pinus substrate. So it may (should?) be a must for anyone trying to grow in such substrates.

I'm going to start a research on other lignin degrading species, where i'll need to replicate the mentioned article as a control group. So will have to buy the four species mentioned there, also gonna isolate Chilean lignin degrading species. Anyone interested on having them please feel free to contact me at tgemes@alumnos.uai.cl

Rachel Brylawski wrote:Considering how might more fully make us of the 2 acres or so...  

Please consider adding such lignin degrading fungi to your forest, planet earth might found it very helpfull in the far future.

Hola, Tomas

I tried the link and got nothing 🙁.  What is the name of the species that is so good at breaking down lignin?  Thanks

I have several acres of ponderosa pine, lots of needles under the tree, and had 20 cut down that were too near the house.  I would love to get fungal action of all kinds

Most of the Sullius genus of Boletes grow in a symbiotic relationship with pines.  The Slippery Jacks mentioned earlier are an example of these.

The link doesn't work for me either.  I think there is a type of oyster called a phoenix oyster (pleurotus) that grows on some conifers.  

If you are growing saprophytically on dead conifers, spruce, fir and hemlock are easier in general, than pine.  

John S
PDX OR

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Hola, Tomas

I tried the link and got nothing 🙁.  What is the name of the species that is so good at breaking down lignin?  Thanks

I have several acres of ponderosa pine, lots of needles under the tree, and had 20 cut down that were too near the house.  I would love to get fungal action of all kinds

Fungal species considered to be "white rot fungi" are the ones in particular that target lignin. Turkey tails (Trametes versicolor) are white rot fungi and are particularly good at this. They are also an easy cultivar for beginners.

And yes, as John mentioned, the Phoenix Oyster (Pleurotus pulmonarius) is often listed in most all cultivation literature as being able to fruit on dead conifer wood. Oyster mushrooms are also a great place to start for beginning cultivators. To be precise, there are many "oyster mushrooms" in the genus Pleurotus and yet only plumonarius is listed in the literature as enzymatically adapted to grow & fruit on dead conifer wood. However, I just this past month found an Abalone Oyster (Pleurotus cystidiosus) growing on a Columnar Pine (Araucaria columnaris) snag. While Columnar Pine is a conifer, it is not in the genus Pinus, FWIW.

I thought lignins were present in all wood, and more in the hardwoods than soft woods.

Am I confused?

Did I miss some thing?  

Why do lignin metabolizes get mentioned here as if only some woods had them?

Thekla McDaniels wrote: I thought lignins were present in all wood, and more in the hardwoods than soft woods.

Am I confused?

Did I miss some thing?  

Why do lignin metabolizes get mentioned here as if only some woods had them?

Good question. Perhaps if Tomás' link worked we could see why he is/was so excited about the performance of that particular fungal species mentioned in the link and how it could possibly benefit those wanting to grow oyster mushrooms...

I wonder if there is a specific time frame to innoculate that may be a little later than hard woods..gotta get past all that antifungal juice. I also think different pines could produce different results. Probably going to have to experiment a bit. If anyone else has worked with ponderosa, let me know..