Found near Fort McMurray · September
What people actually find here
145 species have been recorded within about 40 km of here in September, from verified public observations. These are the ones we have written up, ordered by how often they turn up.
Dangerous look-alikeYarrow5 records within 40 km this month
Chokecherry3 records within 40 km this month
Dangerous look-alikeJuniper berries2 records within 40 km this month
Broadleaf plantain2 records within 40 km this month
Also out there, that we haven't written up yet
Recorded near you this month. We have no identification guidance for these, so treat them as a list of things to go and learn — from a regional key or someone who knows them — not as a list of things to pick.
Fungi
Shaggy Mane
Coprinus comatus
18 records nearby
- No openly licensed photo yet
Northern Red Belt
Fomitopsis mounceae
8 records nearby
White Saddle
Helvella crispa
4 records nearby
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Your woods
What's growing around Fort McMurray
The commonest trees recorded nearby, most often seen first. Most of the good mushrooms are tied to a particular tree, so this is the first thing to know about a wood.
- poplar and aspen
- willow
- spruce
- larch
- birch
- cherry
- fir
- pine
Know these first
What can hurt you around Fort McMurray in September
2 species on our hazard list have been recorded near here this month. Learn these before you learn anything you intend to eat.
- Hospital1 record nearby
Fly agaric
Amanita muscaria
- Mistaken for
- Rarely mistaken once it is open — but the buttons, before the cap expands, look like white eggs and get picked as puffballs.
- How to tell
- Cut any 'puffball' in half. Solid white all the way through is a puffball; the outline of a cap, gills and stem inside is an Amanita button.
- What it does
- Ibotenic acid and muscimol: nausea, then confusion, agitation and deep sedation for several hours. Not usually fatal, but genuinely dangerous in children.
- Unpleasant1 record nearby
Buttercups
Ranunculus (the whole genus)
- Mistaken for
- Young greens gathered in damp meadows, and marsh marigold.
- How to tell
- Glossy five-petalled yellow flowers; the leaves are acrid and burn the tongue when tasted raw.
- What it does
- Blisters the mouth and skin. Cooking destroys it, which is why marsh marigold is always boiled.
These are recorded within about 40 km of here in this month, from verified public observations. It is not a complete list of what is dangerous — nothing is — and a species missing from it may still be in your woods. Never eat anything identified from a photograph and a description alone.
Next
What to start watching for
Coming into season in the next month or two near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Seasons shift a week or two with the weather, so treat these as things to keep an eye on rather than dates.
