By Oli Herrera

RARE FUNGI FIND

Rare ‘witches cauldron’ mushroom found in Prince George

May 20, 2021 | 4:40 PM

PRINCE GEORGE– A rare fungus that’s commonly found in northern Europe has now been spotted in various parts of Prince George. It’s so rare, that’s its not even on the official list of fungi in British Columbia.

Sarcosoma globosum or as its commonly called ‘witches cauldron’, are a rare fungus. Mushrooms like these tend to thrive in older, untouched forests, which are still common here in Prince George. One local professor says its not the first time it’s been found in Canada.

“These are a rare fungus that’s commonly found in northern Europe and there’s been a couple of sighting in eastern Canada, particularly Nova Scotia. But here we found them in Prince George and there’s been no official observation in western Canada at all.” said Dr. Michael Preston from UNBC.

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Preston says he’s been getting responses from people claiming sightings of the witches cauldron, which is helping him get closer to better understanding the mushrooms.

“They were the first ones to report it on Facebook and that really brought it to my attention. Until then, I have actually never seen it.”

The outside of the witches cauldron feels similar to fake skin. On the inside is a gel-like substance that experts aren’t sure what it is yet. Preston says the mushroom is not poisonous and is not edible.

These mushrooms are usually found on the ground next to the spruce tree. But experts say they still don’t know the role it has in the environment. Because there’s not enough data on the mushroom, Preston says its unknown how it distributes.

“As far as witches cauldron is concerned, we actually don’t know what it’s doing. Is it a decomposer or is it a mycorrhizal fungus and that’s one of the most exciting things about this rare fungus.” said Preston.

Preston says he’s excited about this new discovery and he’s encouraging every day people to try and find these witches cauldrons. This month more than 50 people say they’ve seen the mushroom. Right now, Preston believes the witches cauldron’s will only be around until June but he has plans for the future.

“This is a fantastic start. Hopefully next year covid restrictions have been lifted, we can get out and do a really good survey on the region and just get that published.” said Preston.

If you believe you have found a witches cauldron, Dr. Preston is asking that you send a photo, GPS location or a description of the location to him directly here.